Cover Girl - Nic Tatano

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to Jensen’s restaurant, you’ve seen me pitch the overly pretentious specials of the day, which, I must say, I deliver like Meryl Streep in a highbrow British film. I’ve gotten great reviews on fine-dining websites.” Her statement wasn’t typical New York sarcasm, didn’t have any frustration in it. She stuck her nose in the air. “This evening our chef has prepared a delightful honey-braised free-range capon stuffed with organic barley couscous, accompanied by gently sautéed chestnuts in broth accented with a hint of coriander.”

      He couldn’t help but laugh. “What exactly is that?”

      “Chicken ‘n’ rice with a bowl of really weird soup.”

      “Well, you make it sound delicious.”

      “You should hear the fifty-word description of what amounts to chocolate cake.”

      “I’ll bet. I can certainly see you as an actress.”

      “Thank you. I’ve had a lot of callbacks lately, so I feel like I’m making progress. Just a matter of time.”

      “Seems like you have a good attitude. I’m sure something will come along.”

      “That’s what I keep telling myself. Of course in this town, a lot of your success depends on who you know, and I don’t know anyone.”

      “Very true.”

      She lightly touched his forearm and sent a charge through his body. “Though now I know you.”

      “Next!”

      The cashier’s yell made Alex turn around. He saw everyone in front of him had checked out and he was ten feet from the counter.

      The plump, middle-aged cashier glared at him over half glasses. “Buddy, this ain’t e-harmony-dot-com.”

      “Sorry,” said Alex, who blushed as he placed his items on the counter while Lauren followed.

      Lauren put her items behind his. “So, if you’re a writer, I assume you work at home?”

      “Most of the time. I also teach journalism two nights a week, but otherwise I’m pounding the keyboard.”

      “So you can work whenever you want.”

      “Right. Very flexible schedule.”

      “Which means you’re free for lunch. Like, now.”

      He turned and found her smiling at him with a look that went right into his heart. “Uh… yeah, sure.”

      Her eyes beamed. “See, I knew there was a good reason to shop here.”

      They clicked.

      Alex hadn’t felt it in a while. A long while. And now he’d felt it twice with two women in the same week. The exponentially cute Southern gal sitting across from him seemed totally in tune. It wasn’t just that they had a lot in common. The conversation flowed easily and her tendency to play footsie with the cuffs of his slacks sent a definite message. Sweet and innocent girl next door, well… maybe.

      Alex knew what Juliette would say: “Two women? You? Ha!”

      His cell on the table clicked with a text just as he took his last bite of dessert, lighting up with Juliette’s face. Lauren took a look and her eyes went wide. “Wow. She’s gorgeous.”

      “Excuse me a minute.” He read the text and tapped a few keys. “My roommate.”

      Her face dropped. “Oh.”

      Juliette’s words flashed through his brain. “For such a smart guy, sometimes you can be a complete idiot.”

       Clear it up. Now. Before yet another girl thinks you’re already off the market.

       But am I, after meeting Keira?

       Why do I have to meet two nice girls at the same time after a long dry spell?

       Not fair.

      “Juliette and I worked together at the network. We’re best friends. Strictly platonic.”

      “Ah.” The smile returned. “So, Alex… what does your girlfriend think of you having a platonic friend who looks like that?” She pointed at the phone.

      “Don’t have a girlfriend.”

      “My, my. This day just keeps getting better and better.”

       Chapter 7

      “Keira, where the HELL are you?”

      Gretch’s call jolted her back to reality. She looked at the clock on the restaurant wall and saw it was twenty minutes past one. “Oh, shit! I lost track of time. Be right there.”

      “Problem?” asked Dash.

      Keira stood up and put on her jacket. “Forgot I had a meeting with a new author at one. Please forgive me for leaving so abruptly.”

      “Hey, no problem. Uh, I’d still like your phone number. I know I put you on the spot earlier, but I’ll certainly understand if you don’t want to—”

      She whipped a business card out of her purse and handed it to him. “Here you go.”

      “Great. Keira, I really enjoyed meeting you.”

      “Same here. And again, sorry about ruining the shirt and tie.”

      “It was definitely worth it. By the way…”

      “Yeah?”

      “You know those guys who say they’ll call and never do? I’m not one of them.”

      She moved closer, close enough to get a whiff of his cologne, looked up and locked eyes with him. “I’ll look forward to you proving it, Mister.”

      The elevator door opened, revealing Gretch standing with her arms folded, tapping her foot and glaring at her like an angry parent. “Alexander has been here a half hour. What the hell happened?”

      Keira power-walked out of the elevator and headed to her office with her assistant in hot pursuit. “Where is he?”

      “In your editing cave. I’ve been keeping him busy going over your suggestions. Luckily your irreplaceable assistant knows your taste. Also lucky your irreplaceable assistant can be trusted with a guy you want.”

      “I owe you one, Gretch.”

      “So where were you?”

      “I met a guy.”

      Gretch stopped and grabbed Keira’s forearm. “Excuse me? Did you say you met someone?”

      “Long story and I’ll fill you in later. Bottom line, I spilled coffee all over this guy who looks like the cover model for Soul Mate and we ended up having lunch. We really hit it off—”

      “Whoa, am I hearing you right? Is Keira Madison cheating?”

      “How can I be cheating?”

      “I don’t mean regular cheating, I mean Keira’s brand of cheating. You already want Alexander and before you even go out on one date you’re already interested in someone else? Keira Madison doesn’t date two people at once.”

      “I’m a big girl. I can play the field. And stop talking about me in the third person.”

      “Where the hell did this newfound confidence with men suddenly come from?”

      Keira shrugged. “What can I say? It hit me about an hour and a half ago. There are two cute guys who like me.”

      “Whoa, this just hit me. Back up a minute… the man you met looks like the guy on the Soul Mate

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