Chapter 31

In the morning, I went straight to the bookshop to help Georgina get everything ready for Deborah Day's launch party. She didn't ask where Noah was and I was glad to not have to discuss him. Instead, we focused on preparing the back room. As it was Halloween, we wanted to create the perfect gothic vibe to suit Bitten. I had found some red velvet curtains in a charity shop so we hung them either side of the platform. Georgina had lined the room with chairs that we'd covered in black pillowcases and added red bows to the backs. I dotted LED candles around the room and on the stage. Then I piled the pumpkins I'd bought by the platform. I'd found a velvet chair for Deborah to sit on and Georgina had brought a crow statue from her flat to stand beside it.

I raised an eyebrow and she laughed. ‘It was for a play at university and I can't part with it,' she explained. ‘Even though sometimes I swear it's watching me.'

We put up a table at the back where we laid out all the alcohol, soft drinks, paper cups and nibbles we had bought. All the drinks were red-coloured. We hung up posters of the book all along the side and a copy on each chair. Then Georgina brought out a speaker from the back room, and we set up our gothic playlist that we'd made to play softly in the background. Then when Georgina turned off the ceiling light, we stood back to look at the room.

‘Does it look enough like a room where a vampire might seduce you?' I asked, putting my hands on my hips to give it a critical look.

Georgina laughed. ‘I'd say so.'

I snapped a picture and attached it to a message to Noah.

How's this?

‘Okay, well, looks like we're all set. I hope everyone we've invited turns up.'

‘After you were all over the news, I don't think they'd miss it,' Georgina said, pulling her hair into a ponytail.

My phone vibrated and I looked at Noah's reply.

Perfect. Go home and get ready and I'll meet you there at six.

‘Looks like Noah's stuck in his meeting,' I said. ‘He will be here at six.'

‘And it starts at seven?'

I nodded. ‘Right, well, I better get ready then and try not to stress about this going well.'

‘It will be great, don't worry,' she said, walking back into the bookshop as a customer came in.

I looked at the room. It did fit Bitten. And Halloween. I hoped Deborah would be pleased. She'd been asked to do a few radio shows and podcasts since our romance protest and she was in her element sharing her love of romance with the world. I checked Amazon again. The book was finally climbing the charts. And with the official publication date tomorrow, I was hopeful it would keep climbing. But high enough to chart on the bestseller list? That was still unclear.

Giving Georgina a wave, I left the bookshop and headed back to my flat to get ready. Everyone in the office was leaving early to change too. I had asked everyone to dress for Halloween.

My spooky Halloween playlist got me in the mood, as did a few sips of red wine, and soon I was ready and looking at my reflection in my full-length mirror. With my blonde hair, I had been torn between Alice in Wonderland and what I had gone with, but I couldn't resist jumping on the social media trend. I wore a pink gingham dress and matching headband, my blonde hair down, with pink lipstick and pink high heels.

‘Is this okay?' I asked Liv when I FaceTimed her.

‘Stevie, you are Barbie! I love it! I wish I could be there.' Liv and Aiden had a university Halloween party to go to instead. ‘I hope it goes brilliantly.'

‘Thanks Liv. At least we get to toast to the book no matter what happens with it. It's weird I haven't seen Noah all day. He said he'd see me at the bookshop in half an hour.'

‘Is he actually going to wear a costume? I can't picture it.'

‘Nor me,' I admitted. ‘Maybe as the boss he'll say it isn't professional, but it doesn't matter. Everyone else said they will be. Deborah is dressing up as a vampire, of course. Okay, I better jump in an Uber. Happy Halloween!'

‘Have a witching-good time!'

‘Don't be a basic witch.'

We grinned at one another and said goodbye and then I drained the rest of my red wine and headed out.

The night was dark with the promised bright full moon lighting up the London skyline. I'd always enjoyed Halloween and there was a spookiness to the cloudy night that made it perfect. The city was lit up and I passed people going trick-or-treating and lots of carved pumpkins in doorways.

My Uber dropped me at the edge of the alleyway and I stopped in awe to see the bookshop lit up so spectacularly. Georgina had been busy since I left her. There were pumpkins piled up outside with LED candles and the windows had been stripped and replaced with lit-up pumpkins, cobwebs and a pile of spooky books.

‘What do you think?' a voice rang out in the darkness. Noah stepped into the light from the only lamppost down here. He was dressed in dark colours so I could hardly see him.

‘You did this?' I asked, gesturing to the bookshop.

‘With Georgina. I wanted to surprise you.'

‘You did.' I smiled. ‘It looks perfect.'

Noah stepped closer. Now I could see him better, I realised he had dressed up. In a tux. I raised an eyebrow.

‘James Bond?' he said. ‘Can I get away with that? It was all I had.'

I chuckled. ‘I'll allow it. So, shall we go in?'

‘One more surprise first.' He pulled out his phone and handed it to me. I saw he had an email from the buyer of the biggest bookshop chain in the country asking for a huge bulk order of Bitten. ‘They saw your protest and customers have been asking for the book. We're rushing them an order in time for the weekend. They're going to stock it in all of their shops.'

‘Noah!' For the second time, I threw my arms around him, making him stumble backwards with a laugh. He held me tightly and I didn't want it to end. ‘Will it count for the bestseller lists?'

