Page 138 of If Only In Our Dreams

“What?” I blinked, confused.

“He only said it was because he wanted to takeyousledding,” Miles snorted. “Called his mom in a panic, got her to help orchestrate the whole event.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“And ruin the gesture?” Miles slanted me a look. “I ain’t a snitch.”

I felt blindsided by this.

“Why would he?—”

“Because he loves you,” Bubba hummed from the back seat. “Obviously.”

“Oh.” My heart thumped unsteadily. I stared out at the snow for another beat, trying to process this. “He…”

“Ben’s been head over heels for you since day one,” Miles added, sounding very pleased. “Everyone knows it. You’d have to be blind not to see it. Could barely keep his eyes off you the entire welcome party. He’s obvious as hell.” He snorted out a laugh. “He smiles…so much when you are around. It’s like he’s a totally different person.”

Suddenly all of Miles’s meddling made even more sense.

“Roben,” Bubba chimed in, self-importantly. “That’s your ship name.”

“You gave us a ship name?” I twisted around to squint at him before returning my attention to the road and Miles’s sly grin. In the past, I’d read fanfiction about me and my ex-band-mates, so I was familiar with the terminology. That had been a freaky but enlightening experience—and also super fucking hot, if I’m being honest.

I’m pretty sure I’d read at least sixty different iterations of my old drummer fucking me in about a hundred different positions.

I definitely hadn’t looked at him like that when we’d been working together—and when I’d found the fanfiction I’d felt that loss keenly. But that was years ago, and I had Ben now—so my thoughts of fanfiction remained chaste. Mostly.

Except for now that Ben and I had been spotted together it made me wonder if fanfiction for us would start to pop up? That was a fun thought.

“Actually,Matilda’s the one that gave you a ship name,” Bubba replied, sounding miffed that she’d beaten him to it. “And Grandma B heard and shared it with me.” Grandma B was Beatrice Montgomery. It’d taken me a second to get that, but after spending several weeks bonding with Bubba I was used to his fun little nicknames for everyone. Mine was still somehow the worst. Duncle Robin was an atrocity. An adorable atrocity—but an atrocity all the same.

Without missing a beat, Bubba continued, “Oh, and she told Becca. And Uncle Baxter.AndUncle Paxton.”

“And Trent,” Miles piped in helpfully. “Who told me.”

“And Jason,” Jeremy tacked on from where he’d been sitting silent in the back seat in his giant hand-me-down coat.

I didn’t know who “Jason” was, but Miles’s reaction to the name made me think the fact thatJasonknew was a pretty monumental thing.

“And if Jason knows—” Miles started.

“The whole town knows,” Bubba and Jeremy finished for him, in unison.

When I twisted to look at the boys in the back seat again, they were grinning like hyenas.

“You’re telling me that an entire town has shipped me and Ben for weeks?” I snorted, surprised. “That feels like a lie.”

“Well, it’s not,” Bubba shrugged. “Also, more likemonths.”

“They did it to me too,” Miles commiserated. “On a smaller scale, but still.” He grinned, eyes crinkled at the corners. “At least you didn’t have them placing bets about when you’d get together.”

“No shit?” I stared at him, somehow still surprised after hearing this new information just how unhinged this entire town apparently was.

“I won,” Bubba declared like the evil—adorable—shit he was.

“He got a big ole wad of cash,” Miles shook his head affectionately.

“I spent it all,” Bubba declared. “Got a marine biology encyclopedia.”

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