Page 103 of More Than a Spark

“Yes, hell yes, I want to stay here!” He looked around the room. “Holy shit, then I don’t have to quit the band or leave Ryder!” His eyes grew glassy and he sniffled. “I can have it all, for real!”

Cash clapped his hands together over his chest, then pressed his lips into them, his eyes twinkling.

My heart soared. Holy fuck, I wasn’t going to lose Milo after all. “Malcolm, this is great news!” He’d gone to bat for us. Mom must have talked to him after our therapy session. Finally, I could count on them. The phone blurred in front of me. “Thank you so, so much. How did you pull this off?” I threw my arm around Milo’s shoulders and squeezed him.

“You’re very welcome. I told you, I’m on the board of AllAction. I spoke to the CEO, who happens to be a golf buddy of mine when I’m in Seattle, and we worked it out. It’s not unusual for them to have remote employees.” He huffed. “Milo, let this be a lesson to you. When you get a job offer, you can negotiate things. You don’t have to take the first offer they throw at you. Especially when the company wants you as badly as they do.”

Milo freed a soft giggle and his smile stretched across his face. “Thank you so much, Malcolm. I’ll remember that, though I doubt I’ll be looking for another job for a long time.” He planted a swift kiss on my lips.

“You’ll have to go up to Seattle for about a month after the holidays though, so be prepared. They’ll put you in their corporate housing while you’re there. But after, you’ll come home,” Malcolm said.

“This is so cool.” Milo scanned the room, all the guys with wide smiles on their faces, looking as if they were about to explode. “I’ll have to make a home office somewhere.”

“We can set the practice room up so if we’re not practicing, you’ll have room in there for a desk and shit.” Silas beamed at Milo. “We’ll make this work.”

“Okay, it’s a done deal. Should I contact Lynda about this? She’s the HR person I’ve been working with.” Peeking at me, Milo squeezed my thigh.

“She’ll get ahold of you on Monday with some new paperwork to sign.” He huffed a laugh. “I’m really happy for you kids.”

“Ryder, honey, everything’s going to work out. I see you,” Mom said. “I love you.”

“Thanks, Mom. Love you, too.” As my heart swarmed with warmth, I said, “Thank you both. I think we have a new kind of party to get back to.”

“You have fun,” Malcolm said. “Bye.” The call ended.

“Holy shit you guys, we’re not losing Milo!” Axel jumped his way from the kitchen to the couch, grabbed Milo’s head and kissed his cheek.

All the guys roared with cheers, jumping and patting each other.

Milo burst out in giggles. “I’m so fucking happy! You all have no idea!”

I pulled him into my side. “Oh, I think I do.” I pressed a hard kiss on his lips. “I love you, so much.”

He turned to gaze deeply into my eyes. “Love you, too.”

“Party time!” Silas shut off the game and tapped on his phone, starting up Green Day’sHoliday. The guitar riff and drum beat of the song filled the room. He jumped off the couch and held up his fist. “Time to break out the tequila!”

EPILOGUE

MILO

FOUR MONTHS LATER

Ihauled my large suitcase off the baggage carousel at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport and set the rollers on the ground, then brushed a lock of hair from my forehead. I was finally home after a month in Seattle, training and working on the new game concept Dice had come up with. The guy was a genius, and I’d had some real talent all around me up there. The last couple of months had been a whirlwind, with me graduating, quitting my intern job, and getting through the holidays with our families. I could finally rest.

Warm hands covered my eyes from behind. I startled.

“Guess who?” Ryder’s deep voice asked.

My heart bloomed with emotion. “My baby?” I twisted around and threw my arms over Ryder’s shoulders. “Fuck, I missed you.”

“I missed you more.” Hooking his arms around my waist, Ryder lifted me up and spun me around. When he set me on the ground again, he cupped my cheeks and pressed a long kiss on my lips. As the kiss broke, he gazed deeply into my eyes, skimming his thumbs over my cheeks. “Seriously though, I’m so glad you’re home.”

“It’s good to be here.” Leaning in, I kissed him again. We’d FaceTimed almost every night while I was gone, but having him in the flesh was so much better. “You have the next four days off, right?”

“I do. Perfect timing.” He grabbed the handle on my suitcase, then my hand and led me toward the elevators to the parking area.

I gazed out the windows at the edge of the building into the dark night and the cars driving slowly by to pick up arriving passengers. That was supposed to be us. “You parked and came inside.”

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