Page 23 of Deception & Daylight
Miles: Gonna fake date the hell out of Mags.
Paige: Did you hit your head again?
Cade: Mags? As in our Mags?
Liam: Does she know this? Or is this like a psychotic break?
Cara: Mags? You wanna chime in on these new developments?
I pull out my phone, intending to tap out my own message, when Miles puts his into selfie mode and snaps a photo of us. Before I can even register what’s happening, his lips meet my cheek. The photo is almost cute, ifyou don’t look too closely at my stunned expression. I shake off the last few seconds and get back to the text messages.
Mags: I plead temporary insanity.
Seconds later, the photo pops up in the thread and the reactions appear in quick succession.
Paige: Aww, he looks so in love.
Cade: Mags looks constipated.
Mags: Rude as fuck, Cowboy.
Dean: Just to clarify… is this an Ivy marries Luca situation?
Mags: No, it’s not that serious. Just temporary until after the festival.
Miles: $100 says I get her to fall in love with me.
I smack him in the ribs and his deep chuckle reverberates through the open air.
Dean: $100 says she murders you before the week is up.
Mags: Always knew I liked you, Dean.
“Ok. Ground rules?” I cast a sidelong look at Miles, only to find him staring at his phone again. With a smirk, he turns it to face me, showing off his new lock screen image. “Oh my god, delete that! It’s a terrible picture. I wasn’t ready.”
His gaze softens with something I can’t quite place. “That’s why I like it so much. It’s a glimpse of the real Maggie. The one you try to hide behind forced smiles and cutting words. It’s you, unfiltered.”
The sudden intensity of his words knock me off my axis. I’m not ready to unpack the meaning behind them, so I let them hang between us. I’m acutely aware of the scars I carry, both visible and hidden. I’ve learned to keep people at arm's length, to shield myself from the weight of my past. But Miles’ unexpected kindness pulls at something inside me, a longing I need to suppress.
“I’ll accept your first rule, but I’d like to add the following: no feelings. Ever. This little act is for the public only.”
“Straight down to business — I respect that. But you should know… I plan to win you over.” His face is plastered with that devastatingly gorgeous smile; the one that shines like daylight, breaking through the clouds that have been looming overhead for the past two weeks. I want to drown in it. Holding on to the last threads of my sanity, I divert his attention back to the task at hand, lest I break my own damn rules.
“Fat fucking chance,” I scoff. “Rule number three: we avoid any serious conversations about our past.”
“What happens if someone asks us something personal? We need to know the answers.”
“You make a fair point, Muffin.” I cringe at my use of the pastry themed nickname. Not my finest moment.
“Muffin?” he chuckles.
“Yeah, I didn’t like that one either. Back to the drawing board.”
I absentmindedly chew on my bottom lip, contemplating ways to bend this rule to work in my favor. I don’t mind Miles knowing things about me. It’s just one very specific event I’m not ready to share, and it has me reconsidering this whole agreement. “Maybe this is a bad idea.”
“Mags,” his voice is soft and steady, almost tender. “I won’t ask. You can tell me if you want to. But I won’t push you. And anything that’s said between us stays between us.”
“Ok.” I hate the hesitancy in my voice. Vulnerability has never been my strong suit. I love fiercely, but there’s an intentional lack of depth to my relationships. With the exception of Paige, I don’t think there’s a single person in this world who truly knows me, and even she doesn't know all of my secrets.
