I don't know anything about being a celebrity.' 'Celebrity.' He hunched his shoulders as though the very sound of the word made him cringe. 'Some celebrities love talking to their fans.' 'How was I supposed to know?' she said, trying to slow her breathing. He came closer, so close his chest was almost pressed against her and she had to look up to see his face. 'Pass interference is was what you were supposed to do,' Shawn said.

'Very good,' she laughed, when they were out of earshot. Shawn deftly avoided looking in their direction, pretending to find something interesting in a store window. Riley could see her breath in front of her as they walked and it was cold enough for her to want to shove her hands deep in the pockets of her coat, but she didn't.Ī couple walking in the opposite direction with a cocker spaniel on a leash recognized him and with saucer eyes, stopped dead in their tracks. In the air between them was something heavy and unspoken. His stride was slow and he walked close enough to her that their fingers occasionally brushed. Shawn took care of the bill, and tipped everyone, even taking a minute to thank the chef before they walked out into the night. I think there's a Starbucks a few blocks over.' Thank you for this, for talking to me on such short notice.' 'Don't get all businesslike on me now. 'A few restaurants in Manhattan maybe.' Riley laughed. 'I don't know about 'the world',' Shawn said. 'Knowing that the world will bend to your will just because you're famous.'

'Even if we stay till four in the morning.' 'They won't ask us to leave,' Shawn assured her, leaning over the table and lowering his voice. Riley glanced around and for the first time realized how late it was.

K Smooth, she now realized, had not been adequately captured by the Newsweek feature. This was supposed to be a mildly entertaining interlude during which some materialistic, profane youngster described his Bentleys and showed off his most recent jewelry acquisition. I hope reading it is as much fun as writing it was.-Nia- Excerpt: Of all the things she expected from this interview being challenged on an intellectual level was not among them. So while just about everything I write may include a romance at its core, I don't write traditional romances there will almost always be some infusion of other types of relationships and how they evolve. I loved exploring the complicated relationship between Shawn and Riley in Commitment, but I also enjoyed examining the themes of friendship, sexual attraction, platonic love and parenthood with their friends and family. Not just romantic relationships, but those between friends, siblings, parents and children, and even rivals. Relationships are what make life most interesting.

Commitment by Nia Forrester