Page 47 of Paper Hearts & Plot Twists

Chapter 36

“How did you like the panels I chose?” Emily asked as they left the conference room area of the hotel and went back toward their room.

“It’s opened my eyes to a genre I was never really interested in,” Miles admitted. “Honestly I should’ve looked into panels like this before.”

“Why do you say that? You don’t write anything remotely like them.”

“But romance isn’t universal to the romance genre,” Miles said. “I think my books would get a better reception from a much wider audience if I incorporated better romance, deeper romance, into my work. As it is, I treat those components like an afterthought, but I’m finding that for many people it needs to hold a deeper thread in the storyline.”

“I’ll admit that your writing would be more up my alley if you implemented a change like that,” Emily said. “Romantic fantasy holds a special place in my heart.”

“I can make that change. I might need to do some research and liberally use my beta readers, though,” Miles admitted.

“You’re a good author. You’ll easily be able to manage this challenge.”

Miles smiled down at Emily. “Do you have any other events planned before the dance tonight?”

“I don’t think there were any other panels I was interested in,” Emily mused. She scrunched her face up in thought and then shook her head, confirming her lack of plans. “But there are several things I still need to get for the scavenger hunt. I’ve been slacking.”

“What do you have left?”

“I need to get stamps from the water features. There’s a stamp for the indoor pool, the outdoor pool, and the poolside bar.”

“Let’s get your stamps, then,” Miles said, already leading her in that direction.

They were close to the indoor pool, just a flight of stairs away. Emily dug through her bag for her scavenger hunt booklet.

“This place is amazing,” she said as they stepped through the doorway into the humid space. Water arched through the air, while giant slides took up air space. Kids and adults were scattered through the room, making ample use of the space. Emily pulled her gaze away to go to the entrance where there was a table to the side with stamps that had a scavenger hunt sign over top.

“Outside pool next?” Miles asked.

Emily nodded her head and started in that direction. She quickly had two more stamps added to her book. They left the pool area and went back to the hallway.

“If that’s all, I have the perfect afternoon pick-me-up for the two of us,” Miles announced with a smirk and a wink. He placed a hand on Emily’s back and continued to lead her toward the elevator.

“Am I privy to these plans?”

“They rely on your agreement, so I suppose so,” Miles teased. “Did you happen to bring a swim suit with you?”

Emily blinked, realizing where Miles was going with this. “I did . . .” she said slowly. “The suggested list included a swimming suit, though I didn’t think I’d have time to make use of it.”

“Good thing you have me here helping you make the time,” Miles teased. He led them back to their room, unlocked and opened the door for Emily. “I’m grabbing my suit and getting dressed. Find your suit so we can get going.” Miles followed through, pulling a pair of black shorts out of a small pile of clothing in his suitcase. He went into the bathroom and returned a moment later wearing the shorts and a thin white T-shirt. Emily wondered if he was going to wear the T-shirt in the water or not. Either way, she was sure she’d be getting quite the view and was going to embarrass herself staring.

While Miles was getting changed she pulled out her suit. She hadn’t actually worn the bikini in a couple of years, not having a lot of time for swimming with work and life, but she hadn’t changed size much in that time frame, and thankfully the adjustable ties were perfect for changing bodies.

Emily went into the recently vacated bathroom and quickly dressed herself. She stood in the bathroom and stared in the mirror, feeling all kinds of insecure. She pressed a hand to her stomach, all too aware of the extra pounds she’d put on over the last few years. She turned and wondered if the stretch marks on her thighs would be as noticeable to him as they were to her. Emily frowned and wished she would’ve bit the bullet and spent some money on a new swimming suit, one that covered much more than this bikini, but it was too late for that, and she’d already agreed. She couldn’t go back on her word now.

Emily took a deep breath and grabbed a T-shirt and shorts to cover herself for the walk to the pool. She ran a brush through her curls, wincing when she encountered a couple of tangles. Emily French-braided her length of hair, tying it off. Once she had nothing left to do, and she’d kept him waiting long enough, she drew in one final deep breath and left the bathroom. Miles wouldn’t see her in her swimming suit yet, not until they actually reached the pool, but she was getting uncomfortably close to that moment and she wasn’t ready for it.

“Ready to go?” Miles asked as she entered their room. He had no right looking so delicious.

“Of course,” Emily said, though she didn’t feel even close. She fell in step beside him and they made their way out of the room and down the hall toward the elevator. The pool was on the first floor, and trip down seemed to take an eternity, yet fly by all at the same time. Much too quickly for Emily’s taste, she followed Miles through the door to the outdoor heated pool. Bright sunshine hit their faces as they stepped out onto the patio.

A few people were already taking advantage of the space, a couple sunbathing on recliners, while a few more were at the poolside bar. A group was making use of the large hot tub. Emily looked at the hot tub longingly. She’d definitely get into it after a quick swim with Miles. She loved warm baths, but her tub at home barely reached past her bellybutton when filled so she needed to choose between submerging her legs or her upper body when she was in it. A nice huge bathtub or a hot tub was one of the luxuries she dreamed of owning one day, though that was a distant future at this point.

Emily glanced at Miles and flushed bright red when she noticed he’d moved to one of the lounge chairs and was pulling his T-shirt up over his head, leaving him bare-chested. She allowed herself a moment to let her eyes rove over his body, taking in those broad shoulders and the dusting of hair over his chest. While Miles didn’t have a visible six-pack, she could make out strong muscles hiding beneath the surface. Seeing Miles now made Emily want to snuggle in close and soak up the warmth and safety he provided. She remembered how perfect it felt being held in his arms and she wanted more.

Her eyes flickered up to his amused eyes and she flushed deeper red than she thought was possible, being caught in her perusal. She wondered what he was thinking. She turned away, facing another lounge chair and pulled her T-shirt from her body, followed by unbuttoning her shorts and pulling them down her legs. Emily shifted from foot to foot and decided that standing here exposed was NOT the way to go, and she needed to get into the pool pronto.

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