“And you kissed him back, at least that was the story you told me eight years ago,” Katie says.
I sip my tea and fidget with the string attached to the bag. “I can’t believe you remember it was exactly eight years ago,” I say, shaking my head.
Katie shrugs and picks off some lint from my sweater. “Well, I’ve been wondering when Miles would come back to town. Hoping he would. I guess my prayers were answered.”
I scoff. “Did you forget the part where he’s opposing counsel? Oh, and might I add, he visited me at school today to tell me that he’s going to throw the case. He’s not trying to get me to settle. He is actually going to actively work against his client, risking his job, his reputation, just because—get this—he wants to protect me.”
Katie’s eyes nearly pop out of her head and she clutches her chest. She looks over at Dean. “Are you hearing this? That’s so romantic! Eight years in the making! Oh, I knew he was a good guy!”
Dean gives a gentle nod. “Baller move if you ask me. He definitely loves you.”
I stand and swallow my herbal tea in one gulp, then hurry over to the kitchen sink to wash it a little too aggressively. “I was coming over here to wallow but I see now that was misguided,” I say when I hear Katie following me into the kitchen.
Dean follows us in, takes the mug out of my hands, and places it in the dishwasher for me. “Thing is, you shouldn’t have told us anything about who the Chamberlains’ attorney is, or what he told you. Katie and I could be subpoenaed. The Chamberlains, or their parents, tried to remove Katie back in the day. Just because they lost 30 years ago doesn’t mean we’re not in their crosshairs anymore.”
I definitely remember that time in our lives. It was because of Katie that I had at first thought I wanted to be a nun. The celibacy part had always appealed to me, for reasons I couldn’t explain other than I was terrified when I learned how babies were made.
I leave my aunt’s house after getting what I came for: a big, rib-cracking hug from her that forces me to feel my feelings.
After Miles graduated, I felt so much shame about my feelings for him that I swore off men altogether. Eight years later, and I’m still a virgin.
I thought I was fine with that.
But now that he’s back in my life, I’m starting to rethink that decision. Or, at least, my heart—not to mention my body—is telling me to rethink that decision.
If only my brain could get the message to the rest of me that he’s still off limits…only in a totally different kind of way.
8
Miles
Standing in line at the local coffee shop the next morning, the familiar scent of ginger teases my senses.
Whirling my head around, I see her.
I wave awkwardly, smiling too widely. “Martha!”
Her eyes lock on me and her mouth forms an O shape that I find endearing and also sexy as hell.
I step out of line to join her.
“But you were next in line,” she says, gesturing to the counter.
“Meh,” I say. “I’m not in a hurry.”
“Since when are attorneys not in a hurry?” she points out.
I smile down at her. “Since I sensed a disturbance in the force and suddenly being on time to work didn’t matter.”
She glances down at her hands. “Miles.”
“Look at me.”
Startled by my abruptness, she furrows her brow when her eyes find me again, her cheeks flushed.
“You always told me to keep making eye contact with people in the room, to help me bust through that fear. You never showed fear. What are you afraid of with me?”
“Nothing. I’m not afraid of anything.”