Page 31 of Chasing Forever

Chase pulled out of the parking lot and onto the two-lane highway heading north. “Since you’ve already done a lot of research, where to first?”

“There’s a beach at the end of this road called Ke’e Beach. According to the guide, it offers great views of the Na Pali coastline. On the way, I thought we could stop at a couple of towns, specifically Princeville and Hanalei.”

Chase eyed her with amusement.

“What?”

“I’m impressed with your research skills.”

“As a lawyer, you must have them too.” She saw his shoulders stiffen and realized it was a sore subject.

“I think you might have me beat.”

“It’s part of my job. I can’t write about things I don’t know, so I have to look them up. Google is one of my best friends.”

He laughed. Then he pointed up ahead to a small café advertising Good Eats. “Ready for breakfast?”

“Sure.”

They went inside the crowded restaurant and were seated at a cramped table for two. After they both ordered eggs, toast, and coffee, Callie decided to try and pick his brain again, but he beat her to it.

“So, how does it work? How do you come up with your stories?”

She hadn’t planned on talking about herself, but he seemed genuinely interested. And if she divulged more about herself, he might reciprocate.

“While I’d like to say there’s a method to it, there really isn’t. The stories just sort of come to me, and then I feel compelled to write them.”

“What about the characters? Do you base them off real people?”

She shifted in her chair, accidentally bumping his knee under the table. “Sorry.”

“No problem,” he said with a smile.

Suddenly she’d become the interviewee instead of the interviewer, and she wasn’t entirely comfortable with his line of questioning. “Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. I’ve always admired writers, and I’m interested in the process.”

She took another sip of coffee and tried to calm herself, though a heaping dose of caffeine probably wouldn’t help. “The characters are mostly imagined; however, I have incorporated bits and pieces from people I’ve known.”

“Interesting. Like who? Boyfriends?”

She’d been raising the coffee cup to her lips, and she paused with it in mid-air.

“I wouldn’t know any of these people, so it’s safe to tell me, right?”

Just then the waitress brought their food over giving her a brief reprieve. “Can I get you anything else?”

They both shook their heads, and the waitress walked away.

Callie speared a bite of scrambled egg and avoided Chase’s eyes. She chewed thoughtfully while he spread neat rows of strawberry jam on his wheat toast. If she thought he might forget where they’d left off, she’d been wrong.

“So, about your characters?” he said before taking a large bite out of his toast.

She watched him chew and noticed the smudge of strawberry at the corner of his lips. If this were a scene in one of her books, she would reach over, wipe it off, and then suck it off her finger. Or if the characters were further along in their relationship, she might lean across the table and lick it off…

“Callie? Where’d you go?”

She shook her head to get rid of her wayward thoughts. “Just enjoying the food.”