Page 44 of Lush

“But I need you to trust me now.”

Her warm palm found my cheek, her thumb tracing gentle, deliberate circles that sent shivers down my spine.

“Why can’t you just let me hate you?” I pulled back slightly. “It would be so much easier.”

Laurene opened her mouth to respond, but then we heard?—

“Hey, y’all can’t be down there! This area is off-limits.”

I slowly backed away, as if wading through mud. I needed the anger to surge back, to be a protective barrier against whatever I had just let slip through.

“Wait…is that you, Lulu?”

Laurene frowned, and she turned and gasped.

“Miles!”

I was scared, scared to let her in again, scared of what that might mean. And yet, a part of me craved the connection, the warmth of her understanding that I missed for so long. But I needed to remember the betrayal, to stay strong. Letting her in would only open old wounds I fought too damn hard to sew shut.

“Girl, it is you! Where the hell you been?” Miles Whitmore’s voice carried across the dock. I caught sight of his tailored outfit, his hair braided back in cornrows and his light brown skin tanned.

The Whitmores, for as long as anyone could remember, had been the Kings’ best friends. They went as far back to Miles’sgreat-grandparents, who had been friends with Augustus King and followed him here and helped found the town. Until six years ago, right around the time of Conrad’s accident, when the Whitmores and Kings severed all ties.

“Damn, it’s been too long.” Miles’s arms opened wide for a hug. “When did you get back?”

“Not too long ago.”

Miles glanced over at me with a hint of suspicion in his eyes. “What I read about was true, then?”

“It’s true,” I said flatly, holding his gaze.

Laurene stepped back to me, and I felt a bit of pride when she pressed closer and nodded at Miles.

“Damn.” Miles’s eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced between us. “Well, congratulations to both of you then. Tell me where to send a wedding gift.”

I snorted.

“I wish you could have been at the party,” Laurene murmured, her hand brushing against mine as she gently wrapped her fingers around it.

“Yeah, well.” Miles’s expression tightened, his hands slipping into his pockets. “What brings you two to my yacht club? Last I checked, trespassing wasn’t your style.”

Laurene and I exchanged surprised looks. “You own the club now?”

I hadn’t heard of any deals lately, but with the way secrets ruled this town, who the hell knows.

“It kinda went downhill after…well, you know.” He gestured between us and the ocean. “But you’re not here to talk about that, are you?”

We were here to return to the scene of the crime—see if anything was left behind or if someone had seen something. I looked down at Laurene to explain.

“We’re here because…” Laurene began, glancing at me, and I shrugged. “We wanted to discuss some arrangements for the wedding. Thought this would be a good place to start.”

Miles gawked. “Wedding? Same plans as before?”

I locked eyes with him. “Just exploring options. Nothing to worry about.”

A brief silence settled before Miles cleared his throat.

“Actually, Reese, it’s good you’re here. Conrad’s memorial is still up. The last owners kept it up all these years because he was captain of the row team. No disrespect, but we wanna do something new for the place. I was planning to reach out to your family about it, but since you’re here…”

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