in Crowder. Since her paper had been published, she’d become rather famous in her subfield. Several prestigious programs had been interested in her, which was certainly flattering. But none of them could beat what she already had here.
Wyatt lifted his arm and spun her all the way back to their table and straight into his best friend’s waiting arms. Josh grabbed her around the waist, pulling her up against him.
“Thanks for the dance.” Wyatt touched the brim of his hat and helped himself to another beer before strolling away.
Josh slid Mia’s beer closer to her and kissed her temple. “You looked great out there. You really are getting the hang of it.”
She leaned against him, grateful to be standing still again and back in his arms where she belonged. Someone at a nearby table let out a loud peal of laughter and she felt Josh stiffen against her. She glanced at him, checking for signs of stress. “Are you doing okay?”
He gave her a nod as he did one of the diaphragmatic breathing exercises he’d learned to help manage his anxiety.
She waited, watching while he took a few long, deliberate breaths. “We can go whenever you want to.”
“I’m okay.” He rolled his shoulders, shaking out the tension. “I can do this.”
Mia cupped his cheek, forcing him to look her in the eyes. Making sure he was telling the truth and not trying to put on a brave face. He’d gotten better about admitting when he was struggling, but sometimes he still fell back on old habits and tried to play the stoic.
He covered her hand with his. “Really,” he said. “I’m good.”
“I’m so proud of you,” she said. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
“You’re pretty great yourself.” His eyes took on a playful glint. “One might even say you’re sweet as pi.”
Mia laughed and pressed a light kiss to his lips. “If you were a triangle, you’d be acute one.”
When he smiled at her, the force of the love in his eyes turned her inside out—just like it did every time. But then she saw a flicker of uncertainty cloud the warm brown depths.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing.” His thick, rough fingers intertwined with her thinner, softer ones. “I’ve been thinking…now that it’s definite you’re staying—”
“It was definite before,” she told him. She’d been telling him all along, even though he’d insisted she keep her options open. He’d refused to accept her decision as final until it really was final. But now it was. She’d formally accepted Bowman’s offer of a tenure-track position. Starting in the fall, she’d be an assistant professor.
The corner of Josh’s mouth twitched. “Now that it’s definite you’ve got a job here beyond the summer…what do you think about moving in with me at the farm?”
Mia thought it sounded like heaven. She’d already been spending as much time there as she could because Josh’s farm was her favorite place on earth. There was nowhere else she’d rather be. And no one she’d rather be with. All she’d been waiting for was an invitation.
“I’d love that,” she said, light-headed with happiness.
His smile spilled over her like sunlight. “Good, because I’d love it too.”
“My lease isn’t up until the end of the summer,” she pointed out. But whatever. She didn’t mind paying rent for an empty apartment if it meant she could wake up in Josh’s bed every morning.
His eyes crinkled. “I’ve got an in with the landlord. I think I might be able to convince her to let you out of that lease.”
“Only if she can find a new tenant to take my place. I’m not going to leave Birdie in the lurch.” Birdie was Mia’s family now, just like Josh was her family.
“We won’t,” he promised. “We’ll figure it out.”
She knew they would. Whatever life threw their way, they’d handle it.
Together.
Thank you for reading! I hope you loved meeting Mia and Josh and the residents of Crowder. They’ll be back in My Cone and Only, book #1 in the King Family series. Find out what’s really going on between Andie and Wyatt…
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR COPY
More Books by Susannah Nix
Chemistry Lessons Series
Remedial Rocket Science
Intermediate Thermodynamics
Advanced Physical Chemistry
Applied Electromagnetism
Experimental Marine Biology
Elementary Romantic Calculus
King Family Series
My Cone and Only (July 2021)
Cream and Punishment (October 2021)
Pint of Contention (May 2022)
Starstruck Series
Star Bright (December 2021)
Fallen Star
Rising Star
Lucky Star (February 2022)
Penny Reid’s Smartypants Romance
Mad About Ewe
For the most up-to-date book list, CLICK HERE.
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Acknowledgments
Thank you to Lisa Seger at Blue Heron Farm in Waller County, Texas, not only for answering all my questions about raising dairy goats and running a farm business, but for making lots of good trouble (and also the best damn goat milk feta cheese I’ve ever tasted in my life). Follow Blue Heron Farm on Twitter (@BlueHeronFarmTX) or Instagram (@BlueHeronTexas) for photos of their spoiled goats and foster dogs.
My undying gratitude goes out to all the mathematically inclined people who double-checked my math work for me, including Jo, Dave, and Mikaela. Extra thanks to Mikaela for sharing her knowledge of publishing and hiring in academia. Special shoutout to my friend Tammy for supplying with me with lots of excellent math puns.
As always, this book wouldn’t be half as good without the contributions of my wonderful editor. Don’t ever leave me, Julia.
About the Author
SUSANNAH NIX is a RITA® Award-winning and USA Today bestselling author who lives in Texas with her husband, two ornery cats, and a flatulent pit bull. When she's not writing romances, she enjoys reading, cooking, knitting, and watching lots of sad British mysteries on TV.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents, tirades, opinions, exaggerations, prevarications, and dubious facts either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons—living, dead, or otherwise—is entirely coincidental.
Elementary Romantic Calculus. Copyright © 2021 by Susannah Nix
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without written permission from the author.
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Edited by Julia Ganis, www.juliaedits.com
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