Page 5 of Paper Hearts & Plot Twists

“So what’s this great mysterious gift you’re both hinting at?” Emily asked. She leaned her elbows on the table and stared ahead at Uncle Joel imploringly.

“Well, it started at work the other day,” he explained. “I was helping a man with his 1960s Jaguar, and we started to talk about our families. I mentioned my beautiful niece who’s quite the bookworm, and he told me about this opportunity he has through work.”

“What kind of work does he do?” Emily asked. She loved hearing Joel’s work stories. He always met the most interesting people, and his passionate explanations were entertaining.

“He does a lot of work in advertising,” Joel said. “His company was given some chances for a drawing, but it’s not really my area of interest. He figured since you love books, and because I fixed his baby, he could give me his chance to enter.”

“A drawing to do with books?” Emily asked. “Color me intrigued.”

“So I gave him our contact information and entered your name. I didn’t tell you about it because I really didn’t think anything would come of it, but here we are with a winning entry.”

“You still haven’t told me what the prize is,” Emily said. She bounced in her seat in anticipation. Whatever it was, it sounded like it was perfect for her, and she was so excited for something fun to break the monotony, even if the “fun” had to wait until after her birthday in several weeks.

“So impatient,” Joel teased. “I’m getting there. Didn’t anyone ever teach you that patience is a virtue?”

“They must’ve forgotten that lesson,” Emily snarked back, though the smile on her face betrayed her amusement.

“That’s probably my bad,” Joel said with a chuckle. “Anyway, back to my story. It’s some kind of all-inclusive trip to a book conference. I have the email with all of the information, and all of that would make more sense to you than me. The main gist is that you have airfare to Denver, a hotel room, and a ticket to the fancy conference going on there in April.”

Emily’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. “That’s Cupid’s Quill Symposium,” she whispered. “You really got me tickets to Cupid’s Quill Symposium?”

“We sure did. Come on, tell us who your favorite uncles in the world are?”

She laughed with pure joy, greatly needed after a hellish day at work. Then she threw her arms around both of them and had to fight tears. This was the conference of the year that she could never afford.

“You know you both are! I love you both so dang much. Thank you.”

“Ah, you know you’re the light of our lives,” Joel said, sounding a bit emotional himself. She was going to the best conference ever. Bring on the crappy customers. She no longer cared. Nothing was going to bring her down from this high ever again.

Chapter 3

Serene was one way to describe Patricia Bennett’s neighborhood. Living in upstate New York, she had a beautiful home, surrounded by other beautiful homes. It was a peaceful drive, with empty streets, no crime, and little to complain about. Miles preferred their old Colorado home to it, honestly, but Patty tended to make any space home.

Miles pulled into the familiar driveway. Waiting on the porch with arms crossed stood his twin brother, looking the picture of impatience.

Mason started speaking before Miles opened the door fully, “Look who decided to join the party.”

Miles pulled himself from his Mercedes SUV and looked up at his brother who was walking toward him from the little two-story house their mother owned. Mason’s long legs carried him toward the car in quick strides. Miles grinned at his twin and started to walk, cutting the space between them. Miles opened his arms wide as Mason threw himself forward. They hugged for a moment before pulling away.

“Long time no see,” Miles said. “You’re looking pretty good.”

“You only say that because you look the same,” Mason said with a roll to his eyes, though judging by the smirk on his face he wasn’t at all annoyed by the comment.

“I don’t know,” Miles said. He reached forward and playfully punched his twin’s stomach, where underneath his clothing hid an impressive six-pack that hurt his knuckles a tad, though he’d never admit it. “I definitely don’t have anything like that.” Miles patted his own stomach, which was a bit softer than his brother’s due to his sedentary career choice.

“That’s because you’re a super nerd,” Mason said. He threw an arm around Miles’s shoulder, and Miles returned the favor.

“Better than an airhead jock.”

“Former airhead jock,“ Mason said with a laugh. “I retired three years ago, remember?”

“If you retired you wouldn’t attend every sporting event under the sun.”

“Haven’t you heard? Everyone wants to know my expert opinion. I’m called the NFL darling by some magazines!”

“They just haven’t realized what an airhead you are,” Miles teased, shaking his head.

Mason playfully bumped against Miles with his shoulder. “Come on. Mom’s waiting for us. She has some busy plans for her birthday and we’ve been waiting around for you to get here.”

---