Page 26 of Mutual Obsession

“Yeah, when Marcus and Chloe staged an intervention, Miles drove me to rehab. I had to pick someone to be my family contact while I was there. I didn’t really know who to choose. It felt like too much responsibility to place on Chloe’s shoulders, when she was going through her own tough time, and Marcus was already busy taking over the running of Blackthorn in my absence. My parents were never an option, as they don’t really care enough.

“I needed someone who cared about me, but who wouldn’t give in to me. Someone who had my best interests at heart, even if that meant pissing me off. When I asked Miles to do it, I thought he’d turn me down, but he didn’t even hesitate to say yes.

“I was a right bastard when I was detoxing, but no matter how cruel I was, Miles kept showing up. After everything I did to him, how much I hurt him, he put all that aside to help when I needed it the most. He’s seen me at my worst, and he’s still here.”

This time when Indie smiles at me, there’s no sadness there. “It sounds like your feelings for him haven’t changed.”

I’m sure she sees my face fall as pain washes over me. “That’s part of the problem. What I feel doesn’t matter. My family wouldnever allow it. Going down that road again will only end in pain for us both.”

Indie nods like she understands, and the haunted expression in her eyes suggests that maybe she does. The words tumble from my lips before I’ve even had a chance to register them in my head.

“Was there a part of you that hoped you and Miles could go back to how things were before? I know you came back here for his help with something, but were you hoping for more?”

Indie drops her gaze down to her now-cold coffee, as she shuffles uncomfortably in her seat. I’m unsure if she’s going to answer, but after a short yet deafening portion of silence, she admits to her feelings.

“I hoped it would go better than this,” she says with a chuckle that I match. “I knew that my leaving would hurt him, but I never expected him to be like this. He’s not the Miles I remember…the boy I loved.”

My eyes widen as her words hit me. “You loved him?”

I suspected as much, but hearing it confirmed is something different. Indie nods, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“I didn’t think I’d ever fall in love, after…everything, but he made it easy.”

I let out a sad laugh, as I know exactly what she means. Miles is one of those people that you can’t help but love, even if you know you shouldn’t.

“I never even knew about you. We weren’t really talking at the time. It’s probably a good thing, though, as I would have been jealous as hell to see him moving on with you,” I admit.

Indie looks a bit apprehensive as she asks, “Do you still get jealous?”

It takes a moment for me to work out what she’s asking, but when I do, I have to bite my lip to stop from smiling at herobviousness. “No, but that’s only because I’ve never needed to. Miles, as far as I’m aware, has never dated anyone since you.”

Indie’s eyes light up, and I watch as she schools her expression, trying not to look excited or hopeful. I pretend I’ve not seen and continue with what I was saying.

“When you came back, and I saw how much you affected him, that made me a little jealous,” I admit, biting my lip again to keep from looking too embarrassed.

Blush spreads across Indie’s cheeks, giving her pale skin a beautiful glow. “Sorry,” she mutters, and I can’t help but laugh.

“Don’t be sorry. It’s not hard to see why Miles fell for you in the first place.” I give her a flirty wink at the end, and her flush deepens and spreads down her neck. It takes all of my strength not to follow the trail with my eyes, to see if it disappears over her cleavage.

“I can see why he likes you too,” Indie says, barely above a whisper, and I can’t stop my smile from turning into a smirk. She rolls her eyes at me. “Should it be weird that we’re on a date, talking about both liking the same guy?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Probably, but I don’t think it is. Do you?”

“No,” Indie admits, giving us both quite a lot to think about.

After a few minutes of silence, we both agree to put all the heavy conversations to the side, so we can enjoy the rest of the day. We scour over the map and make a plan of action, making sure Indie sees everything she wants to see.

With a plan in place, we make our way around the zoo, going from one enclosure to the next, looking at all the amazing animals that are homed here. We stroll hand in hand, comfortable in each other’s company, as we chat and have a laugh, like we’ve known each other for longer than we have.

After a few hours, my feet are throbbing, but Indie’s enthusiasm has not dimmed even a little. I let her pull metowards the lemur enclosure, breathing a sigh of relief that there’s only one more after this on the list, and then we can get some food on the way home.

The keeper in charge of taking care of the lemurs is already in the middle of a talk, so Indie pulls me along quicker to catch what he’s saying. She’s pulled me in to listen to every lecture that we’ve stumbled across, and I watch her absorb the information like a sponge.

“…and what’s so unique about the Gray Maise Lemur, compared to other animals, is that they are polyandrous, meaning the female takes more than one male mate. She’s the one who chooses who she will mate with, and she often avoids alphas who aren’t willing to share. This girl here, she currently has two mates, but her kind have been known to have as many as nine mates.”

I lean in closer to Indie, ignoring the keeper, who is still talking, and whisper jokingly in her ear, “I bet there’s a few women who wish they could have more than one bloke without having to choose.”

Indie freezes, her whole body becoming tense as a blush spreads over her cheeks, like she might be thinking about it. After a short pause, she shakes her head. “It’d never work with humans. Men are far too possessive and territorial.”

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