Page 97 of Kiss and Tell

He chuckled and shook his head. “No, you didn’t. I was just the consolation prize, the thing you held onto until something better came along.”

Rhiannon scowled. “That’s not?—”

“I deserve better than that. I’ve found better,” he admitted.

True to form, Rhiannon proved she wasn’t going down without a fight. “I love you, Miles. I’ve always loved you.”

“You’ll get over it,” he said. “I did.”

It was a cruel thing to say, but he needed her to understand, all the way to the depths of her soul, that what they shared—the good, the bad, and the ugly—was truly over.

For the first time, his words seemed to truly sink in, Rhiannon showing true remorse over her actions. “You’re right, you know. About all of it. I’ve been terrible to you.”

He didn’t respond to that. Maybe if he was a better man, he’d forgive her, but he wasn’t there yet.

She reached out to touch his forearm. “You did deserve better from me. And I’m sure I could?—”

“No,” he repeated. He crossed his arms, dislodging her touch, putting a period on this conversation. If he didn’t, Rhiannon would stand here until the end of time, pulling out every trick in her bag to get her way. “Goodbye, Rhiannon.”

Rhiannon stood there and held his gaze, as if she was waiting for him to tell her he was just kidding or for him to come to his senses and go back to her.

When it was clear those words weren’t coming, she whispered, “Goodbye, Miles.”

He stood there a minute longer, watching as she crossed the street. When she reached the driver’s side door, she glanced back at him and once again, he knew she was waiting for him to call her back.

Hell would freeze over first.

Her shoulders slumped when he simply stared her down, then she got in the car and drove away.

One problem down, four hundred and thirty-seven more to go.

Miles walked back into the pub, surprised to find Joey standing by the door. He’d clearly been watching Miles with Rhiannon through the front window.

“What’s she doing here?” Joey asked, anger lacing his tone.

“What do you think?” Miles said.

Joey scowled. “She wants you back.”

“She said she just wants to be friends. But yeah, ultimately, I think she thought we were starting over again.”

Joey rubbed the back of his neck wearily. “What did you say?”

Miles placed his hand on Joey’s shoulder, squeezing. “I said no thanks. I’ve already got a best friend. Besides, I’m not sure my new girl would like it if I was friends with my ex because I sure as fuck don’t like her being friends with her exes.”

Joey froze for a second, and Miles could almost see him replaying those words, trying to decide if he’d heard him right. Then he grinned. “You got a new girl?”

He nodded. “We both do.”

“I was talking to Justin about us today,” Joey admitted.

He laughed, wondering if the older men had decided on a divide-and-conquer tactic, Justin pulling Joey aside, Killian claiming Miles, in an attempt to help them to pull their heads out of their asses.

“I talked to Killian.”

“Oh yeah?” Joey said.

“He showed me the error of my ways. All relationships take work. Doesn’t matter if there are two people in the bed or three.”

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