He pushed himself up from his chair and rubbed at his burning eyes.
“No office hours without an appoint—” he started, but when he opened the door, he found no student waiting for him. Instead, there stood Alex with a large shopping bag. Steam rose from the top of said bag, and Miles salivated at the escaping aroma. Lemon, garlic, spinach—he could feel the flakes of phyllo dough melting on his tongue.
“I thought you were working tonight.”
Then again, Miles couldn’t keep their schedules straight. As a first-year adjunct at NYU, he’d earned the shittiest schedule along with the shittiest office. But he was a professor of psychology at a university. And that? That wasn’t shitty at all.
Alex backed him inside. “I am,” he said. “Taking care of the deliveries tonight.”
Miles fell back into one of the two student chairs in front of his desk, and Alex took the one next to him, promptly emptying the bag onto a spot he cleared for the goods.
Miles blinked and scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “But you don’t do deliveries.”
Alex stopped what he was doing and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, kissing him until all the other questions melted away.
“I missed you,” he whispered against him. “So I snuck away for an hour. I’ve got everything under control.”
Miles sunk back into his chair and let out a sigh. Alex had worked Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. He’d worked nearly every holiday since Miles had moved to New York in June. But somehow they were making it work.
Alex opened a container of egg lemon soup and handed it to Miles with a spoon. He grabbed it greedily, finally aware of his hunger.
“Where’s my spanakopita?” he asked, the spoon still in his mouth.
Alex laughed and opened another container. “So demanding.”
It was moments like these that made it work. And Alex crawling into his bed each night, his arms wrapped around Miles each morning.
Moments like this—and food—and trust. Miles was still new to that last one, but it was growing on him every day.
“Happy New Year, Miles,” Alex said and kissed him again.
The happiest, Miles thought.
Alex pinched another of his savory pastries between his fingers and held it to Miles’s lips. “More?” he asked.
Miles smiled and licked his kiss-swollen lips.
“Don’t mind if I do.”
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Acknowledgments
Thank you to my agent, Courtney Miller-Callihan. I told you I wanted to write an ensemble romance from seven different points of view, and you believed that I could pull it off. To my amazing editor, Karen Grove, you had enough faith to let me try this crazy idea, and then you helped make it all pretty and sparkly. I’m so grateful to get to work with you.
My books wouldn’t happen without my wonderful critique partners. Natalie Blitt, Megan Erickson, Lia Riley, and Jennifer Blackwood, you all complete me. Also, Miles and Alex especially appreciate your help in their scenes.
To my family, thank you for your undying patience and support. S and C, thank you for your wide-eyed excitement every time you see a book with Mommy’s name on it. I love you times infinity.
Thank you to all the wonderful readers who fell in love with Jordan, Noah, Elaina, Duncan, Griffin, Maggie, and Miles in If Only and What If. Your emails and messages mean the world. So many of you asked if there would be a wedding in Greece, and I’m thrilled to say the answer is yes. Here it is. I hope you enjoy.
About the Author
A.J. Pine writes stories to break readers’ hearts, but don’t worry—she’ll mend them with a happily-ever-after. As an English teacher and a librarian, A.J. has always surrounded herself with books. All her favorites have one big commonality—romance. Naturally, her books have the same. When she’s not writing, she’s reading. Then there’s online shopping (everything from groceries to shoes) and a tiny bit of TV, where she nourishes her undying love of vampires and superheroes. And in the midst of all of this, you’ll also find her hanging with her family in the Chicago ’burbs.
Connect with A.J. Pine and find out more about upcoming books at AJPine.com.
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