Page 74 of The Lies I've Told
Aiden,
I don’t know a thing about love, but I’m fairly certain, if I were lucky enough to find it, I wouldn’t let a damn thing stand in my way.
Especially this.
And, if Ben were here, I know he’d agree with me. He always did. So, listen to your brothers and wise the fuck up.
I’ll be here when you come to your senses. I’d love to meet your Millie.
—James
With the stone bird my brother had carved lying on my chest, I read the note James had left on my coffee table—the one I’d managed to snag just moments before Millie’s eyes descended upon it.
At least, I thought I had.
Her mood had been different since then. It’d felt almost erratic. Every touch had felt deliberate, as if she’d timed it down to the second. I’d catch her staring at me in the mirror at one of the stores she’d dragged me into, and the moment our eyes met, she’d smile and turn away. But the smile had felt forced.
She’d enjoyed herself, picking out things for both of us in the short time we had before our flight back to Ocracoke, but I could tell there were other things on her mind.
But what?
When she’d been in my arms last night, I’d thought, surely, this was what it felt like to make love. She’d cradled me, cherished me, as I buried myself in her, using her body as the ultimate remedy for my grief. I had known it was selfish when I promised her nothing, but my conversation with James combined with the anniversary of Ben’s death, it had all been too much.
I’d needed her.
It was that sad realization that had me slumping in defeat.
Just like that selfish little boy who had asked his little brother to teach him how to carve his own stone figurine, I would stay here as long as I was able, soaking up as much of Millie as I could.
Because I couldn’t imagine spending another day without her.
Feeling out of sorts with too many thoughts swirling around in my head, I decided a walk might be just the thing I needed. Snatching the tiny bird from his perch on my chest, I rose to my feet and placed him on the nightstand next to the bed.
Heading toward the door, I opened it and found Millie with her hand raised to a fist.
“Oh!” she gasped. “I—sorry! I didn’t expect you to answer before I knocked!”
I shrugged. “We Brits are known for our punctuality.”
It was a cheesy joke, but she laughed all the same.
“I was just heading out for a walk. Care to join me?” I offered.
“Actually…” she said, turning her head to gaze down the hall.
I followed her lead and found two women standing near the foyer. One was Millie’s mother, whom I remembered from breakfast a few days earlier, and the other, I guessed, was her older sister, judging from how closely she resembled the other two women.
“My family invited you to dinner.”
A large lump formed in the dead center of my throat. “Oh.”
She pushed me back inside my suite and promptly shut the door. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Please don’t hate me, or think I’m one of those women who is trying to force you down the aisle. But my family is a little crazy, and…well, Southern.” She said the last word like it was supposed to explain a lot. Like,Meet Sally. She’s blonde, blue-eyed, and oh yes, Southern. And everyone would immediately nod and understand the plethora of traits associated with the word.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay, when do we leave?”
