Page 31 of Paper Hearts & Plot Twists

“Mysterious,” Emily mused. She grinned and looked out the window as the car moved away from the hotel. “I arrived so late at night I didn’t get to enjoy the view on the way here. This area is very pretty.”

“Denver’s one of my favorite places to visit. The weather is usually pretty nice, and there’s so much to do and see. The people here are very kind as well.”

“Good memories of Denver?”

“I actually spent a good chunk of my childhood here,” Miles explained. “My mom and dad went to high school together and settled here. Since we had finished high school, Mom moved away after Dad passed. It hurt her too much to be this close to all of those memories, but I still get a nostalgic rush every time we visit.”

“Mason and your mom, do you have any other family members hiding away?”

“Just those two. We’re a small family, but a strong one.”

“My family is the same,” Emily admitted. “My parents were too focused on their own demons to take care of a child, but I was lucky enough that my uncle stepped up and he, along with his husband, was a better dad for me than I could have dreamed.”

“What are your uncles like?”

“Where do I even start? Hmm, Uncle Joel is the one who’s always supported me through my most emotional moments, while Uncle Leo supports me by being the most level-headed member of our family. It’s an odd family unit, but it works for us.”

“It sounds perfect,” Miles said. He opened his door as the SUV came to a stop and went around to Emily’s side of the car, though she was already getting out herself. Instead, he offered his arm, which Emily graciously accepted. She wondered if he’d planned to open her door for her. “You talk a lot about these two uncles, but no one else. Is there a story behind that?”

“I suppose you could call it a story,” Emily admitted. “Though it certainly isn’t as entertaining as any story you could come up with yourself.”

“Anything you have to say is interesting.”

“You flatter me,” Emily said, the grin and flush to her face betraying her happiness. “My parents weren’t the best people out there. They were much more interested in their next high than they were in raising me, so my uncle stepped up and took me right out of the hospital, and he’s been raising me ever since. He was able to adopt me when I turned three, so he and his husband are basically my dads, because my actual parents have never done what parents should. There isn’t any other family to speak of.”

“I’m glad you ended up with your uncles then,” Miles responded. “The way you talk about them makes them seem like amazing people.”

“They’re as close to perfect as two people can get,” Emily admitted. “I really lucked out, because there are a lot of children with parents like mine who don’t get away.”

Ahead of them stood one of the most interesting buildings Emily had ever seen. It looked like something that belonged on some futuristic sci-fi planet. The top of the building jutted out in a variety of sharp angles in various directions, much wider than the bottom of the building. The whole thing was made of what looked like chrome and glass.

“What is this place?”

“Welcome to the Denver Art Museum, my lady,” Miles said, holding his arms wide as he walked backward in front of her.

“Oh wow, this is amazing,” Emily murmured. “I’ve always wanted to visit an art museum, but I haven’t been able to make it happen before . . .”

“Well today, madam, is your lucky day. And you have me as your tour guide. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

The two of them meandered through the historic halls, taking in the masterpieces that lined every open space. Emily loved the bright paintings and high contrast pieces. She wanted to stare and feel something. Miles was more enchanted by the history and the stories behind the pieces. The Denver museum had quite the collection of indigenous artworks that told a haunting tale.

“Would you like a photo together?”

Emily and Miles were standing in front of a wall mural exhibit of bright colors. They each turned toward the voice who posed the question. An older woman beamed at the two of them, her eyes three sizes larger behind her thick-lensed spectacles and the hair atop her head in bouncy white curls.

“A picture would be lovely,” Miles responded. He pulled his phone from his pocket, flipped to the camera, and handed it over to the woman.

Standing beside Emily once more, she asked him, “What are you doing?”

“Smile for the camera, darling,” Miles said in lieu of a response. Emily glared at him for a moment before turning toward the woman with a smile.

“Such cuties. I adore young love,” she said as she gave the phone back to Miles. Emily was surprised she didn’t reach out and try to pinch their cheeks. She ambled away and Emily leaned over Miles’s shoulder to glance at the phone. It was a really cute photo. She blinked in shock as he made it his cover photo.

He chuckled when he noticed her expression. “You’re my girlfriend, of course I have to have a photo of us on my phone.”

Emily smiled and rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “Because Vanessa is going to steal your phone to look at your screensaver?”

“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Miles said in a joking tone, though the glint of steel in his eyes showed he was serious.

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