Page 53 of The Enemy Face Off

Wow. I'm so off my game after thatsoft spotcomment, I don't even realize my mistake until Milo kindly—and with that annoying grin plastered on his face—points it out to me. "You might want to update your reference, Beth. I already have kids, remember?"

I cannot give him the satisfaction of seeing my grimace, so I school my features and calmly reply with, "Anymorechildren."

"Right." He folds his pillow in half and angles his body so he's facing me.

"What?" I say after a few moments of him staring at me in silence.

"Can I say something?"

"As long as it's not stupid."

"It's not stupid."

"Are you really the best judge of that?"

"Fair."

"How about you just say what you want to say, and I'll determine where it lands on the stupid-o-meter."

"Deal." He grins again. Or it's the same grin continuing from before. I can't be sure. He's doing a lot of grinning. "I had a really good time with you today."

He swings his gaze to me, like he's waiting for a score on his statement.

Ha. Joke's on him. I can barely talk, much less run numbers afterthat.

I suck in a breath.

That's a totally stupid thing to say…but I had a good time with you, too.

Oh, boy.

Did I say aloud or was I able to keep it to myself?

Milo's still looking at me expectantly, so, okay…maybe I haven't said anything at all?

His stupidsoft spotcomment coupled with the wholeI had a really good time with you todayhas totally scrambled my brain.

And then, just when I think my thoughts can't get any more jumbled, Milo utters four words that send me into a complete tailspin.

"Can I kiss you?"

12

Milo

I'm a dead man.

A dead, stupid man who ruined what was, up until that point, the best day I've ever spent with a woman—freak blizzard aside—by asking one stupidly stupid question.

What was I thinking?

I guess I wasn't. I guess by opening up to her the way I did earlier and then seeing her not freak out completely when I told her I'd had a good time with her—yes, I'm taking her silence as a win—gave me the courage to ask a question that will likely destroy any of the goodwill I'd built.

I hold my breath, waiting for her to respond with a mixture of anticipation and fear for my life as Beth probably weighs up the best way to dispose of my body after she kills me.

Even if my life does come to a sudden, tragic end, I meant what I said. I've had a really good time today.

Despite our conversation about our families taking a darker turn—my fault entirely—I'm glad I opened up to her, and I enjoyed learning more about her family dynamics as well.

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