I sighed, resigned. I wasn’t going to get any work done today.
“We should get going,” Killian said. “Emily has stuff to do.”
“Really?” Mir looked surprised. She’d probably assumed, just like Molly Patterson, that I wouldn’t have a set work schedule because I worked from home.
I didn’t have a schedule I had to stick to, per se, but that didn’t mean I could just, on a whim, dedicate a bunch of hours in my day to something else. Like hanging out with an unexpected guest.
“But I thought you’d have to work on your next album,” Mir said in a small voice, sending a glance in my direction.
“Well, yeah, but I’m not drumming or playing the guitar.”
Although he didn’t say it like he was upset—after all, it’d been a fair deal—I suddenly realized just how long I’d made him stay away from his music. If somebody forced me to stop writing for four weeks, I didn’t know how I’d react.
And he had to leave in less than two months. I had no clue how rock bands worked, but as Axelrod’s frontman, Killian would probably have to bring some ideas.
“Why don’t you go do what you need to do for your next album?” I suggested.
“But…”
I inhaled deeply and waved him away, firming up my resolve. Otherwise I might have chickened out of spending time with Mir, who seemed like one of those exhausting super-extroverts. “I’ll hang out with your sister while you work, if that’ll make you feel better.”
Killian looked at me, as anxious as if he were leaving an unsupervised child near a pool. “Are you sure?” he said.
“Very. Go on. Go do your…drum thing or whatever. I’m not writing today, so it won’t bother me.”
“You should listen to her. She knows everything,” Mir said with a smug smile.
Killian looked torn, but I made a shooing motion with my hand. He started walking backward, his eyes on Mir. “Behave,” he warned her.
“You know I will.” She stuck her tongue out, then grinned.
“Don’t bother Emily too much. She has a lot of work to do even if she’s not writing today,” he said before shutting the door behind him.
Mir turned to me, an apprehensive look on her face. “Are you really busy? I mean, I can just go hang out at a café or something so you can get stuff done.”
I smiled. At least, unlike some people, Mir recognized when she might be wrong about my workload and was willing to adjust her expectations. “It’s okay. I just turned in a book. So I can afford to take some time off while waiting for editorial feedback. And besides, it’s only one day.”
Her eyes lit up. “Your editor is sooooo lucky. She gets to read your book before it gets released.”
“I’m sure she doesn’t feel that way.” Especially given that I had never gotten an editorial letter shorter than ten pages from her. The woman was thorough, but then, I paid her to be thorough. I would’ve fired her otherwise.
“We should celebrate,” Mir said, clapping her hands together like an excited child.
“Celebrate what?”
“You finishing your book! Don’t you do that after each book?”
“Um… Not really.” I did once, when I finished my first book, but never since. There were always things to do after I turned in a manuscript, and the more I wrote, the more of a routine it became. I blinked at her flushed face. Was it going to destroy her illusions about me and my career?
“But it’s such a huge achievement! If you don’t celebrate, I mean…” She trailed off, clearly at a loss. “What do you do when you’ve accomplished something awesome?”
My idea of celebration usually involved some beer, ice cream and a good movie or a book. Possibly, if I felt extra indulgent, sleeping in for the following day or two. But I was pretty sure that wasn’t what Mir had in mind.
“We should go out!” Mir said. “Sam’s Brew has karaoke night today, which means Hop Hop Hooray beer specials. It’s an awesome bar, and everyone loves it. I’m sure Killian would be happy to come along, too,” Mir added, probably as a final convincing.
I looked at her awkwardly. I’d never been to Sam’s Brew—hadn’t been planning to go—and karaoke wasn’t my idea of fun. But didn’t seem possible to say no to that expectant face. She looked like a puppy waiting for a walk. “Yeah, sure. It sounds…great.” As long as you don’t expect me to sing.
“Yay!” She clasped her hands together. “Do you have anything to wear?”