Free Tempted by Mr. Write (What Happens in Vegas) by Sara Hantz

peek? Of course, he would.
    As she’d strode out of the conference room, through the throngs of people, he’d walked fast to keep her in sight. Now she was sitting with her arms folded tightly across her chest, glaring at him. Except her face seemed softer than a few moments ago. Hope flared in his chest.
    “Hey,” he said as he sat down opposite her, a small round table separating them.
    She nodded and glanced at her phone. “Your five minutes starts now.”
    Mac leaned forward in his chair. “What you read in my room. It isn’t what you think.”
    Sheridan narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “Really? Now you’re into mindreading. So, what did I think exactly?”
    She wasn’t making this easy for him, and he didn’t blame her. Because on the surface, it appeared like he’d totally screwed her over.
    “Cassie in my new book. She isn’t based on you.”
    “Yeah? She just happens to be a…let me see… How did it go…? Oh yes. A cynical, snarky, unlovable journalist. Of course that’s not based on me. How could I even think that? I wouldn’t know how to be snarky or cynical if my life depended on it. And as for being unlovable, well, I can’t comment on that. But clearly you can.” Tears welled in her eyes, and she swiped them away.
    Mac swallowed hard as he realized just how deeply he had hurt her, and even though it was unintentional, it didn’t make him feel any better. It just made him more determined to fix it. He leaned even closer and took hold of Sheridan’s hands. She tried to pull them away, but he wouldn’t release them.
    “Stop,” he said gently. “I promise those notes had been written long before I’d met you. Yes, you’re a journalist, too. But that’s a coincidence. Yes, you can be cynical and snarky. But that’s a coincidence, too. As for being unlovable. No. You’re not. You’re the total opposite.”
    She stared at him open-mouthed. “What do you mean?”
    What do I mean?
    He knew what he meant. He just had to take the plunge and say it.
    “That you’re the most lovable person I’ve met. I couldn’t bear for you to think otherwise. I want a future for us. Together.”
    His chest tightened. She had to believe him. He couldn’t imagine not being with her. Not seeing again the way she chewed on her lip when she thought no one was looking. Not seeing that compassionate side of her, like how kind she was with Deidre and the others, despite what she thought of romance.
    “But we’ve only just met.”
    He nodded. “I know. It’s crazy. But it’s happened. Love at first sight.” He cringed. The whole love at first sight thing seemed so clichéd.
    “And you believe in that?” She arched an eyebrow.
    “Don’t you?” he asked, throwing it right back at her, mainly because he didn’t have an answer. Yes, he wrote about it all the time. And he did believe in true love, even though until now he hadn’t found it for himself. But he’d never really considered it could happen almost immediately after meeting someone.
    “You know my views on love and romance.” She shrugged.
    “I was hoping that might have changed,” he said in a soft voice as he studied her face, desperately hoping the mask she liked to wear would evaporate.
    “I thought it had,” Sheridan admitted, her face flushing.
    “And now?” he asked, his voice guarded.
    His heartbeat raced as he waited for her reply. Silence hung in the air. It seemed like ages before she spoke.
    “I don’t know. I was convinced you’d used me as research fodder. You say you didn’t but…”
    “But nothing. I promise. I swear on everyone’s life who I hold dear that Cassie is not based on you.” He locked eyes with her, hoping the flicker of uncertainty in her face meant she was questioning her belief.
    “And why should I believe you?”
    “Because I saw the real you. Saw how you can be all those things and so much more. And that’s what I love about you.”
    “Oh.” Sheridan sounded surprised.
    “ Oh . I was