As promised last month, this is the first part of the second short story from The Art of Proposing. A preview of the next story will be sometime in November.  When exactly?  I guess that will be obvious when it shows up.

Cameron’s Turn

    Katie got a face full of steam when she opened the oven.  The enticing aroma had caused her to lean forward too quickly.  She stepped back as she pulled the door all the way down, then pulled the pan out and set it on top of the stove.  She inhaled again.  The barbeque sauce was tangy enough to tickle her nostrils.  The kabobs looked delicious, just a hint of char on the edges.  They also looked like more than she could eat.

    She should have asked Cameron to join her.  Maybe.  Something had been weird when they talked about her plans for dinner.  He’d been duly impressed with the advancedness of using the broiler.  She couldn’t quite put her finger on why it had sounded as though he didn’t want to be invited.  He hadn’t actually said that.

    Katie grabbed a bagged salad from her refrigerator.  The meat was enough of an adventure.  She frowned at the salad that was also enough for two.  She could wait a day and have the same meal again on Friday.  It was always nice to have an easy dinner on Tichu nights.

    Her phone rang as she was sitting down to eat.  It was probably Cecelia.  She kept the ringer silent for unknown numbers, and her sister was the gabbiest person she knew.  It was a good guess.

    “Hey, Cecelia.”

    “Hey.  Did I catch you after dinner?”

    “I’m just starting,” Katie said.  “But I don’t mind talking while I eat if you don’t mind me eating while we talk.”

    “Sure.  It’s kind of late for you though.  Something complicated tonight?”

    “Not complicated exactly.  I had to let the meat soak in the, uh…”

    “I’d say you were turning into a real gourmet if you knew the word marinade,” Cecelia teased.

    “It was on the tip of my tongue.”

    “Is Cameron there?”

    “No.  Not tonight.”

    “Uh oh.”

    “There’s no uh oh,” Katie said.  “We don’t have to see each other every night.”

    “It’s not uh oh that he’s not there.  It’s uh oh that you sound wistful and defensive about it.  What’s wrong?”

    Katie made a noise to indicate she was chewing.  She was chewing and congratulating herself on the flavor.  But she was also buying herself a few moments to think.  Cecelia was easily her most drama-loving sibling.  Katie had to be careful what she said to her.  This time, she’d forgotten to be careful how she said it.  There couldn’t have been more than the faintest whiff of defensiveness.  And Katie didn’t think she sounded wistful at all.  “Nothing’s wrong,” she said.

    “And now you sound more defensive.  Why did you say you don’t have to see each other every day as though… I don’t know, but I didn’t say that.”

    Katie took another bite.

    “You might as well tell me,” Cecelia said.  “The baby is already asleep so I have lots of time to talk and bug you until you tell me.”

    “Fine.  But it’s really nothing.”  Katie paused for a quick sip of water.  “I was talking to Cameron at lunch about what I wanted to try for dinner.  He said something about how he hoped I would enjoy it.  I don’t remember his exact words, but something about the way he said it sounded like he was preempting an invitation.”

    “Why would he do that?”

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To read the rest of the story, preorder the ebook:  Apple, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo.

As promised last month, this is the first part of the first short story from The Art of Proposing. A preview of the next story will be posted on October 20th. Don’t forget to check it out.

