Page 60 of Paper Hearts & Plot Twists

“Oh, Emily, I’m sorry. That must’ve been devastating,” Katherine said.

“That arse,” Amy mumbled.

“I suppose I need to talk to him. I don’t really want to leave this weekend and our relationship on the wrong note, but I’m dreading how it will go, and I’m dreading the smug smirk I’m sure Vanessa will be sporting the entire time.”

“Just punch her in the face,” Amy said with a shrug, ignoring the shove Katherine sent her way.

Emily belly-laughed, feeling lighter than she’d felt since the incident. She leaned against Amy and soaked up the affection these women offered freely. She’d face the music soon, but not quite yet.

Chapter 42

Emily squared her shoulders as she made her way down the hallway toward her shared room with Miles. Her mind was racing a million miles a minute, thinking of the upcoming confrontation she was about to have with him. She wasn’t sure how it would go, but couldn’t imagine it going well.

Hand shaking, she lifted the keycard, unlocked the door, and glanced around the room, but it seemed she’d beaten Miles back to the room. She had no idea what he was up to and probably didn’t want to know if it was a continuation of what she saw him doing last.

She began gathering her things together on her bed. She allowed herself to relax into the monotony of folding and fitting all of the books, clothes, toiletries, and other items into her suitcase, preparing for the plane ride home.

The creak of the door announced Miles’s arrival, and Emily’s shoulders tensed. She continued packing, not looking up or greeting him. She wouldn’t be able to keep it together if she looked at him right now.

“Emily, I’ve been looking for you. You disappeared after the signing,” Miles said. His voice sounded a bit frantic. She’d never heard him sound like that before.

Emily shrugged her shoulders in lieu of a response and continued to mechanically pick up and fold her clothing. The last thing she wanted was to answer with a quivering voice.

“Emily, what’s going on?” He walked closer to her until she felt him behind her, close, but not quite touching. Emily shrugged her shoulders again.

Miles wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his warm chest. Emily remained tense for a moment before she relaxed into the embrace, limply hanging in his hold. “Please tell me what’s going on,” Miles whispered in her ear. He sat on the bed and easily maneuvered Emily into his lap, grabbed her chin, and lifted her face so their eyes met. Emily stared into his hazel eyes. He looked so sincere.

Emily took a deep breath then whispered, “I saw you and Vanessa.”

“You saw me and Vanessa?” Miles repeated, his brows crinkled in confusion. Slowly his eyes widened and realization dawned. “At the end of the conference?”

Emily nodded her head.

“Emily, that wasn’t what it looked like.”

Emily scowled. “Then what was it, because it looked like you were smacking lips with your ex-girlfriend after having sex with me.”

Miles brushed a strand of hair from Emily’s face, pushing it behind her ear. “I know that’s what it looked like,” he said. “But that’s not what happened. She came up behind me and surprised me. She kissed me without any prompting or warning. It lasted a second before I pushed her away. I wasn’t a willing participant in that scenario.”

“You’re not lying to me?”

“Of course I’m not lying to you. I could never spend this time with you and go back to Vanessa. She’s not on my radar. No one else is on my radar. She came on to me. She means nothing to me. Let me prove it to you. Let me show you how serious I am about us.”

“I know we didn’t talk about what the sex meant, but it meant a lot to me,” Emily admitted, looking down at her hands.

“Emily, that wasn’t me trying to fill a need. It meant, and still means, a lot to me as well.” Miles lifted Emily’s chin, and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. He leaned his forehead against hers, lips a breath away from each other. “Somehow you’ve wormed your way into my heart in no time at all, and I’m not ready nor willing to give up that connection.”

“I don’t want to give it up either,” Emily admitted. “But what does this mean for us?”

“It means that we do what we need to do to make this work. We text each other. We call each other. We FaceTime each other. I visit you. You visit me.”

“You really mean that?”

“I do.”

Chapter 43

“You don’t have to go to the airport with me so early,” Emily said, biting her lip.

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