Page 70 of Loving You

He nods. “Yes, Quinn and I will be there.”

I can hear the pain in his voice, and I smile even bigger.

“Okay, maybe. Yeah, that could be fun.”

“Great!” I say a little too cheerily. “See you on Friday.”

“I’ll text you with the details,” Andy says. “Want to come inside, Cherry, and meet my fiancé and his brother?”

Cherry agrees, but she seems reluctant. As they turn to the bar, she looks over her shoulder one last time, so I pretend I don't notice and kiss Miles’s cheek.

It was a risky move.

I gave him no warning, and yet he didn't pull away.

Weird.

After the comment he made, I thought it would be the opposite.

“Are they gone?” he asks.

“Yep.”

As soon as that one word is out of my mouth, he steps back, making sure not one piece of our bodies are left touching.

“Let’s go home before we make this any worse,” he says.

I follow behind him, because although yes, that was a mess, I can't help but smile.

If this Cherry and Danny plan works, then no more faking and we can go back to normal.

Normal.

My smile falls.

Is that what I want?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

MILES

The sun is shining with a slight breeze, and not a cloud in sight.

It’s the perfect day for a hike. Yet, I’m still annoyed about it.

I’ve been annoyed since the moment Quinn agreed to do this last week. And then invited Cherry along, no less.

The whole point of this was to get Cherry to leave me alone, yet now I’m making plans with her.

Fuck.

“I cannot believe I let you talk me into this,” I say in a hushed, clipped tone as I lean down to Quinn. “I have done an obscene number of stupid things this summer since you showed up and it’s only been, what? Maybe three weeks.”

I shake my head, continuously disappointed with myself, while Quinn rolls her eyes.

“Everything is going to be fine. Just remember why we are doing this.”

I remember just fine, and that’s the problem. If this works the way Quinn thinks it will, all will be good, and I will happily take back every rude comment of doubt I’ve made to her. If this doesn't work, then we just look like idiots.

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