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“Thank you. And thank you for the advice. It actually helped.”

“Always does.” She winks, clearly believing I spent the entire reading imagining everyone in their birthday suits.

Little does she know, I barely noticed anyone else. My attention kept finding Milo in the crowd, taking in every little reaction. The smiles. The surprise. The occasional crease between his brows when a scene got to him.

Yeah. Not a bad reading at all.

“Now, how about we go celebrate?” Sienna asks, pulling me away from my thoughts.

“I’m game if you are.” Jalen grins from ear to ear. “A new bar just opened on Main Street that I haven’t checked out yet. How about I drive you ladies over there and we make up for lost time?”

I’m about to answer when movement at the back of the room catches my attention. Milo’s eyes lock on mine before he slips out into the lobby.

“Actually, I’m kind of beat. Rain check?” I say, my feet already carrying me in his direction.

“Are you sure?” Sienna calls after me.

“I’m sure!” I shout back with a wave. “See you tomorrow.”

“Okay. Bye, then.”

I can hear the sulk in her voice, but my mind is already somewhere else.

Unfortunately, getting out of the dining room isn’t as easy as I hoped. Every few feet, someone stops me to tell me how much they enjoyed the reading or how much one of my books meant to them. And as desperate as I am to catch up with Milo, my readers deserve better than a rushed conversation.

So I stop. I listen. I make sure each of them gets my undivided attention. After all, without my readers, there would be no Max Usher.

By the time I finally reach the lobby, I find Milo standing at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for me. Our eyes meet, but neither of us says a word. He simply starts up the stairs. And I follow.

When he reaches the landing, he turns and holds out his hand. I look down at it for a second before slipping mine into his, threading our fingers together. With a soft smile playing on his lips, we walk side by side toward the second floor.

However, by the time we reach my room, my earlier confidence has completely abandoned me. Milo waits while I unlock the door, his thumb tracing slow circles against the nape of my neck. It takes me two attempts to get the key into the lock, which I’m desperately hoping he doesn’t notice.

The door finally swings open, and Milo walks in first. I follow and close it behind us.

For a moment, neither of us moves. I stay with my back against the door, watching him stand in the middle of the room.

There’s something strangely intimate about seeing him here, occupying this small space that has been mine alone since I came back to Fairhope. Especially after spending the entire night separated by a sea of people.

Now there’s no one. Just him and me.

Milo turns to face me. He looks at me for a long beat before opening his arms. That’s all it takes for me to cross the room and go straight into them, resting my head against his chest as his arms wrap tightly around me.

“You were phenomenal tonight.”

“Thank you,” I whisper.

Milo hooks a finger beneath my chin and gently tilts my face toward his.

“You really were, you know?” His thumb brushes slowly along my jaw. “I almost felt jealous of everyone in that room, hanging on your every word.” A small, almost wistful smile touches his lips. “It reminded me of when that used to be me. Sitting there, listening to you tell me your stories and forgetting everything else around me.” He searches my face. “You’ve always had that effect on me.”

“You don’t have to be jealous of anyone,” I say, reaching up to cup his face.

“No?”

“No, Milo. Can’t you see?”

“Tell me.” His gaze drops to my lips before lifting back to my eyes. “What don’t I see?”