Filing away all those self-disparaging remarks, Travis stroked the silky fabric covering her shoulder and asked, “What had you planned to do at the reception?”
Biting her lip, Veronica cast a glance around and said, “Honestly? I wanted to find a good vantage point and watch the reception happen. I need to make notes for the ceremonies before my overloaded brain lets me down. This event has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me and I can’t afford to waste it. Beyond that, I enjoy people watching. It’s wonderful fodder for writing. I hope you understand that I wouldn’t mean to disappoint you but I probably will.”
“What if we helped you?” Hank asked, as he led her through the opened tent flap. They closed in on either side of her and pulled out a chair for her at one of the tables that would afford her a good view of the proceedings.
“How would you help me?”
Hank said, “We’ll get you something to eat and drink, and then we can answer questions about Divine. We would keep you company so you wouldn’t feel lonely.”
“Well, actually…” Her smile brightened the room. “You’re sure? I dreaded the thought of sitting alone.”
After reassuring her again, Travis got her a glass of wine. They left her to her work and joined the line leading to the caterer’s buffet while she tapped notes from earlier into her smartphone. Fifteen minutes later they’d obtained full plates of food for the three of them as well as drinks.
She hardly touched her food until Hank gently pried the phone and stylus from her hands and pushed her plate closer to her. The action seemed to disconcert her, but also brought a soft smile to her face.
Travis settled his arm over the back of her chair, turned to her, and quietly spoke. “I noticed you’d been crying when you exited the tent earlier, after the ceremony.”
“Oh…” She inhaled deeply and let it out as her eyes took on a faraway quality. She took a long sip of her wine. “I’ve never been to a binding ceremony before. Have you?”
“I haven’t been back in Divine that long. Hank tells me there are more ménages here than there used to be but I’ve never been to a ceremony. How was it?”
Her pupils dilated slightly as she stroked a spot on the white linen tablecloth. She picked up the smartphone and stylus again, nervously stroking the thin instrument between her fingers. “It was…” The smile on her lips didn’t reach her eyes as she shrugged. “It’s hard to put into words. You’d think I was silly.”
Hank leaned toward her and murmured, “Try us.”
She trapped her lip between her teeth and Travis wanted to kiss it for her. “I’d approach writing a scene like that the same way I would a love scene. It was…indescribably intimate. I didn’t even realize I was crying until Grace handed me a tissue. I felt that I was privy to something special. Maizy’s men love her in a deep way that I realized…”
“What? You can tell us anything and we won’t think ill of you.”
“I can’t imagine what it would be like to know that kind of love with one man, much less with three men. They’re utterly, hopelessly in love with her and I wonder what that must feel like—” She leaned back in her chair. “What–what I mean is the ménage dynamic fascinates me.” Her backpedaling didn’t fool him at all. She wasn’t just approaching this event from a clinical viewpoint. She saw something she wanted. She could deny it but it was in her eyes.
On her other side, Hank reached out and stroked her thigh. “I can imagine a man—or men—would find themselves as smitten by you as Maizy’s men are with her.” Her eyes grew wide as Hank continued. “You should ask her men to tell you about how they met her. It’s the stuff romance novels are written about, I’m sure.”
Veronica sipped at her wine, and Travis imagined she was trying to borrow some courage from the liquid.
She looked into Hank’s eyes and asked, “Have you ever read a romance novel?”
“No. But I plan to read one of yours soon.”
She put her glass down. “I know that many men view what I write as drivel that sets their women up with impossibly high standards. I’m actually surprised that you’re not a little amused or condescending about what I write.”
Travis said, “I think that Hank and I have more than a few surprises up our sleeves where you’re concerned. Now, which of your books would you recommend?” He pulled out his phone and tapped the app for a popular e-book retailer and typed her name into the search engine.