Page 40 of Paper Hearts & Plot Twists

Emily laughed and started to relax, enjoying the easy acceptance she’d been given by the two women. The three of them ordered drinks and talked the evening away, discussing books they loved and authors they were excited to meet.

Not many authors came to the cocktail hour and the ones who did were immediately swarmed, but Emily found she didn’t mind, having enjoyed an evening with the two Anderson women. Emily wrote down Sydney J Shields, the author of The Honey Witch, to look up later, though.

“So obviously we are boring when it comes to the relationship front. Katherine and Joseph have been together for basically their whole lives, and definitely my whole life. Lucas and I have been together for years, so tell us about your relationship. We need gossip and to live vicariously through someone else,” Amy demanded.

Emily flushed bright red. She’d like to blame the alcohol, but that would be silly, considering she’d only made it through two drinks. “I don’t really have a relationship to talk about,” she mumbled, though her mind immediately flipped to Miles and the way he made her stomach flip-flop every time she saw him.

“There was definitely some hesitation there,” Amy prodded. “Spill the beans.”

“It’s just a crush,” Emily defended. “There’s this guy I’ve been spending time with. Sweetest guy in existence. Funny. Smart. Kind. Completely out of my league.”

“You’re pretty great yourself. Don’t discredit all you have to offer,” Katherine rebuked. “This man would be lucky to have a wonderful young woman like you.”

“That’s not even on the table,” Emily said with an awkward shrug. “He hasn’t expressed any interest in me, and I don’t want to make what we have between us awkward by bringing up my feelings and having him reject me. That sounds like an awful way to go about this whole situation.”

“How do you know he’d reject you? What’s given you that idea?” Amy asked. She called the bartender over and ordered new drinks for the table. Emily tried to protest, she couldn’t afford another round of drinks. Her inclusive trip only covered so many, but Amy insisted, paying for them in the process.

“I don’t have any proof that he’d reject me,” Emily said, rolling her eyes, “But he’s a great guy. He’s the catch of all catches, and I’m me. Of course he wouldn’t choose me over all of his other available options. He used to date Vanessa Du Pont.”

Katherine chuckled, “You’d be surprised. At least keep an open mind.”

“Sure, I can do that,” Emily agreed, though she knew there was no chance, but it was easier to humor these two lovely women than explain to them how impossible that was. She wasn’t them. She wasn’t tall. She wasn’t elegant. And she certainly wasn’t refined. Of course they’d say that when they were exactly the type of people who’d fit in with Miles, Mason, and their larger-than-life personalities. She was a lower-class minimum-wage worker. They were from different worlds.

Emily continued to enjoy her evening with the Anderson women, though she couldn’t get her mind to let go of thoughts of Miles and thoughts that if Katherine and Amy were right she could very well be the one for him. Emily told her new friends goodnight and headed back to her shared room with Miles. Her face flushed as she remembered the conversation she shared with the Anderson women. She didn’t know how she’d be able to look him in the eyes after that.

Chapter 28

“Miles,” Emily called as she entered their shared room.

“Hey,” he said, standing from the desk where he was sitting with his computer. “You were taking forever to get back. I considered going out to search for you to make sure you were okay.”

Emily’s already flushed face brightened and she looked pointedly at the floor. “I was at the authors cocktail party and met a couple nice ladies, so we had a few drinks and chatted a bit,” she explained.

“I forgot about that event,” Miles said. “They tried to recruit me for it, but I turned them down. I’m not a night owl.”

“You were not the only author who turned it down,” Emily said with a giggle. “There were quite a few fans, and a very limited author presence. But it was still a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the time chatting while I was there.”

“You’re definitely drunk,” Miles responded. He laughed a deep throaty chuckle and sat on the chair he’d recently vacated, gesturing toward the chair across from him for Emily to sit.

“I only had a few drinks,” Emily protested. She was not drunk, but she supposed she had quite a buzz going on right now and it felt rather nice. Being in Miles’s arms right now would also be rather nice. She stared at his arms, wondering what it would feel like for them to wrap around her and hold her close. Stupid Vanessa already knew what that felt like.

“If you only had a few, you can’t hold your alcohol,” Miles teased. “Tell me about the ladies you spent time with.”

Emily regaled Miles with tales of Katherine and Amy Anderson. She shared some of the stories they’d told about their spouses, and some of the book and author recommendations she’d weaseled out of the two.

“We really should get some sleep,” Miles mused. He internally cringed at the hour. Tomorrow’s wake-up call would be hell.

“We should,” Emily agreed, though she knew she was pouting. She didn’t want to sleep. She wanted to continue to enjoy her time and keep talking to Miles.

Both of them got ready for bed and when Emily came out of the bathroom, Miles was lining up pillows down the center of the shared bed. She stood by the door and watched for a moment before she blurted out, “The pillows take up so much room. It would probably be more comfortable without them.”

“They do take up room, and it would be nice for each of us to have more space, but are you comfortable with that?” Miles asked.

“I’m comfortable with that,” Emily said. “You’ve been the perfect gentleman the entire time I’ve known you.”

Miles flashed Emily a grin then grabbed the row of pillows, tossing them toward the floor. Emily stared at the suddenly empty bed. She continued to stare as Miles lifted a corner of the covers and got comfortable on half of the bed. She glanced between him and the remaining half, feeling as though it were getting smaller and smaller with each passing second.

She looked into Miles’s eyes, so warm and inviting. He lifted the covers, and gestured her forward. Emily settled into the bed, flushing at being so close to Miles. She reached out to the side table and turned off the light. Beside her, Miles breathed gently, reminding her that he was one roll away.

---