Page 44 of You, Me, and Forever

We turned the corner and were making our way up the steps to his front porch when a movement had us both turning.

Myles startled. “Good Christ. That thing is still here?”

I laughed as I bent down, and he walked over to me. “Porky likes it here. He’s clearly drawn to you.”

Myles rolled his eyes and bent down on the porch beside me as we both stroked his back once his needles had flattened.

“Are you claiming we have a lot in common?” His voice was teasing, but I looked up to see his green eyes soften as he stroked the little guy.

“You’re both a little prickly.” I chuckled. “Sorry. Porcupine humor was a must. I couldn’t help myself.”

We pushed to stand, and Porky walked down the front porch to a bushy area on the side and disappeared into the lush landscape.

Once we were inside, we both washed our hands, and he moved to grab a bottle of wine. He led me out the back door and onto the dock, where we had the option of a motorboat or a canoe, and he told me to pick. I chose the canoe, because the idea of just floating out in the water right then sounded pretty nice.

The sky was finally starting to darken. This was always my favorite time of year, to catch those brief hours when the sun actually went down for the night.

Once we’d settled in the canoe, he used the oars to move us out to a quiet spot beneath some trees and dropped the oars inside the boat. He reached in his back pocket for a wine opener and shook it in front of me like he’d just done a magic trip.

“Very suave, Moneybags.”

“What can I say? I’m a classy guy.” He uncorked the bottle and handed it over to me to take the first swig.

I took a sip and handed it back to him. “You’re going to watch the sky darken before your eyes.”

“It’s beautiful,” he said as he took a pull from the bottle, but he wasn’t looking up at the sky; his eyes were on me. “Was that tough for you tonight? Seeing your ex?”

I shook my head. “No. I don’t feel anything for him anymore, but hearing the timeline, and the fact that he’d clearly kissed her a year ago, when we were still together—that really pisses me off.”

He laughed. “Well, it’s better to be mad than sad.”

“I feel like I wasted a lot of time on him, you know? I wasn’t all that happy, looking back, but I was loyal to him. And he was out there, going on dates and kissing other women.” I shook my head and pointed up at the sky. “Here we go.”

“I’m glad you left the wedding early. You shouldn’t have to see them, or deal with it.” He handed the bottle back to me.

“I was happy you showed up when you did.”

“Yeah? He seemed pretty bothered, and I fucking loved it. You deserve better, Honey Badger.”

“Thank you. I agree, actually. And that’s my new motto: ‘No settling.’”

“Good. You should never settle.”

“Are you still planning to go home tomorrow?” I asked, because he’d mentioned it a few days ago, and he hadn’t sounded thrilled about it.

“Yep. My parents’ anniversary party. It’ll be a lot of bullshit, and my father will make as many digs as he can get in over the few hours I’m with him. But I’ll suck it up and do it.” His eyes locked with mine, and I saw the sadness there.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“You want to help me, Montana?” He winked, and I squeezed my thighs together in response. The man was ridiculously sexy. Unfairly good looking.

“I do. You helped me tonight. You gave me a real mic drop moment. So how about you let me do the same for you. Name it, and I’ll do it.”

He sat forward and reached for the bottle. “Anything I want?”

“Well, within reason.”

“Hmm ...” He tapped his chin with his pointer finger. “A pre-home-visit blow job could be a nice way to relax.”

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