‘I'm not sure, it depends when they get the stock out, but the visibility for the book will be great.' Noah pulled back and looked at me. His hands slipped to my hip, his touch warming through my pink dress. ‘Am I allowed to say you look gorgeous tonight? Because you really do.'

‘Why thank you,' I said with a pleased smile. I liked us like this. Light and not weighed down by our past.

‘Now I wish I'd come as Ken,' he said.

I shook my head. ‘No, you're definitely more Bond than Ken,' I said, itching to run my fingers through his tousled hair but keeping them down by my side.

‘I'm sorry I haven't seen you today until now. My New York Zooms were mind-numbing; I just wanted to get here and do this. And then see you.' His thumb stroked my hip and I couldn't help wishing he would pull me closer. I think he saw something of that on my face because he smiled enough to show his dimple in the light from the shop and leaned in closer. ‘I'm supposed to be focusing on work but you are much more enjoyable to focus on.'

God, he really did have a way with words. ‘You won't say that when the launch party starts and we have to network our butts off and make this book a success.'

‘Network our butts off?' He laughed. ‘I have never tried that, I must say. Okay, I'll let you go. But just know, I don't want to.' His arms left my body, leaving me several degrees cooler. ‘Shall we?' He gestured to the shop.

I exhaled a little bit shakily. ‘We shall,' I said and led the way inside, all the time thinking that being Noah's sole focus was something I would really enjoy.

Inside, the bookshop was full of pumpkins and LED candles and the effect was mesmerising. We walked together to the back room where Georgina was pouring out wine and blackberry juice, the music from our playlist lending a suitably spooky atmosphere to the night. She was dressed as Daphne from Scooby Doo and looked amazing. I glanced at Noah but he greeted her with no more enthusiasm than usual and relief washed over me. Because even if I was unsure about us, the thought of him being interested in someone else brought out a jealous streak I didn't want to have.

Emily appeared in the doorway with Gita. ‘Let's get this party started!'

‘Oh, I love it,' I said, beaming at them. They were dressed as Rachel and Monica from Friends. ‘Genius,' I said, because I could definitely see their personalities as those characters.

‘God, I hate how good your figure looks in that dress,' Emily said, smiling at me. ‘Where's the wine?'

The room soon filled up with the rest of my colleagues and then in came the booksellers, book reviewers, romance authors and press we'd invited. Everyone had taken the request to dress up seriously and the room was full of witches, skeletons, ghosts and TV characters. Everyone was excited to have their copy of Bitten and I was pleased to see people taking photos and posting them on social media.

As 7p.m. approached, I turned around to see Deborah and Ed walk in. Deborah looked magnificent as a vampire with a long black dress, cloak and red lipstick. She smiled, showing off her fake fangs. Ed had also come as a vampire and they made a striking pair.

‘You guys! I love your costumes. You could be the couple in Bitten,' I said, clapping my hands. ‘After he turns Rebecca,' I added in a low voice so not to spoil the ending for anyone nearby.

‘I don't know how Debs got me to do this,' Ed said. ‘You look lovely, Stevie,' he added, leaning in to kiss my cheek.

‘Ed.' Noah appeared by my side and nodded at the agent, before turning his attention to Deborah. ‘Lovely to welcome you to your launch,' he said. ‘We're really happy with the buzz around the book so far. Did you get my email about the bookshop order?'

‘I did,' she said. ‘I've had so many requests to do things this week. It's like a shock to the press that people not only love romances but want to shout it from the rooftops. Thanks to Stevie here, they know now.'

I curtseyed, holding out my dress. ‘I knew being an avid reader would come in handy one day. Shall we get you ready on stage?'

‘I'm a bit nervous,' she said softly as we walked to the platform. ‘I haven't had a launch party for ten years.'

‘We are going to celebrate in style then,' I promised. ‘It'll be a breeze. Just read the chapter you picked then I'll field questions and then we can have more wine.'

‘I like the sound of more wine,' she said as we stepped up on the platform. She glanced at me. ‘Did I sense something between you and Noah? He gave Ed daggers when he said how lovely you look tonight.'

‘Well, I don't know. It's complicated, I guess,' I hedged, not sure what to say. I looked over and saw Noah watching us. He gave me a smile, which made me blush as I turned back to see Deborah looking at me.

‘Hmm. Isn't it always?' She looked over my shoulder and gave Ed a wave, which made his face light up.

I raised an eyebrow. ‘You and Ed?' I asked, unable to hide my surprise. I mean, there was, what, twenty years between them? Not that I should have judged, I knew.

‘Shh,' she said hastily. ‘It's complicated.'

‘I'm kind of sick of that,' I admitted as I handed her the book with her chapter marked with a Post-it. ‘I would love things to be easy for once.'

‘I think it's us that makes it complicated. Ed has told me how he feels; I just find it hard to believe. I'm too old to play games. And I don't want to hold him back.'

‘If he loves you then that could never happen,' I said. I glanced at Noah. ‘I'm scared too. We used to date, me and Noah. I only just met him again after five years. He has told me he made a mistake in letting me go but hasn't said what he wants now. And I don't want to get hurt again.'

Deborah sat on her chair and nodded. ‘That's understandable. I think the only way to know is to ask him, right? Once you know what he wants, you can decide if it's worth the risk. But let me know how you decide because I'm stuck.'

We smiled at one another. ‘And I thought romance authors had all the answers!'

Deborah sighed. ‘I think that's why I write about love – because it is a complete mystery to me.'