Chapter Seven
The bells hanging over the heavy wood door to MoonBeans jingled over Becca’s head as she pushed her way into the cozy coffee shop. She didn’t have to be at the bookstore for another hour and looked forward to the coffee date she had planned with Luci.
Becca peered around the store until she spotted Luci sitting at a corner table, her face lit by the glow of her laptop. Luci wrote at MoonBeans most mornings so she’d probably already been there for hours.
“Working on your next bestseller?” Becca asked as she slipped into the chair opposite Luci.
Luci looked up from her screen and her face brightened. “Ha! I have to already have a bestselling book in order to be working on the next. Shoot, I still have to find a literary agent and sell the first book before I do anything else.”
Becca gave Luci a concerned look. She knew this topic was getting touchy but she had to ask anyway. “How’s the agent search going?”
Luci sighed. “First, let’s get coffee. Something yummy. I’ve been drinking lemon water while I worked so I could wait and have coffee with you.”
“Sounds good.”
The women headed up to the counter and put in their orders with Harry, the lanky teenage barista. They chatted about how hot it felt outside already, considering it was only the beginning of summer, while they waited for their drinks at the pick-up counter. With a caramel mocha for Becca and a skinny vanilla soy latte for Luci, the two headed back to their table and settled in for a good chat.
Becca slipped her purse off of her shoulder and slid it onto the back of her chair. “So, what’s up? You seem a bit down.”
Luci smiled weakly. “I don’t mean to be. Really. Everything in my life is actually pretty good right now.” She reached up and brushed a long strand of blonde hair out of her eyes. “Work is fine. Evan is great. My mom is feeling good and she’s dating a great guy which has been so wonderful to see. My sisters are happy. I’m mostly happy.”
“But…?” Becca prompted.
“It’s just my writing. I felt so good about the book I wrote, like, I really thought that this was the one. This was the book that would finally land me an agent and would sell to a publisher. And it’s just not moving as fast as I’d like.”
“Well, these things take time, don’t they? How many agents have you queried??”
Luci looked down at the table. “I’m almost embarrassed to say.”
“Don’t be.”
“I just sent my fiftieth query early this morning.” Luci lifted her gaze and looked at Becca.
“Fifty? Is that all? You’ve barely scratched the surface. Send it to a hundred. Two hundred!” Becca said emphatically.
Luci cracked a smile. “Really? I think that would be a bit much. If two hundred agents rejected me then my book must really suck.”
“I’m sure it doesn’t suck,” Becca insisted. “You told me yourself that finding an agent was like finding a needle in a haystack. That agents get thousands of queries a year and only sign a handful of authors.”
“True…” Luci said.
“You’ll find the one agent who falls madly in love with your book and feels as passionate about it as you do. You want someone to sing your praises like they’re your mother so you don’t want just any old agent trying to sell your book. Don’t worry my friend, you’ll find the right agent and he or she will get it to the right publisher.”
Luci sat up taller in her seat. “Yeah. You’re right. Thanks, Becca! I really needed a pep talk. You made me feel so much better.”
Becca smiled at Luci. “I meant every word of it.”
Luci returned her smile. “Okay, enough about me and my writing stuff,” she said. “Tell me, what did you think of your first night at Starlight?”
“It was great,” Becca said. “I felt at home right away. And everyone was so nice to me. I think I’m going to enjoy it.”
“Oh good! It is a nice, chill place to work. I’m sorry I had to cut out early on your first day.”
“It was totally fine. How did your date with Evan go?”
“It was really nice. We went out for sushi and then to a movie at the Cineplex in South Lake.”
“That does sound nice,” Becca replied wistfully.
Luci studied her friend’s face. “Have you been dating at all lately?”
Becca twisted her lips and shook her head. “Believe me, if there were any hot men in my life you’d be the first to know.”
“Are you going to the summer solstice dance in the town square Saturday night? Oh, you have to!”
“Summer solstice dance,” Becca repeated. “Man, I haven’t been to the summer solstice dance since I was a teenager, I think.”
“Which is why you have to go now,” Luci said.
Becca widened her eyes. “Uh, I don’t think so.”
“Come on, you can be my date. Evan has to work that night. Don’t leave me on my own.”
Becca cocked an eyebrow at her friend.
“At least think about it,” Luci insisted.
“I think I’m going to buy a chocolate chip cookie,” Becca announced. “You want one?”
“Nah,” Luci said. “But I want you to go to the dance with me.”
Becca grinned. “Be right back.”
