Free Trouble in the Making by Lissa Matthews Page B

consummated. Until now.”
    Liz squinted in his direction, skepticism written all over her face, but she didn’t say anything else. She cut into her lukewarm pancakes and lowered her eyes to the food. “It’s not awkward,” she inserted into the silence before she took another bite.
    “No.” He didn’t have to ask what she meant. He knew. You weren’t friends with someone for such a long time without learning how to read them, how they talked, how their personalities worked, how they interpreted information.
    “I was afraid it would be.”
    “I know, but I didn’t have any doubts. We’ve had a fairly solid foundation to build on.”
    “Is that why you asked if I was happy?”
    “Yes. That’s when this, us ending up here eventually, that’s when this began for me.”
    “I think I’m full,” she said finally, putting her pancakes down on the bed beside her. She wiped her mouth and pushed the container an arm’s length away. “If I eat any more, I’ll bust.”
    “They were good, though?”
    “Beyond good, Johnny. Thank you.”
    Her gratitude, her satisfied smile, touched him. “I’m glad and you’re welcome.” He too was finished eating. He closed both containers again and put them back on the dresser, then stretched out on the bed with his head propped on his arm. “How’s work for you?” The mood had changed slightly.
    Liz lay back. The duvet was still wrapped around her, but part of it slid off her shoulder, revealing tantalizing bits of her body, which teased him mercilessly. Each time she moved, another revealing of skin happened, and she seemed oblivious to the effect it was having on him. “It’s not too busy right now. I’m putting together a new workshop for Rollins College next semester and working on several proposals for my editor.”
    “What are they about?”
    “The books or the workshops?”
    “Both.”
    “I want to do a workshop on having multiple projects going at once, and I want to do one on writing truth. Digging deep and writing from where you hurt or where you’re happiest. It’s to expand range.”
    “Maybe I should take one. What about the book proposals?”
    “Nope. You know I don’t discuss projects until they’re finished.”
    “Oh come on. Just a hint?”
    Liz swatted at him. “You ask me this every time. I’ve never broken that rule with myself and I don’t plan to start now. Not even for you.”
    “You’re suspicious? Really?”
    “Just a little. It works for me. The less I discuss it, the better it seems to turn out.”
    “You still enjoy it then?”
    “I do. I love it. It seems to fit me better than anything else I think I could have tried.”
    “Would you be surprised to learn that I have read several of your books?”
    Her eyes grew wide. “You have?”
    “Yes. I love them. I see you in every one of them.”
    “Johnny, I…”
    He kissed the tip of her nose, then her lips. “Your books are my guilty little pleasure. It’s like having a part of you with me.”
    Liz buried her face, but Johnny wouldn’t let her hide. “Stop.”
    “No. It’s true, but I can see you still don’t like being complimented and acknowledged for what you do. Bad girl. But I’m proud of you. You make a living at it and you love it. Not many people can say that. I was caught off guard a bit when no one at the reunion knew what you did for a living.”
    “Well, no. I mean, most people knew I went to college to become a teacher in either English or Creative Writing, but when I decided to try my own hand at writing and it kind of took off… I was as surprised as anyone. I’m a midlist author and there are hundreds of others, better than me, worse than me. I do what I do and I mind my own business. I’m not in the middle of drama and I like it that way. I just… I didn’t want a bunch of questions, you know? You have the in-your-face career and you have the personality for it. I, on the other hand, don’t.”
    Johnny was well aware of that. She liked her