Fauxmance (Showmance #2)(49)

Suze’s expression was sympathetic as she reached across the table to squeeze my hand. “Oh well, I’m sure someone else will come along. It’s his loss.”

If only she knew that nobody else would come along, and certainly not someone like Julian. He was one of a kind, the first man to ever make me feel like I could just…be myself. At the party, he’d called me Ellen, and I couldn’t help loving how that felt

“Maybe,” I replied, forlorn.

“How about you come to my next fashion show at the end of the month? It’s for my men’s clothing line, so there’ll be lots of delicious, single models.”

I mustered a smile. “Sure, sounds like fun.”

“By the way, I know I said we shouldn’t talk about work, but I was wondering if I could ask a favour. I’ve fallen out with my usual accountant and I was hoping you might have time to look at my accounts for last year? I’d owe you big-time.”

I froze. Finally, the lies I’d told her were coming back to haunt me. Why hadn’t I made up a more unskilled job? Accountant had just sounded so professional at the time when it fell out of my mouth.

“I’m really busy at the moment. I don’t think I’ll have time to fit you in.”

“Not even on the weekend?” she hedged. I hated to say no to her, but I had no other choice. I knew about as much about accounting as I did about astrophysics.

I opened my mouth, brain fumbling for an excuse, when my blessed phone started ringing. I pulled it from my bag, took a look at the screen and saw it was my agent, Daniel. I sent Suze a look of apology.

“This is work. I actually have to get back to the office. Do you mind if we cut today short?”

She smiled kindly and waved me away. “Not at all. I’ll see you next week.” She stood to place a quick kiss on my cheek and I hurried outside to answer the call.

“Daniel, hi,” I breathed. He had no idea how grateful I was that he’d called when he did.

“Hello, Ellen, how are you today?” he replied, his voice warm and friendly. Sometimes I suspected he treated me with kid gloves because I was so skittish. I was one of his highest selling authors and he didn’t want to scare me off. I wished I didn’t give off that vibe. It was something I needed to work on.

“I’m well. Was there a reason you called?”

“Just the weekly call to nag you about doing a signing,” he said on a chuckle. “And don’t worry, I’ve already prepped myself for rejection.”

I really did feel bad about saying no to him all the time. The man had the patience of a saint. “I just worry I’ll disappoint people. I feel like I’ll screw it all up. Trust me, I’m better off remaining an enigma. It sells more books.”

“I don’t believe you. Your readers would love to meet you, Ellen. They already worship the ground you walk on. All you have to do is show up and smile and they’ll be over the moon.”

I continued walking toward my house, scratching my neck. This conversation always made me break out in a rash. “The idea still freaks me out.”

Daniel was quiet on the other end, then said, “How about we meet up for coffee, somewhere quiet? I’ll talk you through the whole thing and then you can decide. If it’s still no, then I promise never to ask you again.”

“I don’t know, Daniel…”

“One coffee. I’ll pay. What’s the worst that could happen?”

His friendly, playful voice managed to draw me out of my shell. I stopped walking and looked down at myself. I was still dressed as Elodie: leopard print blouse, leather effect jeggings, Louboutin heels. Maybe I could do this.

I cleared my throat. “Okay. One coffee. Where do you want to meet?”

There was stunned silence on the other end before he leapt into action. He obviously thought I was going to decline, just like I always did. I could hear him moving around his desk, probably grabbing his things so could run out of the office.

“I’ll text you the address. See you there in thirty minutes?”

“See you in thirty minutes,” I confirmed and hung up.

My hand shook as I placed my phone back in my bag. When I arrived at the large, open plan coffeehouse, I spotted Daniel right away. I knew what he looked like because there was a photo of him on the agency’s website. It didn’t really do him justice, because he was a lot better looking in real life. He had light brown hair and smiling blue eyes. He looked like the boy next door, the one any girl would be proud to bring home to meet her parents.

The exact opposite of Julian, my brain added.

As soon as I thought of him, my heart gave a heavy pang. I tried to ignore it and plastered on a friendly smile as I approached the booth.

“Hello, Daniel,” I greeted, and he looked up from his tablet.

He stared at me for a full five seconds, blinked, then stood up fumblingly. “Ellen?” he questioned in disbelief. His gaze went from my red hair to my green eyes, then travelled all the way down my body. He pushed his black-rimmed glasses back against his nose and held out his hand. “Wow, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“And you,” I replied, shaking his hand then taking a seat. “It’s weird, but I feel like I know you already. We’ve spoken so much on the phone.”

He ran a hand through his hair and sat back down. “Yes, me too, though you’re nothing at all like what I expected.”