Page 34 of The Candle Palace (Jamison Valley 6)
“You too. Bye.”
I tossed my cell phone onto the bed, relaxing back into the pillow.
I’d called Mom in hopes that it would pass some time, but it hadn’t been enough. I still had five hours to go until my date.
My toes bounced underneath the blanket covering my legs as the minutes dragged by. I’d never had a date on Valentine’s Day. Not a real date anyway. In Prescott, I’d become the go-to guy when one of my buddies had a date with a woman but she wouldn’t go without her friend. I’d been paired on three Valentine’s Day double dates with girls who had as much interest in sitting beside me as I had them.
But tonight, I was having a date with the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. A woman with vibrant green eyes and hair the color of a wheat field beneath an orange sunset.
A woman who was stealing my heart, one shy smile at a time.
SARA
Milo: All clear.
* * *
Me: On my way.
I poked my head through the stairwell door, taking a long look around the unit. There wasn’t a soul in sight, so I made a dash for it, walking fast enough to set a new speed-walking world record.
My chest heaved as I huffed it to Milo’s room. My arms were overloaded with paper bags. I was likely leaving a trail of grease in my wake. Though the bag of fries had leaked so much in my car—it would smell like a fryer for a week—I wondered if there was any grease left.
I didn’t care that I’d have to air out the car. Sneaking into Milo’s room was exhilarating.
A giggle bubbled up as I reached his door. I pushed the handle with my pinky finger and shuffled inside.
“Hey,” I breathed, hefting the bags onto his table.
“Hey.” Milo smiled, one as wide as my own. He was propped up in bed, the back raised higher than normal so he was nearly sitting up.
“I hope you’re hungry.”
He chuckled. “If what you have in those bags is what I think it is, I’m starved.”
The smell was probably going to seep into the hallways, bringing Connie in to investigate. But I’d bribed her with her own cheesesteak and fries to keep my date in Milo’s room tonight a secret.
She’d agreed that Dr. Vernon had been out of line by reporting my friendship with Milo when he hadn’t reported my friendship with Luna. Connie regretted telling Amber I sat with him during the evenings.
But I wasn’t upset with her, with anyone. I didn’t expect my coworkers to lie to our boss. And to avoid putting her or anyone else in an awkward position, I hadn’t spent any more evenings in Milo’s room.
Over the past week, I’d spent my days working on the other side of the unit as I had the weeks before. When I clocked out after my shift, I went straight home, walking the three blocks quickly in the cold February weather. On the two days I had off, I’d spent some quality time at home in my sweatpants with a cup of hot tea and the television on.
I hadn’t come to Milo’s room once, not physically.
But I had spent every night with him.
On the phone.
We’d talked for hours over the past week. I’d learned that Milo had grown up on a farm outside of Prescott. That a golden wheat field in August was one of his favorite views. That he’d gone to a small high school, graduating with a class of only twenty.
We talked about everything and nothing, and the last two nights, I’d fallen asleep to the sound of his smooth voice in my ear.
Screw you, Dr. Vernon. He could exile me from Milo’s room, but he couldn’t keep us apart.
And tonight, wild horses couldn’t drag me from this room. I’d worked the day shift, gone home and picked up my car. Then I’d driven to my favorite sub sandwich place and picked up sacks full of the best cheesesteaks in Spokane.
Milo couldn’t take me out to dinner, so I’d brought dinner to him.
