Page 19 of If Only In Our Dreams

Damn, it was just as nice as I remembered.

I leeched strength from it, before letting go and turning to face the front door.

It was red. Cheery looking. Had a Halloween wreath on it and everything.

Dread curled tight in my belly.

Does Miles not want me here?

I hated that I was having that thought again, but the longer I waited for that damn door to open the heavier the thought became. Till it weighed me down, made me feel sick to my stomach. Made my hands shake and my heart skip a beat.

Ben’s hand lay on my shoulder, as if he could sense my panic despite my brush-off. He gave it a squeeze and I melted a little. It was huge, honestly. And warm. Super fucking warm. Like—molten levels. It’d been warm at the airport too, like he naturally ran a few degrees hotter than he should.

Which was kinda fitting, considering how hot he was.

Trent cleared his throat, and Ben’s hand quickly left my body, like he’d been burned. The look Trent leveled the bothof us wascuriousas he cocked his head, eyes narrowed, and headed toward the porch steps.

I followed after him dutifully, my shoulder super cold now that Ben wasn’t touching it.

“You first,” Trent hummed, gesturing for me to cross in front of him.

Which…in hindsight I should’ve thought was weird.

But I was kinda too panicked to do anything other than clomp my way up the front steps. My shoes offered me a few additional inches, but I still only felt a centimeter tall as I knocked on the front door and waited with bated breath to see what would happen next.

When it swung wide and Miles’s broad frame filled the doorway I only had a second to process what was happening before my feet were off the ground and I had a face full of giant-little-brother-chest. He squeezed me so tight I felt my back pop.

“Jesus fuck—” I gasped out at the same time a loud cry echoed behind Miles.

“Surprise!” At least a dozen voices cheered. Voices I didn’t fucking recognize—and couldn’t see because—again, I had a face full of little brother.

“Robin!” Miles shook me like a dog toy, toting me around like I weighed less than a soaked blanket, his big frame quaking with excitement. Behind us, Trent was laughing his ass off like they’d planned this whole thing—and Ben was quiet.

That was kinda his thing.

Tall, dark, and serious.

Miles set me down on the porch, and I groaned, shoving at his chest playfully with a grin. “Fuck, I think you broke my back.”

“Yeah, right.” Miles rolled his eyes and grinned at me. Easy as that, all my doubts fell away, and I couldn’t believe for a singlesecondthat he hadn’t wanted me here. I could see it all over his face just how happy he was. “I made cookies!” Miles grabbed meby the shoulders and marched me right into his house. “That’swhere you put your shoes,” he hummed, but didn’t give me time to take mine off before he pushed me toward the kitchen. “That’sthe living room.” He didn’t give me time to even look at the living room, or all the random strangers currently occupying it and staring at me. “Up the stairs is where the bedrooms are.”

“Uh-huh, woah—” Miles shoved me through an open archway and into a seat at a dining table. Then promptly decided that apparently breaking my back once wasn’t enough times, because right after pushing me down, he picked me right back up again and gave me another shake-hug.

“I missed you!” he breathed into my hair, smelling like cookies and Christmas and home.

“I missed you too,” I replied, my voice cracking. Miles’s grip relaxed enough I could finally hug back, legs still hanging off the floor.

I couldn’t believe I’d let doubt almost ruin this for me.

Miles wasMiles. Didn’t matter how many years passed. Didn’t matter how many texts I left unanswered. He forgave me as easily as the tide cleared sand.

“Welcome home.” Miles gave me one last, tight squeeze before he set me down again. Suddenly my skin no longer felt too tight, and my heart was light as I settled into the spot at the table he’d designated as mine and let him ply me with treats.

He was a chatterbox when he was excited. Told me all about how he’d planned my surprise for me, then started panicking because he realized he was taking me away from the surprise he’d planned, and “oh lord, you haven’t even met everyone yet!”

And then he spent the next half hour introducing me to all his new brothers-in-law and his mother-in-law, who was a fucking riot and a half now that I knew she read werewolf porn for fun. I met Jason, the grocer. Met Leanne, the woman responsible for the pride display on Main Street.

I met Baxter—who apologized for his son Nathan’s absence, because apparently he was the one manning the line at the bakery. I didn’t getwhyhe was apologizing, seeing as I didn’t know who the fuck Nathan was, but I appreciated it all the same.

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