Page 18 of Before This Ends (Before)

“You don’t have to eat any more of those,” he says quietly, glancing down at the plate as he slides my cell from my hand.

“If you try to take them, I will stab you with my fork. Chocolate and carbs are my favorite.”

“No need to get violent.” He holds up a hand and walks to the opposite side of the island, leaning back against the counter but still facing me.

I study him as I eat, his head bent, his fingers flying over the screen of my cell. I don’t know if it’s the early-morning light or if it’s some new awareness I have, since the brain fog of my breakup has started to clear, but I don’t think I ever noticed the way his dark hair has a slight curl, making it look naturally messy. Or how full his lips are. Or just how attractive the scruff covering his square jaw is.

I for sure never noticed how hot he is. I mean, of course I knew he was good-looking, but before today, all thoughts of him were abstract. Like those guys you see in magazine ads and think,Wow, he’s handsome, but it’s just an observation and nothing more, because that man does not exist outside the lens of someone else’s camera.

“Emma.” Blinking, I come out of my thoughts, finding his eyes on me. “Did you hear me?”

“No, sorry.” My cheeks warm. “I totally spaced. I haven’t had enough coffee this morning.”

“I just asked how much it costs for the zoo,” he says, going to the coffee pot on the counter and taking a mug down from the cupboard above it.

“Oh.” I shake my head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it covered.”

“I’m not letting you pay to take Winter to the zoo.” He frowns at me over his shoulder as he pours coffee into the cup.

“It’s not a big deal.”

“I’m still not letting you pay, and I’m going to give you some cash for helping me out today.”

“And I’ll give it right back to you. I’m helping out a friend by hanging with his daughter who I also adore. I’m not your babysitter.”

“We’ll talk about that later,” he mutters, then asks, “Milk, sugar?”

“Both,” I whisper and watch him put way too much of each in the cup, then take out a spoon from the drawer below and stir.

When he brings the cup over to me, I grasp it in both hands. “Thank you.” My nose should not sting from someone making me a cup of coffee, but it does. Then again, I can’t remember the last time anyone did anything for me without me asking.

“The app for the elevator is pretty easy,” he says as I take a sip of coffee that is too sweet and too creamy but somehow still perfect. “When you get to the doors, you just press this button.” He shows me which one on the screen. “The doors will open, and when you get on, you press the floor.”

“Okay.” I take my phone back when he hands it to me. “But what if there’s a power outage?”

“There’s not going to be a power outage.”

“Let’s say there is.”

“There won’t be,” he says firmly, and I roll my eyes.

“You can’t know that.”

“The weather is clear, Em.”

“Yeah, but things happen, Miles. It’s always good to have a plan.”

“Okay, then there are solar panels on the roof and backup batteries in the basement. Even if there is a power outage in this area, there won’t be one in this building.”

“Oh,” I mutter.

“Just don’t let your cell phone die.” He grins, and I laugh, my smile falling away as I watch him pull out his wallet—arealwallet, which is weird, because I don’t think I’ve seen a guy carry an actual wallet in ages. Most guys I know have those cell phone wallets with one card and their ID inside.

“Miles,” I warn when he takes out a stack of twenty-dollar bills and places them on the counter.

“Win’s gonna want shit when you’re at the zoo, and I want you to have cash for dinner if you two are out when that rolls around.”

“Are you going to be gone that long?”

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