Welcome to the Neighbourhood

Chapter 14

"And finally...I'm so excited to introduce the author of Daisy Dixie: Like Water and Oil...Dylan Hazel!" boomed the voice of the bookstore manager.

Dylan moved to the front of the store, wearing her best PR smile. The store manager was hosting the event that evening. She was nice, amiable. Dylan liked her. Unfortunately she'd immediately forgotten her name as nerves had consumed her and it was too late to ask her again.

Dylan waved anxiously as the small crowd cheered and clapped in their seats. Well, the crowd wasn't as small as she was told it would be, there were dozens of them packed into tight rows of seats across the bookstore floor. All smiling, clutching a copy of her book. Mainly young women, but she couldn't see the full scope. She spotted Paige in the front row who shot her a sympathetic thumbs up, Dylan was suddenly very grateful to see a friendly face.

She was doing a Q+A session at an indie Brooklyn bookstore, followed by a short reading and some book signings. She'd done a few of these types of events now, the enthusiastic publicity team at her publisher had insisted she was a natural – but Dylan felt awkward, stilted. As lovely as it was to meet people who enjoyed her writing, and it was truly heartening, the quick fire nature of the questions made her feel like she was at a job interview – she was terrified of giving a bad answer, or disappointing the person who asked – they might love Daisy, but her creator might let them down.

Still, at least she looked good. Paige had helped her pick out an emerald green wrap dress and black wedges. The green complimented her chestnut coloured hair, bringing out her eyes. She felt confident in that area at least, although the shoes pinched her feet slightly. Thankfully most of the proceedings involved sitting down. And she was right by home, so could sneak away afterwards and collapse into bed.

"Hi everyone" she addressed the crowd warmly as she sat down in her designated chair. "Thank-you all for coming, it's really wonderful to see so many faces".

It wasn't. It was scary.

"Alright! Let's dive right in with a few questions" the host chirped as she scanned the group. "You there, in the red sweater".

"Hi Dylan" said a young blonde woman as she stood up keenly. "I love the Daisy series so much, I think this is my favourite instalment so far..."

"Oh that's great, thank you" replied Dylan, her heart swelling with pride. The woman smiled back at her.

"...So I love the dynamic between Daisy and Rusty and their squabbling at the start. Enemies to lovers is my favourite romance trope because it's so much fun. I just wondered what or who inspired Rusty? He's got a bit of Mr. Darcy in him I think. Grumpy and brooding but so sweet under the surface."

The rest of the audience chuckled and made noises of agreement.

Dylan grinned. "Well, clearly we're kindred spirits as I love enemies to lovers too. There's a lot of potential for a slowburn and it's so satisfying when they finally get together. And yes you're absolutely right, there's a lot of Mr. Darcy in Rusty. And also..."

She trailed off, wondering how much to share.

"...and also I..er...had a similar dynamic with an ex in my own life. So there's a..tiny bit of him in Rusty, too" she said quietly.

Another lie. Rusty was actually almost entirely Bucky.

The crowd tittered amongst themselves, a low level of chatter rushed through them.

"Ooh, he must've been fun" another woman cried out as the crowd giggled.

Dylan smiled thinly at the heckler, then briefly caught Paige's eye who gave her a sympathetic look.