Page 20 of Deception & Daylight
The second I step through the French doors off the back deck, I nearly run straight into a mass of pink silk. I stumble backwards a step. “Ooof. Sorry about that, ladies. Daaaaamn, you all look smokin’ hot,” I say with a wink, before placing Ivy’s hand in the crook of my arm.
I feel the solid weight of her presence before her lithe form striding purposefully towards Dean comes into focus.Fuck me.Mags looks like cotton candy, and I want to eat her up.
The ceremony goes off without a hitch, and I’m not too proud to admit I may have shed a tear or two when Cade recited his handwritten vows. What can I say? I’m a sucker for true love. Dean catches me not so subtly checking out the maid of honor, elbowing me in the ribs. “You have some explaining to do,” he mutters as Cade dips his bride in a kiss that feels too intimate for a public display. I shake my head and shrug in response.
As the celebration dies down, Liam is locked in conversation with Ruby, as Cade twirls Paige on the makeshift dance floor to an old country tune. Ivy’s sitting in a chair with her daughter fast asleep in her lap, and I’m scanning the crowd for a delicious pink confection. It takes a minute, but I finally spot Mags meandering towards the dock with a stolen bottle of champagne in hand. I only debate with myself for a second before jogging to catch up with her. “Mags. Wait up.”
She spins on her heel, pinning me with an impressive glare. Cute, but not intimidating. Her arms are crossed over her chest in a defensive position, and I want to pry them apart and sink to my knees, begging for forgiveness. But I don’t beg — I prefer it the other way around. “What do you want, Miles?” She takes a long pull directly from the bottle and visions of her lips wrapped around my cock assail me before I force my mind back onto solid ground.
I sigh, raking a hand through my unkempt hair. “We should talk.”
She scoffs and her eyes narrow to slits before she steps into my space, toe to toe, though she has to crane her neck to look me in the eye. “Oh. Sure.Nowyou want to talk. What should we talk about? Should we start with how you ghosted me? How you let me fucking f—” Her eyes go wide as she stops herself mid sentence, and I find myself waiting on bated breath for her to finish. “No. You know what… fuck you, Miles.”
She twists to storm off, but I grab her by the wrist before she can get far. Her soft skin beneath my palm leaves me momentarily speechless. I gently glide my thumb along her pulse point, feeling the erratic beating of her heart. Is that anger, or something else entirely? My heart speeds up in tandem.
“I deserve that. I’m sorry, Maggie. That’s all I wanted to say.” My voice is quiet as I release my hold on her. She still has her back turned, but I don’t miss the way her shoulders sag. She doesn’t say a word as she takes off towards the end of the dock. I stay rooted to the spot, staring at her back as her long brown hair blows in the breeze, illuminated by the soft glow of the lanterns lining the path and the moon shining overhead. I wonder if she knows how beautiful she is.
Chapter 8
Miles
? Everywhere - Niall Horan
My fist slams into the heavy bag as I pummel every ounce of frustration into it, while Liam watches from the sidelines, arms crossed over his chest — his usual scowl is mixed with a hint of concern. Resisting the urge to remove the bindings and get my knuckles bloody, I channel all of my anger into each strike.
The stench of sweat mixed with rubber from the mats and a hint of something metallic surrounds me as the burning in my muscles intensifies. I’ve been at this for well over an hour, and the exertion isn’t doing anything to quell my frustrations.
“What's that bag ever done to you?” Liam chuckles. “Never seen you so intense before, Barlow.”
“Saw my brother this morning,” I grunt, throwing another jab at the inanimate object.
“Matty? The fuck is he doing back in town?”
“Fuck if I know. Nothing good, I guarantee you that.”
I’ve never shared the extent of my brother’s deception with anyone, but the guys know enough to assume that Matty being back in town is a disaster waiting to happen. I’m wound up like a fucking viper, ready to snap at the next moving target. To top it off, I need to get laid, but nobody has piqued my interest in years. Nobody except the wounded woman currently living at my mother’s inn.
“Fuck!” I curse, shaking off the sting of a poorly timed hit.
“Ok, Rocky. Time for a break.” Liam pats me on the back and guides me over to the weight bench, handing me a bottle of water.
Liam’s home gym is state-of-the-art and custom-built by yours truly. The floor to ceiling mirrors along the wall reflect my tortured expression, momentarily peeling back the mask I wear most days before securing it back in place with a shake of my head. Sweat drips down my face as I force a deep, steadying breath.
“Listen, if you need me to pay him a visit, say the word.”
Liam’s stern expression tells me he’s 100% serious about the offer. I chuckle — I wouldn’t want to be on the other end of Liam’s fists, that's for damn sure. He’s stoic on his best day, and downright nasty if you somehow manage to land yourself on his shit list. But he’s fiercely loyal if you can get past the walls he’s built up over the years.
“Noted. Gonna call it a day.”
“Hot date?”
“If you consider dinner at the inn with my mom a hot date, then sure.”
“I’ve seen your mama — she definitely qualifies.”
“Watch it, Murphy.” I snatch up the towel from the bench, wiping the sweat off my brow before tossing it in my gym bag. With a backward wave, I head out the door. The scent of freshly mowed grass surrounds me as the afternoon sun beats down on my already heated skin. Stepping into the truck, I blast the AC and turn on myplaylist, singing along to some Tyler Childers on the short drive back to my house.
As I make my way down the winding road, my thoughts stray back to Mags, and the way her vacant eyes stared at me from across the diner. It pained me to see her that way, even if it was just for a fleeting moment before her expression changed, slipping back into the carefree facade she's projecting to the rest of the world. Maggie Watson has always been incandescent, but her fire has turned to embers and fuck if I don’t want to stoke the flames and bring her back to life.
