Page 22 of Deception & Daylight
Another pang of guilt hits me square in the chest. Lucy is a kind woman, and if it weren’t for the menacing figure across the table, and the somewhat aggravating one at my side, this would’ve been a lovely meal. Lucy fills the silence with Oak Ridge gossip, launching into a full production about a local scandal involving a farmer’s daughter and her ex-boyfriend’s dad — it sounds like the plot of a romance novel, to be honest. Maybe I should be taking notes.
Eventually, Matty leaves and the tension dissipates, but now there’s an elephant in the room I have to address. A great big elephant named Miles Barlow — my… boyfriend?Fuck. My. Life.
Chapter 9
Miles
? Do I wanna know? - Arctic Monkeys
Lucy Barlow is a big softie, and she’s always wanted the best for us. Despite the tragedy of her own marriage, she still wholeheartedly believes in love. I couldn’t help the pang of guilt that pierced me when I saw the way she looked at us, but if this is what Maggie needs to feel comfortable, I’ll play her little game. I’ll be the best fake boyfriend she’s ever fucking had.
“Goodnight, Maggie. Miles, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you in the morning.” Mom winks and retreats to the kitchen, leaving me and Maggie alone in the quiet of the dim dining room. If she thinks I'll be spending the night with Maggie, I won’t correct her. But it sure as shit wouldn’t be a walk of shame situation like she implied. No, I would walk out of there like a fucking champion. Winning over Maggie Watson would be the greatest victory of my life. As it stands, I have a better chance at winning the Kentucky derby.
“So…” I start, just as Maggie says, “About the boyfriend thing…”
Chuckling, I say, “You go first.”
I watch with rapt attention as she rolls her shoulders and stands a little taller.Atta girl.
Her beautiful light brown eyes bore into me, as though she can see depths to my soul I didn’t know existed. This connection between us feels like uncharted territory — just call me Marco Polo ‘cause I’m ready to jot down every goddamn detail if she keeps looking at me like that. I’ll make a map of every single freckle and beauty mark. From the dip of her waist where my hand rested as she sat on my lap, to the curve of her neck where I’d place my lips as she writhed beneath me. My hands itch to tug on her braid, or wrap it around my fist. I wonder what sounds she’d make with my head between her thighs.
“Miles?”
“Hm?”
“Are you okay with this? With pretending to be my boyfriend for a while. Just until after the Blossom Festival. I know Matty’s your brother, and you have your own history there, but there’s just something about him that makes me feel uneasy. Maybe it’s the —” Her voice trails off as she runs a hand over the cut on her temple, momentarily lost in thought as she searches for her next words. The way her fingers linger on the scar pulls at something deep inside me. She shakes herself back to the present and continues. “I know we have our own shit, too, but I’d appreciate it. I’ll be gone soon enough, anyway. Oak Ridge is just a stop along the way.”
The casual dismissal shouldn’t hurt, but it does. “You’re not staying?”
“Honestly? I never really know what I’m doing.” She huffs out a laugh, but there’s no real humor behind it. “I just needed to get away.”
A flicker of sadness crosses her face, and I can almost see the walls she’s built around herself, the way they’ve kept her safe but also isolated. It’s in the way her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes, like a mask she wears to hide the fear of being vulnerable. I know that feeling all too well.
“I’ll be your fake boyfriend for as long as you need me, Wildcat.”Need me.Why do I want her to need me? I’ll be honest — my motivations for this whole agreement go beyond keeping my brother at bay. Maggie’s been doing this hot-and-cold thing for years, and while I enjoy the rush of riling her up, there’s a deeper part of me that wants something else entirely. What that is, I can’t be certain. All I know is I want to keep her close to me — make myself essential to her so I can buy some time to earn her forgiveness.
“Ugh, can we maybe not do the nicknames?”
“Rule #1: I always use nicknames. Get used to it, baby.”
She exaggerates a gagging sound, then a smile breaks free, and it damn near brings me to my knees. I have one week to make her smile like that as often as possible.Challenge accepted.
Mags
“So, how do we do this? Should we set some ground rules?” Miles tugs on my hand, pulling me through the front door to the porch swing. He waits for me to sit, then follows suit, angling his body towards me, his knee gently brushing mine in the middle of the seat. It sways gently as I nestle into the corner of the weathered wood bench suspended above the porch with sturdy chains. The plush pillows and handmade quilt are cozy, and I make a mental note to come out here and write tomorrow. The late spring weather is perfect for tea on the porch.
“What do you have in mind?”
“Well, obviously, we need to loop everyone else in,” he says. “There’s no way in hell they’d believe this shit.” That statement should hurt, but he’s not wrong. Miles and I are like oil and water. Cats and dogs. And, well, us. Not in a million years would Paige believe we just suddenly decided to let bygones be bygones.
He pulls out his phone, tapping over to our text message thread. His teeth bite into his bottom lip as he sends off a text to the group chat. It’s plush and soft — I want to sink my teeth into it, too. Where the fuck did that thought come from?
I avert my eyes as he catches me staring. “See something you like?”
“In your dreams, Barlow.”
“Mmmm. Maybe.”
My phone chimes in my pocket as responses start to flood in. He turns his phone so I can read the messages, his face full of what can only be described as pure joy.I stifle a groan. This man and his boundless energy might be the death of me.
