Page 108 of Holding On To Good

“That’s a first.”

If there was one thing Miles loved, it was sharing his opinions.

“This morning has been full of firsts. And Urban’s always bitching about how I need to let you make your own mistakes so you learn from them.” Miles shrugged and got to his feet. “Thought we’d try that out.”

Great. Now he listened to Urban.

“That’s it?” she asked, following him into the mudroom off the kitchen. “You’re not going to tell me not to befriend Reed or forbid me from seeing or talking to him?”

Bent over, tugging on a sneaker, he looked up at her. “Is that why you told me? So I’d forbid you from doing it?”

“Hardly.”

Maybe.

Not that he actually could forbid her from seeing or talking to Reed. She was, after all, a smart, strong, semi-independent woman.

But even smart, strong, semi-independent women needed advice every once in a while.

“Good,” Miles said, putting on his other sneaker. “I’ll put your bike in the back of the car.”

Then he grabbed his keys from the hook on the wall and walked out.

Leaving her with his stupid, cryptic warning, the same lame make your own mistakes spiel she’d heard from Urban a million times in her life and no clue what to do about her incessant Reed-themed thoughts.

Leaving her to figure this one out on her own.

Chapter Nineteen

Being in Bradford Park on a bright, sunny Saturday morning was a normal occurrence. Watching the T-ball team Willow and Urban’s company sponsored, sitting with Urban’s brothers and sister, was all very much in line with how things have always been.

Since their kiss twelve days ago, there’d been no flirtatious comments. No just-between-them innuendos.

No more husky, murmured confessions guaranteed to upend Willow’s world.

The only woman I want, the one woman I’ve always wanted, is you.

Urban was doing exactly what she’d asked him to do. What she needed him to do to preserve their friendship, their business and her sanity.

He was acting as if their kiss had never happened.

While she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Thinking about out it. Dreaming about it.

Wondering what would have happened if she hadn’t insisted on stopping at one.

But she had insisted and he’d gone along with it because he knew, as well as she did, it was the best course of action. The smartest.

The safest.

It was also easier said than done. The forgetting and ignoring and pretending.

Especially when Urban kept extending invitations for her to join him and his family for dinner or to watch one of Eli’s games or just to hang out with him at his place.

All harmless, innocent gestures of friendship. Casual suggestions he’d made to her at least a hundred times before.

And how did she react to each of those innocuous, completely normal suggestions?

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