Excerpt: Chapter 1 – The First Meeting
The clatter of keys filled the dim-lit café as Lily struggled to finish her draft. Deadlines were suffocating, and she had little inspiration left. Her fingers hesitated over the keyboard, seeking an idea when a voice interrupted her reverie.
"Your coffee's been cold for twenty minutes," the man at the next table remarked, his deep voice cutting through the hum of chatter.
Lily glanced up, irritation flashing until she met his gaze. Piercing gray eyes stared back, framed by sharp cheekbones and a barely concealed smirk.
"I wasn't aware my caffeine temperature was your concern," she retorted, her cheeks flushing.
"It's not. Just couldn't help noticing you've been stuck on the same page," he replied, nodding toward her laptop.
Intrigued and annoyed, Lily snapped the screen shut. "And you are?"
"James. Editor. Observer of struggling writers." His grin widened, and Lily hated how her pulse quickened.
Their banter began innocently enough but carried an undercurrent neither could ignore. Something about James' confidence and Lily's fiery comebacks created a tension that lingered even after she left the café, her manuscript untouched.