Page 40 of One Billion Reasons

My stomach knots as we pass the group of people who were deriding Miles and me last night. I tip my chin up, trying to forget the comments they made about my last dress.

I spot Catherine all alone, and I give a little wave.

“Come on, let’s go talk to Cat. She looks lonely.” I turn to Miles and tug him toward her. Catherine saved me last night, and I want to do the same for her. But Miles resists, covering my hand with his warm palm.

“Wait, Lane. You know Catherine?”

“I met her on the deck last night. She’s really nice.”

His eyes are pleading. “She’s the seller. She thinks I can’t be trusted. Please, Lane. We have to convince her that I’m a good person.”

I chew my lip. “Okay.” I take a deep breath. You can do this. I hate lying, especially to someone as nice as Catherine seems to be, but I promised. When I breathe out, I sway into Miles. I let my hand drop to his firm chest, right over his heart, where the fine wool of the tux becomes cool silk at the lapels. He’s tense under my palm, so I stand on tiptoes to whisper in his ear. Warm male skin and the scent of his shampoo fill my nose. He smells really good. Not like the boy he used to be, but a man. Intoxicating, arousing. He bends his head, and my lips brush his ear. The barest shiver runs through him as I say, “Let your hands slide down my body.”

He’s frozen, his hands awkwardly on my waist. “Miles,” I murmur. “Pretend to want me.”

He shudders, and his hand skims down my back to the dip of my spine. Oh, no. He feathers his thumb over the base, and need spikes low in my belly.

“I don’t have to pretend,” he says roughly.

My head jerks back. Our eyes meet. His are dark with desire.

“I never thought—”

“I never let on,” he says shortly.

“So all this time, what, you wanted me?” I almost say too but I’m not brave enough.

He dips his chin, his eyes glittering.

“You don’t seem happy about it.”

“Do you think wanting to fuck your best friend’s sister is convenient, Lane?” His words are harsh, and my eyes fly wide. They’re designed to repel me, but instead, heat rushes through me. He wants this too. I had no idea.

“Let’s go talk to Catherine.” He pulls me along. My face is red, and my heart is pounding in my chest.

“Catherine. Nice to see you.” Miles smiles, and Catherine looks between us.

“This is your boyfriend?” she asks me, not even greeting Miles.

I tuck myself tighter into his side and nod. “Miles is an old friend from college. We rekindled things a few months ago.”

Catherine’s brows go up a fraction. Shit. She’s not buying it.

“Sometimes, when you look at someone, you know.” Miles smiles down at me, and my stomach tries to turn itself over. It’s not real, Lane. It seems fucking real though. And words that twenty-three-year-old me would have died to hear are spilling from Miles’s lips.

I give him a soft smile. “That’s right. You do.” His eyes go wide, and I want to cheer. At least both of us are unsettled.

“How did you meet?” Catherine almost sounds challenging.

“Class,” I say at the same time as Miles says, “Orientation.”

“For Lane, it was class,” he amends. “Algebra 101. But for me, it was orientation. And I had no reason to take Algebra. I’d already placed out of the class.” He grins, a rare, broad smile. “I saw this beautiful girl signing up for all these art classes, and then she was told she had to take algebra. She looked like she’d rather walk across a highway with her eyes closed than take math. I saw my chance.”

My jaw drops. “So that’s why you sat next to me. That’s why you offered to tutor me. It was a scam,” I exclaim.

Catherine is laughing now, and Miles’s eyes are dancing.

“A scam is right. You got an A in that class. And I know you can barely add. So who’s the scammer now, eh, Laney?”

---