Chapter 6

For the next few days, time seemed to soften around the cottage. Mornings became late breakfasts eaten barefoot in the kitchen, afternoons drifted by beside the river and evenings blurred into wine, laughter and long stretches spent tangled together beneath open windows while warm summer air rolled through the room.

One afternoon, when trying to fill some pages of her notebook, AJ happened across her.

“That's your travel writing?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Can I read it?”

She hesitated for a second before handing it over. He sat at the desk while she lingered awkwardly nearby, suddenly far more nervous than she’d been kneeling in front of him a few days before. The room stayed quiet except for the turning of pages. Eventually, he looked up.

“You’re good.”

Emily blinked. “Really?”

“You’ve got a voice. Most people spend years trying to sound interesting. But you already do.” He tapped one of the pages lightly. “Just trust yourself more. Don’t overwrite the moments.”

She smiled despite herself. “That sounds suspiciously like writing advice.”

“It is. Don’t get used to it.”

At first, she told herself it was because she was finally living the sort of experience worth writing about. But gradually the notebook stayed closed more often than not, abandoned on tables while she followed him through woods, watched him work, or lay beside the river with her head resting against his chest after they’d had sex in the open air. It all felt so dangerously easy with him.

Eventually, though, real life began pressing back in.

The morning she finally packed the Beetle, neither of them made a dramatic thing of it. The air between them stayed light, familiar.

“You’ll come to the signing?” he asked as she loaded her bag into the car.

Emily nodded. “I said I would.”

“Bring your mother if she’s such a fan.”

Emily smiled. “I will. But maybe we don’t tell her the bit about me sleeping with her favourite author.”

“I think that’s wise.”

They exchanged phone numbers on a scrap of paper torn from the back of her notebook.

Then there was a pause, a final deep hug and lingering kiss before he broke off and asked, “You’ll be alright?”

Emily looked at him and nodded, “I’ll be fine.”

Then she climbed into the car and drove away, watching him grow smaller in the mirror until the road curved and the cottage disappeared completely.

That evening, A.J. sat alone in his study with the windows open to the summer air. He picked up the phone and dialled a familiar number.

“I need a favour,” he said without any preamble.

“You’re still alive then?” said his agent.

AJ ignored the jibe. “There’s a girl travelling around the country writing pieces. Emily Collins. She’ll probably send something to Travel Monthly sooner or later.”

“And?”

“And you’re married to the editor.”

“You’re asking for a favour? That’s as rare as hen's teeth.”

“No.” He replied, looking down at the scrap of notebook page with Emily's number on it. “No favours. No special treatment. Just make sure someone gives it a fair reading before it ends up on the slush pile.”

“That good, is she?”

“She might be, if she’s given a chance. Just don’t tell her we spoke.”

“Got it.”

Before continuing to “Signing Off”, readers are strongly encouraged to read the parallel branch:

Helen – Love and Other **** - https://chyoa.com/chapter/Helen-%E2%80%93-Love-and-Other-****.1853922