Page 62 of Ride By Your Side

My gaze follows hers as I take in the gorgeous male. “I have no plans to hurt him, but who knows, this might not even go anywhere. As far as I know, as soon as the annulment is taken care of, he plans to be done with all of this,” I explain, pointing between him and me.

“Hmm,” she hums thoughtfully. “I’ll believe that when I see it,” she decides, shrugging one shoulder, just as our drinks arrive, along with an order of their amazing donuts with the chocolate dunking sauce.

With the drinks and donuts in hand, we make our way back toward our table and set everything down. Blair, with her hands now free, places them on Ford’s shoulders as she leans over him. He turns his head, and their lips meet in a sweet and tender kiss.

“Ugh, can you please not do that right next to me?” Miles begs, his face contorting into one of disgust.

“Nope. Sorry. You’re just going to have to deal with it,” Blair proudly states, as I slide back into my chair between Miles and Blair. At least Ford looks a little embarrassed as his cheeks turn a bright shade of red. “You’re just jealous.”

Miles scoffs. “Jealous?”

“Yep. If only you could be so lucky to have someone to kiss whenever you wanted,” Blair teases as I close my eyes and shake my head.

Miles folds his arms and sits up straighter. “Sorry to disappoint, but kissing in public isn’t my thing and never will be,” he says, reaching for his beer and taking a long swig.

I know exactly what Blair was trying to do, but it’s clear it didn’t land the way she’d hoped. Even worse, a sinking feeling settles in my stomach. It’s not like I was expecting him to confess anything, and I certainly wasn’t expecting him to kiss me in front of everyone—yet somehow, it still leaves me wondering if Blair is wrong about her brother’s feelings toward me. Maybe my worries are justified, and I’m not as important to him as he is to me.

Soon, the music and singing come to an end, and the crowd once again responds with claps and cheers before the next performer is called up.

“Hey, aren’t we after Buddy?” Ford asks as Buddy, the local barista, takes the microphone and begins a dramatic rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure we are. So, what song are you going to grace us with tonight, Ronnie?” Blair asks, since, like usual, I was the one from our group to volunteer to go first.

“I haven’t fully decided yet. Should I go for shock value or keep it simple tonight?” I ask, tilting my head in thought. The majority of the rumors about me have finally started to die down, and while I probably shouldn’t add any more fuel to the fire, taking the easy way out has never been my style.

“I think that depends,” Ford begins, his usual rational side emerging. “What kind of shock value are we talking about here?”

“Nothing too crazy.” I casually shrug, lifting my hand as I pretend to carefully examine my nails, which definitely need some help after not having had a manicure since right before my wedding, or at least the wedding that was supposed to take place between me and Pete.

“Define ‘not too crazy,’” Miles finally speaks up as he turns his smoldering gaze in my direction.

“I guess you’ll just have to wait and see,” I say, a devious smirk lighting up my face as I drop my hand, and reach for the fruity concoction I’d ordered, and bring it to my lips for a sip.

I wouldn’t say I planned this, but a sense of pride fills me as Miles’ gaze follows my lips as they wrap around the straw.

“Ugh,” Blair cuts in. “And you give us crap?” she asks as I try not to cough and choke on the red liquid I’d just consumed.

“What?” Miles asks, doing his best to act like he hadn’t just gotten caught by everyone at the table. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he says, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair.

“And next up, we have Ronnie Prescott,” the owner calls into the microphone once Buddy finishes up.

I know I should probably pick a song that lets me blend into the crowd, but that’s not who I am. I was made to stand out. With Pete gone, no longer dimming my shine or making me second-guess myself, I’m ready to own that stage.

Let them talk. Let the whispers start up again. Hell, I’ll bask in every second of it. Plus, the only attention and eyes I really care about being on me are Miles’s. And judging by the way he’s watching me walk up toward the stage, maybe Blair was right—I might already have exactly what I want.

36

Miles

“Shouldwebenervous?”I ask, my fingers raking through my hair as I push a few stray strands away from my eyes.

“It’s Ronnie. Of course we should be nervous,” Ford chimes in.

“Oh, come on,” Blair shushes us. “It’s karaoke. It’s not like she can do anything all that crazy or shocking. It’s not like this is amateur night at the strip club or anything wild like that.”

“Why does it sound like that’s something the two of you have done before? Actually,” I say, holding up a hand, “I don’t want to know.”

“I think I’d be interested to know,” Ford says, his eyes lighting up before I send a glare in his direction, causing him to shrink back into his chair. “But, uh, not really. That’d be weird. That’s gross,” he adds, clearly backpedaling as he shakes his head and wrinkles his nose.

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