Chapter 19

Kelsey POV

The small mountain bistro was cozy enough that Garrison Sterling looked faintly absurd sitting inside it.

Everything around him was warm and comfortably imperfect—mismatched wooden chairs, crooked photographs of the surrounding mountains, and copper lamps casting amber circles across the tables. Rain tapped steadily against the windows while Garrison sat across from me with his jacket hanging over the back of his chair and the sleeves of his white shirt rolled to his forearms.

Between us lay all three volumes of Eleanor, the historical trilogy Sterling Media had optioned alongside The Woman Who Walked Away.

Every one of them was covered in notes.

“You actually read all three books.”

Garrison looked up. “I did.”

“Start to finish?”

A faint crease appeared between his brows. “You sound surprised.”

“It's nearly eight hundred thousand words.”

“I noticed.” he almost laughed.

“Most executives would rea