Page 94 of Falling

I missed his warmth, but I loved seeing him be… Booker. Responsible and practical and steady even when no one else was. I was so lucky to have him.

“I told you I’d land it,” Seth said as Booker peered down at it.

Booker’s brows rose. Without a word, he reached into the net, fearless.

And pulled out a rotting boot.

EPILOGUE

BOOKER

“At least it’s not rock climbing,” Miles said.

“Is this better than rock climbing?” I asked, raising a brow at him.

“Well…” He pursed his lips as he looked at the plane in front of us on the tarmac. “We don’t have to go through with it. Evie will understand.”

That, I doubted. I didn’t think she’d force me to jump out of a plane, but I was still proving myself good enough for her big brother. Which was good and right. I was glad someone was looking out for Miles.

I might have wished for some other way to prove myself, but I’d learned by now that Evie didn’t do things by halves.

“Miles!” an unfamiliar voice said behind us.

Before I could turn, Miles had been swept up in a bear hug by a man closer to his age and bigger than me, both of them laughing.

“Book, this is⁠—”

“Joel,” I finished for him, offering my hand when he set Miles down. It couldn’t have been anyone else.

“Got it in one!” Joel said, taking my hand with a firm grip and not even trying to hide the way he was looking me over.

Another man, as big as he was and completely grey, sauntered up behind him. They were both dressed for the occasion.

Evie’s wedding.

The other bride—Zariah—was a wonderful woman, and the two of them were thick as thieves. Miles approved highly of her, not least of all because she’d read all his favorite books and they’d formed their own little private book club. That was good enough for me.

“You know, I knew from pictures that you were smoking hot, but it hits completely different in person,” Joel said.

The other man with him—Dan, obviously, his boyfriend-slash-sugar daddy—raised a brow, but his lips twitched. He leaned in and whispered something in Joel’s ear that made a blush rise up to the tips of his ears, turning them crimson.

I liked him already.

“You’ve got your own,” Miles objected, laughter in his voice. Affection for Joel radiated off him in a way I’d never quite seen before, the comfortable way it did between old friends.

He’d always told me Joel was more Evie’s friend than his, but given the way Joel beamed at him, the same affection coming off him in palpable waves, I didn’t think that was true. Maybe once, but not anymore.

I loved being around people who loved Miles. It was always nice to spend time with kindred spirits.

“I’m willing to share if you are.” Joel winked at me. Miles shoved his shoulder, and the two of them tussled for a moment—before being interrupted.

“Hey, I don’t want either of you bruised in the photos,” Evie called out, flicking Joel’s ear as she skipped up beside him. He yelped and covered it, laughing as he backed away a step from Miles, who was grinning from ear to ear.

I still remembered what he’d said, once, about turning into his real self. At the time, he’d definitely changed a lot, but he hadn’t been done. He was still growing, still blooming. It felt like a new pair of leaves grew on him every week.

I’d always thought he was beautiful, but I’d had no idea how beautiful he could be. Whenever his attention was on me, I felt like the luckiest man in the world.

Like right now.