Adrian had to believe he could give that to Kate, but Susan had a way of bringing out his insecurities and it made him angry. He was thankful Susan didn't know much about his past. Daniel and Penny had been careful not to talk about it with her.
Adrian turned to George and said quietly, "We need to talk later."
George scowled. "She at it again?"
Adrian nodded as Kate raced back over.
"Come on, slowpokes. Let's go."
Adrian pushed Susan to the back of his mind. Kate deserved his full attention and he wouldn't let Susan spoil the day.
***
Libby stretched and grinned. She was finished! The heady elation that came with writing the final word swirled around her. She breathed deeply in satisfaction and rolled her stiff shoulders.
She checked the clock on her screen. Five o'clock. No wonder she was stiff. She'd been writing almost nonstop since she returned from her walk. Her stomach grumbled a complaint at the lack of food as she re-read the last page she'd written.
It still needed some polishing but it was good. The story was complete, with an ending to satisfy her readers, but there was a hint of what was to come in the next book.
She saved the document, backing it up to her thumb drive and uploading a copy to her cloud share folder.
She had to find somewhere she could print out a copy and she needed to eat. Shutting down her computer, Libby stood and stretched again and then did a little jig. The hard part was done. Now she would enjoy re-reading, editing and polishing her words until they shone.
A peek out of the window showed her it was raining relentlessly, so she put on her rain jacket, checked her umbrella was in her bag and headed downstairs. In the lobby, she stopped at the reception desk to enquire about the cost of printing her manuscript. She coughed in surprise at the answer, smiled politely and decided to hit the street. There had to be an office supplies store somewhere in the CBD that would print her manuscript cheaper.
Libby walked toward the main shopping precinct, and asked someone walking by if they knew of a print shop. Within minutes she was inside one, listening to the whirr of the printer, waiting for her novel to be printed.
The saleswoman handed over the document and Libby carefully tucked it into the folder she'd brought before putting it in her bag. She thanked the woman and left, her bag significantly heavier than it had been.
Now she had to find something to eat. Her stomach grumbles had turned into roars.
She bounced down the footpath, her spirit high at her achievement, but there was no one to share it with. Checking her watch she noticed it was too early to call her best friend Piper in Houston and her other friends closer to home would still be at work. She whipped off a couple of text messages, standing under the shelter of one of the buildings so she didn't get wet.
It would be nice to talk to someone about it, share her excitement, but she'd have to wait. Now, she really did need to eat.
On her way to the print shop, she'd passed the Vietnamese restaurant she and Kate had spotted earlier in the week. Libby made her way back to it and went inside to be greeted by the hum of diners and the smells of coriander and noodles. Landscape paintings covered the walls, lush pictures of country Vietnam. The tables were square and covered in white tablecloths, and about two-thirds of the restaurant was full. Her stomach grumbled and she put a hand to it to settle it.
"Can I help you?" the waitress asked.
"Table for one, please." It didn't bother her to dine alone. She'd use the time to study her fellow diners and make notes about their body language and quirks. Something might even give her a story idea.
"This way." The waitress weaved through the tables toward the back and Libby followed.
"Libby! Hey, Libby, over here." A voice yelled over the din somewhere to her right.
Libby scanned the restaurant to see Kate waving frantically and both George and Adrian watching her.
Adrian's gaze was direct – not quite the cheetah of pre-performance, but there was an intensity to it.
Her heart thudded hard.
It wasn't because she was glad to see Adrian. No, it was from surprise.
That was her story and she was sticking to it.
Chapter 7
Libby didn't want to interrupt but she couldn't ignore them. Changing direction, she made her way to their table and smiled at Kate. "Hi. Did you have a good day?"
"It was the best. We went to Luna Park and went on the dodgem cars and the Ferris wheel and the railway and the ghost train." Kate paused to take a breath.
"Sounds like great fun."
"It was."
The waitress came up beside Libby, obviously impatient to seat her so she could serve her other customers.
"I'd better take my seat. You can tell me all about it tomorrow."
"Who are you eating with?" Kate asked, craning her neck to see past Libby.
A flush crept unwelcome onto Libby's face. "No one. I've finished the first draft so I'm treating myself to dinner."
"You should join us."
To Libby's surprise it was Adrian who offered the invitation, not Kate. He seemed a little startled himself.
"I don't want to interrupt."
Adrian shrugged. "You can celebrate with us. We've only just ordered and it's way more than we can eat."
"Go on, Libby. You can tell me about the book." Kate grinned.
Libby narrowed her eyes. "I'm on to you. You want to find out what happens before anyone else does." She smiled.
"Yep." Kate smiled back.
"Then I'd love to join you."
The waitress next to her sniffed and left the table. Libby ignored her and took the spare seat next to George. As she placed her bag at her feet, she bumped Adrian's knee. He jerked away.
"Sorry." She fought a battle with her embarrassment and lost. "My bag's heavy."
"Women and their bags," George said. "They have everything but the kitchen sink in them."
"In my case it's my manuscript," Libby said.
"So can I read it?" Kate leaned forward.
Libby grinned. "Nope. There's a bit more work to be done on it before it's truly finished." She paused. "Besides, it's not the next one in the series. You'd need to read the one that is at the publisher now."
"It's still worth celebrating," Adrian said.
He was right. Libby beamed at him. There were days when writing was a slog, and to finally be able to write "The End" was fantastic.
"How long has it taken to get to this point?" he asked.
"Six months." Her smile died a little. She'd have to write the next one a lot faster if she was going to meet her new deadline, but she was getting quicker. If she did the edits in a month, she'd be close to her target. If only she could afford to write full time.
The waitress arrived with drinks and Libby ordered a glass of white wine. Adrian sat back sharply. Unsure what she'd done to cause such a reaction she looked around and noticed everyone was drinking soft drinks.
Suddenly she remembered the clause in her contract. She wasn't allowed to drink alcohol when she was looking after Kate. She'd never drink while she was working so she'd not paid much attention to it. Maybe she wasn't supposed to drink around Kate at all.
Adrian let out a deep breath as if forcing himself to relax and asked, "Didn't you say you now have to write a new book every six months?"
"That's right," she said.
"That's going to be a bit of a struggle, isn't it?" George asked with a slight hint of doubt in his tone.
It was, but she didn't need him reminding her. "I don't think this manuscript will need too many edits, which means I can start the next novel early." She shrugged. "Besides, sleep is overrated, isn't it?" She winked at Kate.
Adrian chuckled. "I remember quite a lot of sleepless nights when I was trying to break through," he said. "You can't have forgotten them, George."
George groaned. "I've tried to block them out of my memory," he said and smiled Libby an apology. "I'm sure you'll manage somehow."
"How long did it take you to break through?" Libby asked Adrian, curious to know some more about this private man.
"Seven years." Adrian didn't hesitate. It was obviously something close to his heart.
"Seven long years and some real dives," George reminisced. They shared a grin.
"What do you mean by dives?" Kate asked.
"Dark, smoky and a little run-down," Adrian said.
Kate tilted her head to the side. "Why did you go to them if they weren't nice?"
Adrian paused, obviously figuring out some way to explain. "I wanted to practice performing in front of people, and when you're not well known, it's difficult to get a gig in the nicer places. I needed to let word of mouth grow so more people knew about me."