Page 32 of Only for Tonight
“No.” Leo’s grin is wicked. “This is special. Just for you.”
When the moderator asks James about his favorite type of scene to narrate, his eyes find mine again. “I’m particularly fond of scenes where the characters can’t touch each other but desperately want to. The tension of wanting something you can’t quite have yet. The anticipation of what’s to come.” He pauses, and I swear his lips quirk slightly. “The waiting is half the pleasure.”
Oh my God. He’s torturing me on purpose.
After the panel ends, we grab coffee and head to Isabelle Stone’s talk. The room is already crowded—she’s popular, and her readers are devoted.
“You okay?” Leo asks as we settle into our seats.
“Nervous. I’ve been reading her books for years. And now I’m going to be in the same room as her.”
“She’s going to love you.” His hand finds mine and squeezes. “You’re amazing, sweetheart. Don’t forget that.”
When Isabelle walks out, I’m glued to every word. She talks about her rockstar series, about writing why-choose romance, about creating characters that readers fall in love with.
Near the end, the moderator opens it up for questions. My hand twitches—I want to ask something, want to tell her how much her books mean to me—but I can’t. Fear holds me back.
What if I sound stupid? What if I can’t get the words out?
“Ask your question,” Leo murmurs.
“I can’t. I’ll sound stupid.”
“You won’t. What did you want to ask?”
“How she writes intimate scenes with multiple partners. How she makes it feel emotional instead of just physical.”
“That’s a great question.” Before I can stop him, his hand goes up.
“Leo!” I hiss.
Too late. The moderator points at us. “Yes, the gentleman in the third row?”
Leo stands. “My girl here is too nervous to ask, but she wanted to know how you approach writing intimate scenes with multiple partners. How you make it emotional instead of just physical.”
My girl. He said it again. In front of hundreds of people.
Every head turns to look at us. At me.
Isabelle smiles warmly. “That’s a wonderful question. Thank you for asking.” She launches into an answer about emotional connection and trust between characters, and when she finishes, she looks directly at me. “I hope that helps. Come find me at my signing later. I’d love to chat more.”
Oh my God. She wants to talk to me.
The rest of the afternoon blurs together. We wander the convention, and Leo buys me books I hesitate over. We run into Luca surrounded by people wanting photos, but he waves and calls out something that makes Leo laugh and me blush.
Around lunchtime, we find James at the coffee shop reviewing notes. We order sandwiches and sit together like this is normal, like I haven’t known these men for less than twenty-four hours.
“So,” Luca says around a bite of his sandwich. “Tonight.”
Three sets of eyes turn to me.
“What about tonight?” I ask, even though I know.
“Dinner in the suite,” James says. “All of us.”
“We could go out to a restaurant or?—”
“Or,” Leo interrupts, “we could get takeaway, eat in the room, and skip straight to dessert.”
