Page 216 of Secret Shifters Next Door

“Maybe you need to give each other some space. You guys really did only meet a few days ago. You haven’t done anything wrong, so I don’t want you thinking like that. Sometimes people have friends who get jealous when they start to split their time with someone else. Kind of like a territorial thing.”

I chuckled. “Territorial. Like a wolf or something.”

“Uh, yeah, sort of.” Miles gave me a funny look, then sipped his water.

“Why are you so interested in me?”

“What do you mean?”

I sighed and shrugged. “You could have anyone. Why me? I’m…I don’t know. I’m me.”

He surprised me by reaching across the table and cupping my cheek. “I don’t want anyone else. There is no one on this planet more suited for me than you. You may not be able to see it right now, but soon you will.”

The warmth from his fingers on my cheek seeped into my skin. Almost like it was radiating across my face and down mybody. I lifted my hand and brushed the back of his knuckles. “You know, you say that a lot.”

“I promise it will all make sense soon.”

I called Miles the next night to ask if I needed to bring anything for Thanksgiving. He’d said no and that he’d be over to pick me up around eleven. There was no way I would show up empty-handed at a stranger’s house for Thanksgiving, so I looked online and found a recipe for red velvet cheesecake cookies. The picture looked delicious, so I went to the store to grab the ingredients. Baking gave me something to do to keep my mind off everything I’d been dealing with. It was a good way to destress.

I let myself sleep in the next morning, so I’d have enough energy stored up to get through the day. As much as I trusted Miles, the thought of going to someone else’s house was daunting. New people, small talk, and introductions? Running a marathon sounded less exhausting.

Miles knocked on my door at eleven, and he looked sexy as usual. He stepped in and saw the platter of cookies on the counter. “I told you that you didn’t have to make anything.”

I grinned. “You can never have too much dessert, right?”

He laughed and pulled the plastic wrap back to grab a cookie. He popped it into his mouth and chewed. His eyes went wide as a groan of pleasure rumbled in his throat. “I’m afraid everyone else is out of luck. I’m going to eat all these before we get there.”

I nodded at a separate container on the kitchen counter. “I made a double batch. If you really think they’re that good, we can come back tonight and have second dessert.”

He finished chewing and raised an eyebrow. “And what about the third dessert?”

I tried to hide a sheepish smile but failed. The tips of my ears burned. “Let’s just deal with dinner first.”

He laughed in a good-natured way and let it drop, for which I was grateful. I enjoyed the sexual tension, but I had to keep my head on straight so I wouldn’t make a fool of myself at Tate’s house. Miles seemed to notice my stress level.

“Hey, any time you feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed, let me know. I’ll get you out of there, no questions asked.”

I studied his face. He was serious, I could tell. It made my heart speed up, and butterflies stormed through my stomach. He really would leave his friends’ Thanksgiving celebration for me if I were too nervous or stressed out. I still couldn’t get over the idea that someone could care for me so much. Someone I met such a short time ago. Having it was wonderful—the thought of losing it was terrifying. That was why I sent my agent Tiffany a text on the walk to his truck. I was going to re-up my lease of the apartment for at least another month. There was no way I could leave Lilly Valley yet. Not until I knew for sure what was going on between Miles and I.

EIGHTEEN

MILES

I’d tried to make the drive to Tate’s house as casual and calming as I could. Celina was doing a good job of acting like things were fine, but I’d been around her enough to know that she was probably freaking out. Everyone knew she was shy and an introvert. Tate had even given his daughters Mariah and Jordyn a heads up. Which was good. In my experience, Jordyn could be a lot. She was sweet, but the girl could talk your ears off.

There were two other cars parked outside Tate’s house. One was Blayne’s, and the other belonged to Steff and April, which meant we were the last to arrive. We were supposed to eat around two, so we’d have a few hours to hang out, talk, and finish cooking. Hopefully, that would be enough time for Celina to get settled and comfortable with everyone.

“You ready?” I asked as I turned off the truck.

“Yeah, sure,” she answered. Her voice sounded calm, but she was gripping the platter of cookies with white-knuckled determination.

Once we stepped inside, Harley was the first one to greet her. “Oh my goodness, you didn’t need to bring anything.”

She took the tray of cookies from Celina and gave her a small hug. Celina smiled. “It’s the least I could do. Thanks for having me over.”

“No one should be alone for Thanksgiving,” Harley said, and I breathed a sigh of relief when Celina’s shoulders visibly loosened. Hopefully, that meant she was relaxing.

She was shy, that was for sure, but I tried to stay with her the whole time. I introduced her to my friends, April, and all the kids.

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