Free Heartsville 05 - Bloom Box (Cate Ashwood) by Heartsville Page B

Affection left them starving and in need of coffee. A quick trip to the café was the perfect ending to the day.
    “You know that author you like?” Will asked before taking a bite of his cream cheese pumpkin muffin.
    “Which one?” Milo asked.
    “The one who writes the mystery books?” Will said, gesturing to the poster tacked to the community board.
    “Shepherd Knight?” Milo supplied before he even turned around.
    “That’s the one. I think he’s coming to do a signing next week—”
    “Here? He’s coming here? To Heartsville? Shepherd Knight is coming here. To Heartsville. No way. There’s no way that’s happening. He’s too big, too popular. Oh my God. Shepherd Knight is coming to Heartsville.”
    Will laughed. “He is. He’s signing at Bookmarked. Do you want to go?”
    Milo planted his hands on his hips. “Does the Pope shit in the woods?”
    “Umm, I don’t think that’s a thing….”
    “Of course I want to go. I could be in a coma and still want to go. Shepherd Knight is amazing. His series? It’s the best thing I’ve ever read. The guy is a genius. I can’t believe you haven’t read his books. Now you’re going to have to. I’ll pick them up from my place and bring them over today. You have to start now so you can finish them all before we go. You’re going to love them, I just know you will.”
    “Okay. We could make a night of it, maybe get dinner beforehand to celebrate? The meeting with Adam went better than I ever could have hoped,” Will said, the same feeling of excitement he’d had that day washing over him.
    “We’re basically going to rule Market Street,” Milo agreed, never taking his eyes off the Shepherd Knight flyer.
    Will chuckled. “Definitely.”
     
     
    The afternoon of the signing, Will and Milo closed down the shop early. It was a special occasion, after all. Not to mention that Milo was more distracted than usual and had managed to drop and smash not one, but four terrariums. At that point, Will called it a wash and locked the door.
    They had reservations they probably wouldn’t need at Market Street Bistro, early enough to be at the signing in plenty of time. When Will finished closing up the shop and doing his end-of-day totals, he climbed the stairs to find Milo without pants and waist-deep in a pile of clothes.
    “You’ve been out of my sight for literally seven minutes. How have you created this much of a disaster already?”
    Milo lifted one eyebrow. “It’s my superpower. You’ve known me long enough that this shouldn’t surprise you. I’ll clean it up later, I swear. I just need to find something that isn’t going to make me look like a preteen fanboy fawning all over the place. I know there’s no stopping my mouth and the words that will fall out of it are going to be asinine, but I can at least look like I’m not a complete idiot.”
    Will walked over to Milo and wrapped his hand around his bicep, pulling him away from the pile of clothes.
    “Jesus, Milo. You’re shaking.”
    “I’m excited.”
    “Come here,” Will said, pulling Milo into a loose embrace. “He’s just a guy.”
    “Shepherd Knight is not ‘just a guy’,” Milo said disbelievingly. “You don’t get it because you haven’t read his books, which is just insane. He’s amazing. The most amazing author ever. I still feel like I’m dreaming that he’s coming here.”
    “You’re going to be fine. He’s going to love you. Everyone loves you. But I love you most of all.”
    “You’re a dork.”
    Will feigned hurt feelings, but Milo kissed him and all hurt feelings, pretend or otherwise, vanished in an instant.
     
     
    Dinner ran long on account of there being too many things to choose from on the menu, but eventually they were standing at the end of a very long line that wound through the shop and out the front door. Milo fidgeted with the cuff of his shirt, twisting the fabric between his fingers.
    “Are you okay?” Will asked. “He’s going to love