Becca headed up to the counter to order her dessert. She wished she was as disciplined with her diet as Luci, who looked amazing. Luci was a yoga fanatic and the most limber person Becca had ever known. She wasn’t like that in high school so it was remnants of her New York City life, Becca had guessed. She’d gone to yoga with Luci a couple of times, trying to make herself fall in love with the exercise but it was pretty awful. Becca was both too hyper to sit still and breathe like the other yogis and completely unathletic. She couldn’t bend or twist herself into hardly any of the positions no matter how hard she’d tried. She had eventually given up. Exercise and a healthy diet never had been her thing and she suspected it would eventually catch up to her; but, for the time being, she was happy enough with her body. Yeah, she was perhaps a bit softer in some areas than she might have liked but she figured that was partly due to her Italian genes. Most of the women in her family had a solid set of curves on them.
While waiting for her order, Becca pulled out her phone and took a wide shot of the coffee shop and uploaded it to her Instagram. She tagged the picture “#coffee #myhappyplace #timewithfriends.” Becca thought about snapping a picture of her and Luci’s coffee mugs when she got back to the table but Harry, reappeared in front of her with her cookie perched on a plate. She slipped her phone back into her pocket, paid for the cookie, and rejoined Luci at their table.
Luci was typing frantically on her laptop and Becca didn’t want to interrupt. Luci finished what she was writing and looked up. “Sorry about that,” she said. “It’s just there was this fascinating woman walking past the picture window and I knew she’d be a perfect character in this new book I’m working on. I wanted to get down all of the details before I forgot.”
Becca broke off a piece of cookie and dunked it into her mocha. “Really? That’s so cool. Do you do that a lot?”
“See characters walk by?” Luci asked. “All the time. That’s why I love writing in the coffee shop. Half of the time I’m people watching or eavesdropping on conversations to get ideas for my books.”
“That’s so clever.”
Luci shrugged. “Not really. I think most writers do it.”
“Well, I don’t know any writers, other than you. Oh, I’m going to meet an author soon though. Fran has me hosting a book signing this week. It’s my first one.”
“Nice! Who is it? Maybe I’ll stop by.
“Well,” Becca started, “I’m not sure how exciting it will be. I think it’s one of Fran’s friends and she’s doing him a favor. Gene Hutchinson. He wrote some kind of civil war time mystery book. She wants me to introduce him, sit in the audience and watch his presentation, and then help him with the book signing portion of the event. It could end up being a snooze fest.”
“It’s still pretty cool though. Snowy Ridge isn’t the hub for big authors to come visit.”
Becca laughed. “No, I guess it isn’t.” She stuck another piece of cookie in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. After she swallowed she said, “The rest of my week is shaping up to be kind of interesting actually.”
“Yeah?” Luci asked.
“You know Cooper Stone? Cade’s brother?”
Luci’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah…” she said again, this time her voice filled with innuendo.
Becca tried not to show any reaction and keep her voice steady. “I’m going to his shop tomorrow afternoon. He’s going to help me with my car. You know, my banged up bumper?”
“Really,” Luci said, nodding. “Very interesting. And how did this come about? I thought the Stones worked on snowmobiles.”
Becca could feel herself start to blush and she wished she could make herself stop. This wasn’t a big deal. “They do. He just offered to help so…I’m heading over there.”
“Mmm-hmm,” Luci said and wiggled her eyebrows.
“What?” Becca tried her best to look innocent.
Luci shook her head. “Nothing. Cooper’s just a really great guy. And he’s sexy as hell, don’t you think? He’s got that mysterious brooding thing going on. Well, really all of the Stone men have it. But Cooper is more mature and serious. He’s very smart too, from what I hear.”
“You sure know a lot about him.”
“I told you, us writers observe everything. And I’ve hung out with him a few times, through my sister and all. You and he would make a striking couple,” Luci added.
Becca tried to laugh. “What? We’re not trying to couple up or anything. He’s just helping me out. He knows I’m broke and he’s a nice guy. He probably just feels sorry for me.”
“Hmm.” Luci looked thoughtful. “Well, if that’s true it’s too bad. He really is a catch. I heard he hasn’t dated at all since his divorce. And that was years ago.”
“He’s divorced?” Becca asked.
“I thought you weren’t interested?” Luci teased.
“Well, I’m not, technically. A girl should just know who’s working on her car is all.” Becca quickly popped another piece of cookie into her mouth so she wouldn’t have to speak.
Luci giggled. “Yeah, right.”
Becca finished chewing and swallowed. “Hey, do you know if he likes chocolate?”
Luci thought about this. “I’m not sure but really, who doesn’t? Why?”
“I was just thinking I’d bake him something after work today to bring along. A sort of thank you.”
“I think he’ll fall madly in love with you if you do that.”
Becca smiled and begun running through recipes in her mind.