I’ve been doing this a long time now, but there’s something about her that makes my stomach feel full of winged creatures. I can’t tell her height from here—maybe five-five—with dark brown hair just past her shoulders, and dark brown, almond-shaped eyes that cast a spell on me when she glances up and sees me coming down the escalator. She’s like an angel sitting in the crowd, glowing brighter than the lights in the room, drawing me in like a moth to the world’s most beautifully dangerous flame. By the time I reach the bottom of the escalator, I’m more jittery than I’ve ever been at a signing, because she’s sitting in VIP. That means she’s going to be one of the people I converse with at the meet and greet after the general signing is over. She’s probably nervous to meet me, but I guarantee I’m more anxious about it than she is.

Fuck, I need to stop reading this. Nas isn’t the victim, and I shouldn’t be sitting here having moments of fondness just because he was nervous about meeting me, but … dammit. Is this how he really felt when he first saw me? I remember looking up from my VIP seat and seeing him standing there with Keisha. He was gorgeous—a picture of pure masculinity and power towering above all of us who were there to shower him with our adoration, and somehow his eyes found me. In a sea of swooning readers and fans, he noticed me. It seemed like just a glance, a miniscule thing that only I would remember as a fan of his, but here it is in black and white—Nas saw me and felt the same way I did in that moment. There was no need for Tinder. He and I matched right then and there.

Where is all of this going? Why did Nas leave this at my doorstep? Well, I don’t know it was Nas, but he’s the only person who makes sense. If it wasn’t him, he had Keisha do it, which is the same thing. Either way, what was the purpose? Did he spend the last two months writing this novel at light speed just to drop it at my door in the hopes that it would be enough to win me back? That would be one hell of a unique gesture, but surely that can’t be it. I have so many questions, and the only way to reach the answers is to read. So, I knock back the rest of my wine, fully intending to refill it after the next chapter, and start again.