Page 30 of Paper Hearts & Plot Twists

“Well it started in the library . . .”

“There was this crazy escape room . . .”

Emily and Miles stopped and turned to one another with wide eyes. Vanessa narrowed her eyes and looked from Emily to Miles, “It sounds like you aren’t too sure how this all happened.”

“Miles tells the story so much better than I ever could,” Emily admitted and turned to face Miles. He remained silent a moment and she jabbed an elbow into his side. She was vindicated by the grunt that action earned.

“Right,” Miles said. “It all started at the escape room event the library was hosting.”

“Yes,” Emily said, nodding her head. “We both signed up for the same event.”

“And we were in the same group, solving the room. Emily was convinced that the escape room required a code from a rare book and we searched for two hours through some of the old tomes, which allowed us ample time to get to know each other.”

“I was wrong about the clue,” Emily cut in with a shrug. “It turned out the clue we needed was hiding under a desk Miles found by chance, but he was such a good sport about the holdup that I offered to get him a coffee.”

“Coffee turned into dinner, and dinner turned into dating, and the rest is history,” Miles continued. He bent down and pressed his forehead to Emily’s. Their lips were a breath away from one another.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Emily breathed, staring into the green flecks in Miles’s hazel eyes. She pulled away after a moment, aware that they had an audience, the whole reason they were putting on this show.

Vanessa stood in front of them, arms crossed over her ample chest. She tapped her high-heeled foot and stared back and forth between the two before settling her attention back to Miles.

“Miles, how about you come to lunch with me? For old times’ sake, you know. We could talk about your upcoming book and cover model needs.” Vanessa reached forward and laid a hand on his bicep, leaving it there.

“That’s not a good idea,” Miles said, shutting it down, while shrugging his shoulder to dislodge the hand.

“Yes, it is,” Vanessa argued. “It doesn’t have to be personal. We’ve been business partners much longer than we’ve dated.”

“It’s a moot point, because Emily and I already have lunch plans,” Miles said. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Emily’s forehead before continuing, “We want to make the most of our time together at the conference, and I’m not going to go back on plans with my girl.”

“Ugh, fine,” Vanessa snapped. “I’m going to find an author who wants to work with me.“ She turned and walked away, nearly stomping as she left the vicinity. Emily watched until she turned a corner, blocked by stalls and booths set up by other authors.

“Come on,” Miles urged, his breath ghosting along Emily’s neck. She shivered, nodded her head and started to move, following Miles to his table. Emily and Miles worked beside each other, quickly laying out his packets, both silent, stuck in their own thoughts.

Emily leaned against the table as she started to straighten them out, trying to make the whole table look as good as possible to reflect positively on Miles. She jumped when she felt his warm weight against her back as his arms came down on either side of her, trapping her in.

“How’s it coming?” he whispered in her ear. Emily felt herself involuntarily relaxing into his warmth.

“All finished,” she answered. “I think your table looks the best in this section.” She glanced to the right and to the left, taking in other author tables. None of them looked bad, but Miles’s was full and more put together. He took a lot of pride in preparing for these events and he also had the income to make preparing in this way feasible.

“This is a pretty nice view,” Miles mused. Emily turned her head to see what he was looking at and flushed when their eyes met. She quickly turned her head away and stepped to the side, and his arm dropped without resistance, easily allowing her to escape and pull herself from the embrace. She wondered what kind of book scenario he was writing about where he needed to test actions like that. She’d have to read his next book to find out.

Chapter 22

“What’s next?” Emily asked. “It looks like you’re all set up.”

“Next we get out of here.”

“Out of here? To where?”

“That would be telling.” Miles smirked while his eyes twinkled in amusement.

“Well it’s a good thing I’m asking you to tell.”

“Just come with me,” Miles said, holding out his hand.

“Where am I following you?” Emily asked again, though her desire to know didn’t halt her desire to go with him. She placed her hand in his and allowed him to drag her out of the conference room, down the hall, and to the entrance to the hotel.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out.” He pulled her over to a black SUV and held the door open. Emily slid in and he closed her door. He went to the other side and slipped in beside her.

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