Logan’s Turn

    Logan almost expected Violet to hand him a script when she opened the door.
    She said, “Hi. Come on in.” There was nothing in her hands.
    Logan followed her inside and closed out the chill.
    She sat in the old armchair and nodded for him to pick a spot on the couch. It felt like a performance review. When those were obligatory and unhelpful. “So I’m not sure how much I should beat around the bush here,” Violet said. “What exactly did Audra tell you?”
    “Too much,” Logan said. Audra had told him too much.
    “She wants you to propose on Valentine’s Day.”
    “Yes, I know.” He sounded more irritated than he’d intended.
    Violet smiled understandingly. She knew it wasn’t directed at her. “I kind of thought sending you to me for advice was overkill, but I didn’t realize she’d already spelled it out so clearly.”
    “You know Audra,” he said. Violet had been her best friend for almost five years. “She always spells things out more clearly than she thinks she does.”
    Violet laughed. “You should’ve heard her trying to tell me how to casually slip in how she mentioned she was hoping for a proposal without saying that was the whole reason you were here. I mean, I gave you credit for knowing I wanted to talk to you because Audra told me to.”
    He’d have felt a little weird about accepting an invitation to come over when Audra wasn’t home if he hadn’t known exactly what it was about, but knowing what it was about was the problem. “Since I am here, maybe you wouldn’t mind trying to offer some real advice?”
    “I can try.” Violet looked interested but not eager, which made it easier to put her in the middle.
    Not that Logan would have put her in the middle if Audra hadn’t already done it. He punched at the pillow next to him as he spoke. “This is what Audra said. She said, ‘You didn’t do it at Christmas. You didn’t do it on New Year’s or my birthday. I know you know what day is Monday.’ Then she moved on like she’d just dropped a little hint for me to ponder when I knew what she was saying even if she didn’t use the word propose and even before you wanted to talk about ‘something.’”
    “Hmm. Now I’m wondering how Audra got to be so persuasive. I mean, we both knew this was unnecessary and yet here we are.” Violet motioned between them with a bemused expression, as though she was trying to remember how she’d agreed.
    It was simple. Audra always tried to make other people happy, which made them want to return the favor. “I was already… I got the ring before Christmas,” Logan said. “But then I worried it was too soon after I…” He paused, not sure if Audra had told Violet about his accidental proposal and not wanting to go into it if she didn’t know.
    “After you sort of accidentally proposed?” she supplied, not bothering to hide how funny she thought that was.
    Audra had definitely told her. He nodded and continued. “I thought she’d want me to ask on a day that was already significant, but if it was too soon after the other thing, it might sound like a joke. Valentine’s Day is the last in a string so… But then she pointed that out. She told me when to do it and that she’s looking forward to being surprised. I can’t do both.”

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To read the rest of the story, preorder the ebook on Apple, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo.

Bonus Content

Q. When was the last time you interviewed yourself?

A. Are you sure I’ve done that?  It sounds a little crazy.

Q. You definitely have.

A. I’m not admitting anything except that I don’t remember the last time.

Q. I think that means it’s time to do it again.  Don’t you?

A. No.

Q. It’ll be fun.  People love your self-interviews.

A. I don’t even know if self-interview is a real thing.

Q. It is.  And people love it.  This is an opportunity to spread joy.

A. You’re going with spreading joy as the reason I need to do this?

Q. Don’t you want to spread joy?

A. Go ahead and ask a question.

Q. When is your next book coming out?

A. The Art of Friendship will be available very soon, on August 27^th.

Q.  Hey, that’s real news.  This interview thing was a great idea.  That’s book four in the Romance Arts series, right?

A.  Yes.  It’s the last book in the series but not quite the end of the series.

Q. Wait.  It’s not the end of the series?  That sounds like bigger news.  What do you mean?

A.  I’m writing a collection of short stories, proposal stories, one for each of the four guys in the books.

Q. Proposal stories!?  Where and when can I read those?

A. The first part of the first one will appear…

Q. Wait!  Can I guess who is going to propose first?

A. You could, but I wouldn’t be able to say if you’re right or not.  We don’t want to spoil anything if anyone else wants to guess.

Q. I’ll guess later then, but I think it might be the guy who sort of almost proposed in the book.  What were you saying about the first part of the first one?

A. It’ll be posted right here September 20^th.  And then in October, I’ll post the first part of the second story.

Q. What about the rest of the first one!? 

A.  Well, this is where some people might think I’m being a little mean.  I’m going to make you wait until December.  A sample of the third and fourth stories will be posted in November and December.  And right after that, just in time for Christmas, the full collection will be available as an ebook.  I’ll provide links to make it easy.

Q. Can I guess what you’re calling this ebook?

A. Sure.

Q. Is it Four Amazing Proposals from Four Amazing Guys?

A. Uh… that’s a little long and… Remember how the other titles all start with The Art of?

Q. Right.  Theme.  Is it going to be called The Art of Popping the Question?

A. I actually thought about that for about five seconds.  But it’s too… not right.  The collection will be called simply The Art of Proposing.

Q. That would have been my next guess.  So when do we get to do this again?

A. Well, I did just explain how the posts are planned through December.

Q. Cool.  More joy in January?

A.