Page 24 of Paper Hearts & Plot Twists

“You don’t know her like I do,” Miles pleaded. “She’s a shark who has smelled blood. She doesn’t give up. That’s great in the right moment, but this is not one of those.”

“So what do you propose, that we pretend like we’re a couple anytime she’s around? Continue this charade the entire conference?”

“Yes,” Miles responded with a wide grin. “That’s exactly what I propose. It would help a lot, and maybe get her attention onto someone else.”

“There’s no way I can follow through with that,” Emily said.

“It’s one weekend,” Miles cajoled. “You can hang out with me for a few events. I’ll introduce you to some authors, and take you to tasty food events. I’ll make it worth your while.”

Emily stared back at Miles a moment. “Introduce me to authors?”

“Yes, whoever you want to meet, I can introduce you.”

“I suppose it wouldn’t be too difficult to pretend we’re a couple,” Emily conceded.

“That’s the spirit!” Miles said. He wrapped his arm around Emily once more, and they started walking again. “Let’s go enjoy our dinner, and we can discuss how to make this work.”

“You owe me some nice wine,” Emily murmured as she followed him through the hall.

“Bottles and bottles of it,” Miles assured her.

“And some introductions.”

“The authors will leave knowing your name and feeling like they’re parting from a friend,” Miles promised with a roguish grin.

“Well, fine then,” Emily said. Miles pulled out a chair at the table and Emily sat, a little surprised when he pushed the chair in a smidge. Nobody had done that for her before, though she didn’t really have enough experience to tell what normal or not normal dating adventures were. Emily had one high school boyfriend who’d asked her out the day after Valentine’s Day. They’d been an awkward couple all the way up until prom in May, where they’d had a fumbling disaster of a date that ended with the worst evening in history. He’d broken up with her over text when she got home, though judging by how bad it had been, she should’ve done the honors. Emily had decided from that point on that relationships weren’t worth the effort, not when she had her own important goals to work toward.

Miles sat in the seat next to Emily, his movement bringing her back to the present. “Have you ever dined at a five-star restaurant? This dinner replicates that experience.”

“I haven’t,” Emily admitted. Walking through the room the tables had looked fancy, but now that she was sitting, it was much more than that. She didn’t understand why each place setting had so many pieces of silverware in so many places around the plate, but she had a feeling it was all for a reason and she was going to make a complete fool of herself.

“What’s wrong?” Miles asked. His hand reached out and brushed against Emily’s cheek, drawing her gaze from the mess of silverware to his concerned hazel eyes.

“I’m going to look like an idiot here,” Emily whispered. “I shouldn’t have come. I should’ve stayed and watched movies.”

“Darlin’,” Miles purred, “I’d hate for my girlfriend to miss out on such a delicious dinner. Also, you don’t give me enough credit. I’d never let you look like an idiot. I’m here, and I’ll always help. Follow my lead and you’ll do fine.”

“Your lead, got it,” Emily said, her eyes hardening in determination. She could do hard things.

“Miles, introduce us to the companion you’re hogging over there.”

Speaking across from the two of them was a bear of a man with hair resembling a lion’s mane with brown curls surrounding his head, and a long straight beard with a strip of white down the center.

“Of course,” Miles responded. “This is my lovely girlfriend, Emily, who I’m lucky enough to spend some time with tonight.” Miles gestured from Emily to the man. “And Emily, this charming fellow is Rick. We’ve been in the same writing circuit for a while.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Emily said.

“How did Miles land a woman like yourself?” Emily wondered if that was meant to be a compliment or an insult, but she brushed the thought away. It wasn’t worth thinking about when she had so much else to focus on.

“It must’ve been fate,” Miles teased with a wink. That was one way to put their crazy tech glitch and roommate situation.

“How long have you known each other?” Emily asked.

“Rick was actually one of the authors who provided a lot of guidance and support for me when I started my career,” Miles explained.

Rick shrugged, as though he were shaking off the compliment.

“What do you write?” Emily asked. She couldn’t recall an author that went by Rick besides Rick Riordan, and this man obviously wasn’t him.

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