Page 91 of Paint Our Song

Gil turns to the small group, says a few words with a gentle smile, and they nod, albeit disappointedly. He’s probably told them that they’re going to turn in for the night now. That doesn’t stop a couple of them from getting some last shots of their back.

He watches as Calvin approaches, his tie loose around his neck. Calvin tugs at it some more, taking a deep breath. “Busy?” Calvin mouths.

Frowning, Miles nods. He’s got a phone pressed to his ear and is listening to a lady try to figure out when she can take a holiday. Miles wants to put it down and leave with Calvin, but he can’t do that.

Calvin glances around the reception, sees everyone on the phone and their computer, and understands what’s going on.

Muting the call, Miles leans over the counter and says, “I can’t thank you enough.”

“It’s nothing.” The clear exhaustion on him says it’s not nothing. Calvin stretches his neck and yawns. Behind him, Chase and Gil head toward the elevator, nodding at Miles when they catch his eye. “I’m heading to my room.”

“Okay,” Miles says. He’s about to say more when the woman finally settles on some dates and he’s forced to pay attention again. Unmuting the call, he says, “Let me check that for you.”

Calvin smiles at him, all soft and slow, and Miles uses all the willpower in the universe not to reach over the counter and kiss him right there.

It’s almost eleven p.m. when Gabby says she’s starving and asks someone to bring them sandwiches, and they have a working dinner. Matthew and Megan pass by the reception on their way out, and Megan gushes about how unbelievable that stream was. She jokes about getting the twin’s number, maybe offering them a partnership.

“There are clips circulating everywhere!” Megan grins wide. “They even did a story time post on TikTok, summarizing the night, talking about how Cloverlily stepped up and played at a wedding for free… It already has a hundred thousand views in the last hour. Geez.They’re going to run me out of a job.”

A hundred thousand views? Miles’s jaw drops.

“You did great,” he tells her. Miles turns to Matthew. His stare drifts down to his hand, where there really is a ring. Why the hell he didn’t notice that before is beyond him. “Thanks, Matt.”

“No problem.” He puts a hand on Megan’s back, nudging her toward the door. “Let’s go, Meg.”

“We’re fully booked for two months,” Gabby says, stunned. The phone rings again, and she ignores it for now as she takes another bite of her sandwich. There are bread crumbs on her chin, but before Miles can say anything about it, she wipes it away with the back of her hand. “Holy shit?”

“Holy shit, indeed.” His mind’s not here. It’s all on Calvin. He needs the calls to stop so that he can head up to Calvin’s room before he passes out for the night—he probably already is. “Do you mind if I leave? I want to thank Calvin.”

“Only Calvin? What about his friends?”

Miles gives her a look.

She grins. “Go ahead. I’ve got this.”

“Thanks. You should be the general manager with all you do.”

“Keep saying that.”

“I mean it,” he says. “I’m going to get it sorted out, get you that position, as if it shouldn’t have been yours years ago. Mom agrees. This place would fall apart without you.”

“Hey!” Gabby protests when he presses a huge kiss on top of her head.

“I need to thank Calvin.” Gil and Chase, too, but not at this hour.

“That’s okay. The calls have slowed down and I can handle it.” She winks. “Gothankhim.”

Before heading to Calvin’s room, Miles figures he should check up on Mom first. He finds her in the outside tent, keeping a close eye on the clean-up. The chairs have been stacked up, the band equipment has been put away, and the crew’s cleaning up the tables and the buffet line.

Mom lights up when she sees him, and puts a hand on his cheek.

“I heard we’re booked for two months out,” she says, smiling. “And that the calls are coming in. You did a good job.”

“I didn’t do much.”

“You did.” Mom tuts and shakes her head, rolling her eyes.

“This is good,” he says, stating the alarmingly obvious but wanting to emphasize it, anyway. “You can finally take a holiday.”