Writing a Wrong by Tiffany King

fumes. I knew that once we closed our eyes, we'd lose some of the precious hours we had left together. I'd yet to ask him how long he was staying, but it couldn't be more than two days since the Love Bus would be leaving then. I thought about asking him before he went to sleep, but I was afraid of his answer and didn't want to ruin the rest of our time together.
    I continued stroking the back of his hand as his breathing evened out and I knew he had fallen asleep. My eyes burned from fatigue, but I refused to close them for the longest time. I would have plenty of time to sleep once we were apart again.
    Eventually my heavy eyelids won and I fell asleep in his arms, wishing I could fast-forward time to the end of the tour so I could go home with him.

Chapter 10
     
     
     
    The good news was Alec planned on staying for two days, but as luck would have it, the following day was complete chaos. The official release of Wicked Lonely was met with an unexpected amount of fanfare from the moment I woke up. My room seemed to be a revolving door of people and activity. I spent the better part of the morning juggling social media sites as I tried to keep up with all the release day hoopla. Olivia was equally busy, finalizing remaining details for the tour and making sure my agenda was up to date.
    The fact that Alec had come to New York was a pleasant surprise for not only me, but for Chelsea as well. She seemed immediately taken by him, which wasn't surprising. Alec had a way of attracting attention from both men and women alike. Even Greg made a point of introducing himself to Alec and talking his ear off for nearly an hour. As my publisher's PR representative, Chelsea was especially pleased to know that Alec would be attending the Wicked Lonely release party with me later that evening. "Photo ops all around. What a fantastic opportunity," she said before calling my editor, Remi, to give her the good news.
    My mood was swaying back and forth like a swing. At times I was ecstatic that everyone seemed to be taking to Wicked Lonely, but then my eyes would move to Alec, who was never far from my side. I would feel sudden surges of panic, thinking about the hours that were whittling away.
    For his part, Alec never showed the least amount of disappointment over sharing our time together with the rest of my world. He remained busy on his phone for most of the day. I couldn't help wondering if he was texting someone or perhaps mindlessly playing a game and regretting his decision to come. I couldn't blame him. He'd sacrificed a lot to be here. 
    As we sat together on the loveseat while I continued reading through more Facebook notifications, Greg walked over and placed his hand on my shoulder. "You look tense. Can I get you something? Starbucks or maybe a fresh Diet Coke? I'll even hit the deli around the corner to get you one from the fountain. I know you prefer that over cans or bottles."
    My first instinct was to look at Alec, who barely seemed to notice as he continued with whatever had him occupied on his phone. "Uh, no, thanks. I'm actually okay right now." I shrugged my shoulder, hoping he would take the hint to move his hand.
    "You sure? Whatever you need. I'm here to please you."
    "Really, no. Thank you though," I said, focusing again on my phone. Thankfully he dropped the subject and walked back over to Chelsea and Olivia, who were busy reading reviews for the book.
    By early afternoon my inner introvert began to rear its head. I'd had enough of the people in my room and needed a moment to catch my breath without worrying about carrying on a conversation or watching everyone continuously updating their phones to check the ranking of Wicked Lonely.
    Olivia knew me well enough to see that I needed some time to clear my head, so she talked Greg and Chelsea into going with her to Starbucks to grab a latte. Once the coast was clear, the smile I'd been wearing dropped and I sagged back against the sofa cushions.
    Alec stood up and