Page 4 of Sharing Her Heart

Felicity blushed deeply, trying to think of a response. She knew she should thank him for the compliment and tell them how good they looked too, but the words were caught in her throat and she could not find her voice.

“Congrats again on winning the dinner,” John said, stepping out to hold her chair out for her so she could take her seat[JS1] . “We’ve been looking forward to this all week.”

“You have?” she stammered.

“Of course. Now, the winner was chosen at random just like we said at the start of the contest, but I’ve seen how active you’ve been on our pages over the years. I know you’ve been a fan of ours for a very long time, so I was excited when I saw your name popped out.” He half turned to Nathan, who was still sitting back in his chair. “Tell her how excited I was, Nathan.”

“Oh, he was excited all right.” Nathan swirled the wine in his glass, his demeanor calm and reserved as he stared at Felicity.“Wouldn’t stop talking about how excited he is to finally meet one of our biggest fans.”

Felicity’s eyes widened. “You know about me?”

“Like I said, I’ve been reading your comments and posts about us for years. I’ve even replied to a couple of them myself.”

“You replied…?” She paused and swallowed, thinking about all the comments she had left on the podcast’s social media page over the years. Not all of them were clean, and she’d left a lot of them right after having a glass of wine or two and listening to the podcast. Meaning some of those comments were the embarrassing ramblings of a slightly drunk horny woman. “All of my comments?” she squeaked.

“Well, most of them, anyway.”

“I thought you hired someone to do that. You know, manage your social media pages.”

“Oh, we tried that once but decided we didn’t like it,” John replied.

“He hated it,” Nathan added. “He said he preferred having a personal connection with the fans.”

“So when I replied to your comments on my post…?”

“That’s right,” John said excitedly. “You were talking to me.”

“Oh God!” she groaned, cheeks turning red. “I didn’t know… I’m so embarrassed.”

“Don’t be,” he said. “It’s nice to know you love our work so much.”

“I do,” Felicity said, cheeks flushed as she stammered. “I can’t even believe I’m here today. Th-thank you! I-I… This is—this is unreal.” She could hear the awkwardness in her voice and cringed inwardly, trying to steady herself, but her nerves had a mind of their own. She stumbled over her words again. “I’ve been such a—such a big fan for years, and I’m just—I’m sorry, I can’t… I don’t know what to say.”

Nathan chuckled softly while John leaned in, his smile widening as he gave her a reassuring look. “Hey, take a deep breath,” he said, his voice gentle. “It’s just us. You don’t have to be nervous. We’re just happy to have you here.”

Felicity exhaled shakily, realizing she hadn’t been breathing properly since she walked up to them. She followed John’s advice, taking a slow, deep breath and feeling her shoulders relax slightly.

“Better?” John asked, still grinning.

She nodded, feeling a little more grounded. “Yeah, thank you. I just—I didn’t expect to be this nervous.”

“That’s okay,” Nathan added, his deep voice soothing. “Good girl. We’re real people, I promise. Just think of this as a fun dinner with friends.”

Felicity smiled, finally feeling the tension in her chest ease. "Right. Friends," she echoed softly.

“How about a glass of wine to start the evening?” he suggested, motioning for the server. “I was thinking we’ll have a glass of Domaine Lafage Côte Est Rousillon. You know…”

“The wine Brooke and Owen shared on the yacht when he told her he loved her inSail with Me,” Felicity finished immediately, grinning when John instantly looked impressed with her.

“I love that book,” he said softly.

“I know. You say it’s your favorite on the podcast all the time.” She paused and cleared her throat. “But I know your actual favorite book isBirch in the Boudoir.”

John’s eyes widened. “How did you…?”

She shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Nathan mentioned it once in a podcast two years ago, and I knew he was right because you didn’t argue with him about it. Even though you two argue about everything.”

John looked stunned as he turned to Nathan. “I think I just found my biggest fan.”

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