Page 16 of Miss Behaved
“Guess even Carson Calloway could stand to learn a few things.” I smile, but I keep my eyes on Tina, feeling his stare drilling into me.
“Guess so,” he says.
“I know, it’s a lot before breakfast,” Tina says, waltzing across the front of the room. “But it’s to drive home a point. I wrote historical fiction because it felt safe, like something I was okay sharing with my family. But deep down I knew my creative voice lent to a genre on another end of the spectrum.”
Tina turns off the projector and faces the room. She’s got her hands on her hips, dripping in the kind of confidence that I imagine makes men fall to their knees.
“My first erotica novel sold over a million copies. Not because it was anything completely new or special, although I like to think it was. But it sold because I put my heart into it. I was honest with my voice. I wrote what I felt passionate about. And that resonated with the readers.”
Passionate.
I think about that. There was a time my heart was in this, at least in the beginning. But lately it feels like every failed relationship has chipped away at my overall faith in love—both real and fictional. And it’s finally starting to show.
“I have a challenge for you while you’re here,” Tina says, crossing her arms over her chest. “Every day, I want you to take one risk. Say one thing you never would, do one thing that scares you. Instead of backing away, I want you to embrace it. Whatever you choose, put yourself out there. I want you to let go of what holds you back this week. Stop doing, start experiencing.”
That butterfly feeling in my chest flutters to life, and I’m acutely aware that Carson is as fixated on what Tina’s saying as I am.
Tina continues. “Then, I want you to write about it. Each day, what did that risk cost you, what did you gain from it, was it worth it? This retreat is about more than just breaking writer’s block, socializing, or whatever reason it is you’re here. We are going to dig deep, and we are going to get uncomfortable.”
Her eyes land on me, and the heat behind them sinks to my very core.
Claps echo through the room, and I space out for the rest of her presentation, my mind stuck on the task at hand. I don’t take risks. I’m the careful one. Planned, precise. I never write without an outline or skip to the last page of the book.
But I guess walking in on my boyfriend screwing a redhead wasn’t exactly planned. Being at this retreat with Carson definitely wasn’t planned. Is the universe trying to tell me something?
My head starts to spin, and before I know it the presentation is over.
I go to gather my things and notice Tina walking over.
“Carson Calloway,” she says, stopping in front of him with one hand on her hip, pinching in her waist and drawing attention to the curve that leads to her very long legs. “I thought I spotted you. Although this is an unexpected place.”
He smiles, and the ease of it sends daggers to my heart. “Not my usual scene, as you know.”
As you know? Do they know each other?
“Good presentation,” he says. “Always appreciate a little ménage before breakfast.”
“I’m sure you do.” She drags her teeth over her bottom lip and scans him over. Then she reaches into her jacket and pulls out a piece of paper.
“May I?” She reaches for my pen, I nod, and she uses it to write something down. “Phone number and room number. If you have any questions about the presentation, I’d be more than happy to discuss them with you.”
Obvious much?
I think I’m laughing inside, but I realize it’s out loud when Tina turns to me with narrowed eyes. She runs her fingers over her hair to gather her composure, but Carson has an amused grin on his face.
“Well then,” she says, running her fingers along the front of her skirt and purposely avoiding my stare. “See you around.”
Tina spins on her sky-high stilettos and saunters off, doing that thing with her hips to make them wag side to side with each step, no doubt making it clear to Carson exactly what she’s offering.
“Now I know why you’re here,” I say to Carson as I grab the rest of my things.
He’s still smiling, but his eyebrows pull together, and it makes me wonder if it’s forced. “That’s not why” is all he says as he sets down the paper Tina handed him and turns toward me.
I lift my eyebrows and nod, not believing for a second that a player like Carson would not take up sex-kitten Tina on her offer. Or any woman who willingly threw herself at him. Even if he has been following me around like a lost puppy for the past sixteen hours, it’s probably only because I make it feel like a challenge. After all, that’s what his kind can’t get enough of. The chase.
“What now?” he asks, his eyes dropping to the stack of papers in my hands.
“I’m not your itinerary.” I shrug my shoulders, but he just keeps staring down at me. He’s much taller than I remember. With my five-foot-three frame, I have to crane my neck all the way back to look up at him. His head hangs like a rain cloud overhead, and what I wouldn’t give to get washed up in his storm.
