King of Sloth (Kings of Sin, #4)

by Ana Huang

“I’m surprised you scheduled this for Halloween.” I made conversation simply to divert attention away from the rapid patter of my heartbeat. Get a hold of yourself, for Christ’s sake. “There are dozens of parties tonight.” “Those are boring. This isn’t.” “You would rather watch a rom-com about a witch and a plumber falling in love than attend a costume party with celebrities?” “One hundred percent. As long as I’m watching it with you.” His answer came out so casually, it took a second to register. Once it did, the patter morphed into a full-blown marching band, drums and all.

Her laugh unlocked a rush of dopamine, like a song I’d heard once and loved but never discovered the name of, only to stumble upon it again years later.

“Let me tell you a secret,” he said quietly. I crossed my arms, but it did nothing to stave off a cascade of shivers when he spoke again. “You kept asking me why I called you Luna. I didn’t tell you because I was afraid it would send you running for the hills. Even before we kissed, before we were anything other than a publicist and her client, you were a light in my life. A persistent, sometimes scary one, but a light all the same.” Xavier’s throat bobbed with a hard swallow. “Luna is short for mi luna. My moon. Because no matter how dark the nights got, you were always there, shining so brightly that I always found my way through.”

“Life would be pretty boring if we knew what was going to happen every day.” I sniffled. “Actually, that sounds wonderful. I would love that.” “Well, you color coordinate your office supplies, so I’m not surprised.”