The Mistletoe Inn by Richard Paul Evans

very happy with me if he read it.”
    â€œWe’ll address that later,” Karen said. “And what are you most proud of?”
    â€œI don’t mean to boast, but I won a writing contest last year sponsored by the Lions Club.”
    â€œVery good,” Karen said. “Next . . .”
    Honestly I didn’t hear many of the other introductions as my mind was elsewhere. Actually it was mostly on elliptical guy who, unlike me, seemed very much interested in what everyone else had to say. When it was his turn to speak he looked around the group. It seemed to me that his gaze lingered a bit on me.
    â€œOkay, this feels like an AA meeting. Hi, my name is Zeke. I’m a writing addict.”
    The women to both sides of me giggled.
    â€œFirst, I have some advice for Marci. Daddy doesn’t need to know—that’s what noms de plume are for. As for my writing, all I really know about the book I’m working on right now is the price: twenty-four ninety-five in hardcover.”
    Everyone laughed again.
    â€œOh . . . and what I’m most proud of is my eight years of sobriety.”
    Everyone clapped.
    â€œThank you,” Karen said. “Hopefully by the end of our retreat you’ll have more of your book to share than a price.”
    â€œThat would be remarkable,” he said.
    He glanced over at me and I smiled.
    The next two women to speak, Adele and Maureen, were friends who had come to the conference together. They were co-writing a paranormal romance about shark vampires who were, to quote Adele, “stud-muffin surfers by day, and toothy good-guy sharks by night who keep the waves safe.”
    When it was my turn to speak, my mouth went dry. “My name is Kim,” I said. “I’ve written just one book. I mean I’ve almost written it. It’s not completely finished, but I’ve already amassed an impressive collection of rejection letters.”
    A few people laughed.
    â€œIt’s a Christmas romance called The Mistletoe Promise. ”
    â€œProvocative title,” Karen said. “Tell us about it.”
    â€œIt’s about a lonely woman who is recently divorced and has had a string of bad relationships. Then during the holidays, she’s approached by a man with a proposition: he doesn’t want to spend the holidays alone, so he proposes that they pretend to be a couple until December twenty-fourth. Since he’s a lawyer, he writes up a contract.”
    â€œInteresting premise,” Karen said. “I’ll be curious to see where you go with that.”
    â€œMe too,” I said.
    This time almost everyone laughed, even though I hadn’t meant to be funny. I glanced over at Zeke. He was looking at me, but I couldn’t read his expression.
    After we finished going around the circle Karen said, “Okay, we’re just about out of time. When we meet tomorrow I’m going to have you read a passage from your writing, so pick something that you feel comfortable sharing,hopefully something from the book you’re currently working on.
    â€œAlso, here at the Mistletoe retreat, we believe in the buddy system. So before we break today I want each of you to find a writing buddy, someone from this group, to work with for the next six days. This buddy is someone you will share your writing with and get a little constructive criticism from before sharing with the rest of us.
    â€œThere’s an odd number of people in the room, so one of the groups will need to be a threesome, in a strictly nonromantic sense. Since Adele and Maureen are working on the same book, I suggest that the two of you find someone to join you. We have five minutes before we dismiss, so please don’t leave until you’ve found a buddy. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    We all stood, looking around at each other. Adele and Maureen quickly cornered Marci and I noticed Heather moving in on Zeke when he walked up to me.