Annabel tried to mimic Effie''s delicate gestures, but quickly realized it was hopeless-gracefulness wasn''t something you could just fake.


    Fenton couldn''t help himself; he burst outughing. "Nice try, Annabel. You look like a clown at a royal ball."


    Annabel''s eyes shed with fire. “Shut up, Fenton!"


    He justughed harder, refusing to let her save face. But in the middle of hisughter, he inhaled a lungful of spicy pepper fumes and started coughing so violently he nearly choked.


    This time, Annabel got her revenge, giggling as he struggled to recover.


    "You guys are so boring. I''d rather readics than sit here with you."


    She peeled off her disposable gloves, pulled out her phone, and started scrolling through aic. She''d never been that interested inics before-could take them or leave them—buttely, all the younger folks at her office had been obsessed with a certain author. They imed theics were hrious and addictive.


    The stories were wild, full of drama, and there was always this unlucky viin who got repeatedly humiliated. The author''sst series had just wrapped up, and a new one had dropped earlier this month. Annabel had been too busy to check it out, but now, with nothing better to do, she dove right in.


    A few pages in, Annabel froze.


    She nced up from her phone, staring at Effie, then at Lyman, then back at her phone, her expression growing more incredulous by the second.


    "Annabel, what are you doing?" Lyman grumbled, clearly annoyed. It was hard to enjoy your food with someone staring at you like that.


    Effie, too, gave Annabel a puzzled look. Something was definitely off.


    Annabel finally said, "I''m reading thisic and the main characters look just like you two! The heroine''s boyfriend cheats on her with her sister, so she marries some guy she barely knows, and-surprise-they fall in love after the wedding." Effie''s cheeks turned pink. Cheating boyfriends, revenge marriages, idental romance-it was hard not to see herself in that setup.


    "And even though it''s drawn as aic, everything about it feels like the two of you."


    "Let me see," Fenton said, craning his neck to peek at her phone.


    Annabel shoved him away, nearly knocking him off his chair.


    Fenton red at her. "What''s your problem?"


    Annabel shot back, "You''re the problem! Who said you could look at my phone?"


    He snorted. "It''s not like I haven''t seen worse."


    Something sly flickered in Annabel''s eyes. "Well, you''re not touching my phone, got it?"


    "Even if you begged me, I wouldn''t want to," Fenton huffed, refusing to back down.


    Effie leaned in, genuinely curious. "Annabel, can I see it?"


    Annabel hesitated. She leaned in close and whispered, "Uh... it''s kind of... not really for all audiences."


    Truth was, this author specialized in rather risquéics-gorgeous art, gripping storylines, but also scenes that were anything but PG. The series had be a sensation overseas, partly because of the beautiful, sometimes explicit, content.


    The main couple couldn''t keep their hands off each other-shower, balcony, kitchen table, even the washing machine. There wasn''t a single ce the hero hadn''t, well,


    "tested the limits."


    Sometimes,te at night, Annabel would find her mouth dry, a certain thirst


    building inside her. And the way she wanted to quench it... well, that took two people.


    Effie flushed, her gaze flickering away. "Maybe I''ll pass, then..."


    "Oh,e on, you have to look!" Annabel insisted, nudging her. "Honestly, women can be just as naughty as men. We just like our eye candy ssy and good-looking. The hero in thisic is insanely handsome-the only guy I''ve ever seen who couldpare is my brother. Seriously, real life doesn''t stand a chance."