Page 17 of Before This Ends (Before)

“Hey, Em.” The warmth of his palm hits my arm through the material of my shirt as he leans down to kiss my cheek. “Thanks for doing this.”

“Any time.” I smile, chalking up the twist in my lower belly to not having a man touch me in months—not to the fact that the man touching me is Miles.

“Do you need anything from your car?” he asks, lifting Winter off her feet.

“Nope.” I smile, bending to give Skye a head rub when she nudges her nose into my hand. She’s grown on me these last couple of months and is probably the gentlest and most well-trained dog I have ever met.

When I’m done scratching her behind her ears, we follow Winter and Miles into the building, which isn’t as scary as it was the first time I was here. The drywall is all up and has been taped and floated, so it’s ready for paint, and most of the doors are now installed. It’s finally beginning to look like an apartment building, and I’m actually looking forward to seeing how it all comes together in the end. If the apartments are as nice as Tucker’s, Miles’s, and Clay’s, this is going to end up being theitspot to live in Nashville.

When we reach the elevator, Miles uses his phone as a digital key, the door slides open, and we step on.

“Were your friends okay with you rearranging your schedule?” he asks as the doors close, and the elevator begins to move.

“Yeah, they’re coming in next weekend.” I take Winter from him when she reaches for me to hold her, her weight only slightly heavier than Kingston’s, even with their age difference. “My friend Jamie was relieved, since she wasn’t looking forward to meeting me this morning after going out last night and having too much fun.”

“How did she have too much fun?” Winter asks, and I focus on her cute little face.

“She stayed up way past her bedtime.”

“I stayed up past my bedtime too.”

“Did you?” Miles asks, and she looks at him with an “oops, maybe I wasn’t supposed to admit that” face.

“Only a little bit.” He narrows his eyes on her. “Miss Karen and I were watchingThe Bachelor. We had to know who the winner was.”

“Miss Karen lets you watchThe Bachelor?”

“She fast-forwards through the bad parts,” she assures him, and I press my lips together to keep from laughing at the look of horror on his face. I haven’t ever watchedThe Bachelor, but I have seen the previews for the show, so I know there are some pretty inappropriate things that take place. Or at least things that are inappropriate for a seven-year-old to see happen between two adults.

“Apparently, me and Miss Karen need to have a conversation about what you’re allowed to watch on TV.”

“It’s not a big deal, Dad,” she groans, wiggling to get down when the doors open, and I place her on her feet. “Come on, Emma.” She grabs my hand again and starts dragging me with her to their apartment as I glance back at an exasperated-looking Miles.

“You okay?”

“Great,” he mutters, and I smile as I follow Winter into their home.

Since I’ve been here before, I’m not surprised by just how beautiful it is. With exposed brick and modern furniture, the space would scream “wealthy bachelor pad”—if the fridge wasn’t covered in kid artwork and there wasn’t little-girl paraphernalia scattered here and there. The bright-pinks and purples stand out in stark contrast against the blacks, grays, and browns the space is decorated in.

When we reach the island that has five leather-topped barstools tucked under the floating edge, Winter lets me go, pulls out one of the stools, and climbs up onto it.

“Those are for you,” she says, pushing a plate toward me, and I look down at the stack of chocolate chip pancakes on a black plate with a gold edge.

“These look delicious.”

“Try one!” She bounces on her bottom.

“Maybe we should warm them up,” Miles suggests, joining us at the island.

“It’s okay.” I pick up the fork, and Winter watches me closely while I take a bite and chew.

“Well?” she asks before I even swallow.

“I think these are the best pancakes I’ve ever had in my life,” I tell her, covering my mouth. Grinning proudly from ear to ear, she slides off her stool, her task of confirming she did a good job complete and obviously ready to move on to something else.

“Do you have your cell?” At that question from Miles, I pull my eyes off of Winter, who has wandered across the room, and meet his gaze. “I wanna download the app for the elevator so you’ll be able to come and go while I’m gone.”

“Sure.” I take it out of my bag and unlock the screen.

---