Beauty & the Biker by Beth Ciotta

Author:Beth Ciotta [Ciotta, Beth]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Contemporary
Goodreads: 20868956
Publisher: BC Ink
Published: 2014-10-22T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

“I know you’re not big on drawing castles and unicorns and fairy godmothers and the like,” Bella said as Savage settled on the sofa, “but maybe you’ll feel different after you read one of my stories. Starting with the one inspired by the fairy you sketched for Melody.”

Pulse zipping, Bella pulled one page from her folder, the tale she’d typed last night and printed this morning. She passed it to Savage. “It’s just one page. A short story. Melody and I have this thing we do sometimes. She draws a picture. I make up a little story. Usually on the spot and on the fly, so…” She cleared her throat. “I’m rambling.”

Gaze on the page, he smiled a little while reading: Freda the Fairy and the Magical Man.

Bella crossed her arms and rocked back and forth on her bare feet.

“It’s cute. And there’s a moral. Nice.”

Now Bella smiled. “See what we can do together?”

He passed her back the page. “That fairy was a one-time deal. A fluke.”

“I disagree. It’s just a part of yourself that you haven’t explored. You haven’t had the proper inspiration. Until Melody. She sparked it and I can make it burn brighter. In turn, you’ll make my stories shine.”

“Bella—”

“Just give me a chance. This isn’t easy. Sharing my stories. The last time I… Never mind.” Carson was history. “Anyway, you freed my paralyzed creativity. Now I’m hoping to inspire you. I have eight stories in this folder. Only four are complete. I’m not a literary genius or anything, but I do think I’m a decent storyteller. I certainly have a lot of ideas and loads experience if you factor in the bazillion fairy tales I’ve read over the years. I—”

“Bella.”

“What?”

Leaning forward, Savage held out his hand. “Give me the file.”

The file, she realized, was clutched to her chest as she paced the length of his living room…rambling.

Hot faced, Bella stopped at Savage’s propped feet. “Okay. Here they are,” she said as she held out the expandable and exploding purple folder. “Hard copies of all eight stories. What there is of them anyway. Like I said, only four are complete. Please don’t feel like you have to read them all or even one in its entirety—even though they’re pretty short. You can skim. See if anything catches your eye or interest or—”

“Bella.”

“What?”

“Let go of the file.”

Oh, geez. She had a death grip on the stories of her heart. She let go and resumed her pacing. “Take your time.”

“Take a seat. Relax.”

“I can’t.”

“Then take a walk. If you want me to read—”

“Fine.” She dropped into the super-padded, oversized club chair. Supple leather like the sofa. Cool to the back of her thighs and her bare arms—offsetting the sweat trickling along her hairline. The room was air conditioned. She should have been comfortable, but she was anxious. Other than Carson and the publishers who’d rejected her, no one had ever read her tales except the Inseparables and they’d only read the four completed manuscripts. She’d never been brave enough to share her works-in-progress.

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