Page 14 of Forever Theirs

“Tell me everything about her. How old is she? What’s her name?” Aspen asked.

“She’s five, and her name is Jubie.”

I swallowed a laugh at Miles’s gruff tone and curt response. Oh, my bestie was fighting his attraction to the energetic, gorgeous brown-eyed woman—and he was failing. Hard.

“That’s a unique name and fits her perfectly. Oh my goodness, she’s so soft and cuddly.” Aspen buried her face in Jubie’s soft, furry chest.

“Not as cuddly as me,” I responded while folding into the chair beside her. Under the table, the toe of Miles’s boot connected with the middle of my shin. A hiss whistled through my clenched teeth to keep from cursing up a storm. I reached down and rubbed at the spot to ease the pain. “Fucking hell, man, don’t break my damn leg.”

Aspen stilled and eyed us both before her gaze settled on Miles. A determined expression overtook her face. Sitting back, she used her jeans to swipe away the loose fur that clung to her palms and was stuck between her fingers, then extended a hand across the table toward him.

“Sorry, I basically attacked your dog and didn’t even acknowledge you. Hi, you must be Aiden’s friend. I’m Aspen, and I am now obsessed with your dog.”

The corner of Miles’s lips twitched upward as he fought a grin, and he took Aspen’s much smaller hand in his and gave it a quick shake.

“Miles or Moose—I answer to both. Jubie here thinks she’s part human, which is why she’s sitting in the chair instead of lying on the floor beside me as I instructed.” He gave Jubie a stern look that I knew didn’t mean shit. That dog could lie on the table, and Miles wouldn’t care. He and Jubie had a special bond, one we didn’t even have. She accepted him, all of him, with zero judgment or concern.

Neither did I, but there was something about the unconditional love of a dog that pulled him to Jubie that I’d never be able to compete with. Not that I wanted to. I was thankful as fuck that he had her, that she could fill the void I couldn’t with his PTSD and self-consciousness about his scars.

Aspen’s gaze kept darting between Jubie and Miles as she continued to stroke a hand over the dog’s wide chest. “Your tattoos are amazing,” she blurted out before biting her lip.

The air froze in my lungs, and I waited to see how Miles would react to her pointing out the ink decorating the exposed skin of his forearms, where he had pushed up the sleeves of his long-sleeved black T-shirt. While the designs were badass, Miles rarely liked people looking too closely, since he got the tattoos to cover up the scars left behind from his last mission as a SEAL.

But instead of shutting down and closing himself off, the six-foot-four badass smirked and laid both forearms on top of the table for her to get a better look. I gaped as he told her about each design and how far up both arms the tattoos went. She didn’t reach out, which I was thankful for, as it no doubt would’ve had him pulling away and hurting her feelings.

I couldn’t stop staring at the cocky smile on Miles’s face. After everything he had been through in life, every genuine, lighthearted grin was gold. She didn’t know the significance of the moment her easy conversation and warm personality created.

If she could make my best friend smile like that more, I’d give her anything to stay longer than the week she planned to be here. The more I was around her, the more I wanted that for myself too. Aspen was like a breath of fresh air after being cooped up for too long. You didn’t realize how stale your life was until something new and invigorating came into it. And maybe that was exactly what Miles and I needed.

“I’ve always wanted full sleeves,” Aspen said, absentmindedly stroking Jubie’s floppy ears. “But there’s never been a good time, you know?”

“What do you mean?” Miles leaned forward, bracing both forearms on the edge of the table, leveling all his attention her way. Though I knew that, even with his focus on Aspen, he still monitored the movements and conversations of everyone in the bar. After being trained by the best of the best, that was his thing, always on alert.

“Because of the somewhat intense aftercare required to keep it clean and heal correctly, it wasn’t really doable in my last job. I’m an adventure-slash-nature photographer.” Miles just nodded like he wasn’t fucking fangirling, considering he had some of her photographs hidden somewhere in our cabin. “I never knew when I’d be sent out on longer assignments. Keeping the fresh ink clean and infection-free while hiking and camping out in the middle of nowhere didn’t seem feasible. Hell, on most assignments, I’d go days without showering just to get to the perfect spot for an amazing photo.” She looked at us with a grimace. “Not sure why I said that out loud. I’m sure that sounds disgusting. I swear I bathe regularly when I’m home.”

Miles arched a thick brow. “Doesn’t bother me or Aiden, I’m sure. That’s a fairly normal occurrence for us, considering what we do for Uplift. Did he explain what we do for work?” Aspen’s head angled one way, then the other in akind ofgesture. “The company we work for handles all the excursions and adventure treks for the resort and other visitors that come to Anchor Bay, along with the various rescue missions that come up throughout the year.” He pointed at me, then to himself. “Aiden and I handle all the land motor vehicle assignments, such as ATVs, motorbikes, snowmobiles, and four-wheelers. Some outings are day trips, while others last several days, where we carry all our gear with us for however long we’re out. So, no, you stating you’re okay with all that comes along with long hiking and camping trips isn’t ‘disgusting,’ as you put it, to us.”

“That’s amazing.” The smiles and attention she gave Miles should stir up some jealousy, but only relief and flickering hope swirled in my chest. “You get to be outdoors all the time, and it’s your job, as in you get paid to do what you love. How cool is that?”

She turned to face me. “You mentioned something on the way to the resort this afternoon that made me think you’re not from here.”

I sat up straighter now that her dark gaze was on me and nodded.

“So, where are you from?”

There was no concealing my wince at her question. Clearing my throat, I gave myself a second to shove down the resentment and anger that always surfaced when I thought about the place I used to call home.

“Damn, I’m sorry. Was that too personal?” Aspen sat a little closer to Jubie, as if drawing comfort from the massive animal. “I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“Not too personal at all.” I shifted in the seat. “It’s just that thinking about home carries some baggage. For both of us.”

“We grew up together and have been friends since we were seven,” Miles added, shocking the hell out of me that he’d offered up that sliver of our past. He normally stayed closed off when meeting new people. Keeping things shallow helped protect him from… well, the world, it felt like most days. “We moved out here at the same time to join Uplift after I left the military.”

I swallowed hard and turned my gaze to the table, hating the swell of guilt that ballooned in my chest. He made it sound like he left on his own terms, but I knew differently. If Miles had it his way, he’d still be fighting side by side with his SEAL brothers, but he was here, living half a life with the guy who had failed him.

Me.

Aspen’s lips curled in a knowing smirk. “I knew it.”

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