Page 30 of My Summer Fling

“Thank you, Noah.”

She lets go and I feel the absence of her body like a missing limb.

I sigh and roll my neck when she’s seated on the couch with Annie, both of them covered up in one of her grandma’s old quilts. I watch them for a moment while she channel flips, trying to find something good to watch.

Is this what it feels like to be happy? To be domesticated with someone? Because fuck, it feels good.

But there’s still that seed of anxiety sitting deep in my stomach because I know I can’t have this, at least not unless we properly flush out what happened between us all those years ago. I have a choice to make here.

I can lay it all out on the line, discussing our past, apologizing properly, and letting her know exactly where I stand. I can try to make this work. I can finally try to have something that’s eluded me all these years.

Or I can go back to how things were. I can go back to the West Coast and live my single life, ignoring how shitty I treated her back then and trying to ignore how shitty I still feel about that every single day.

She leans forward and kisses Annie on the head as she ruffles her ears.

“Sweet baby girl,” she coos.

I smile and turn around to get back to work. I have to get my shit together and figure out what I’m doing here. The wedding is in a month and I have to have a game plan for Teddy. Because if I want to make this work between me and Millie, Teddy is going to have to be okay with it as well.

And I think I really want to try to make this work.

I hope she does, too.

“It’s sonice to meet you!” I tell Noah’s friend Roman as we shake hands.

He’s tall—very tall—with one of the kindest faces I think I’ve ever seen. His skin is deep umber, and he’s covered in black and gray tattoos. Roman smiles down at me and pulls on my hand to bring me in for a hug, lifting me into the air.

“Noah has told me so much about you!” he says as he squeezes me tightly.

“All good I hope?” I ask him once he sits me back down.

“Glowing reviews, I promise.” He winks at me and then him and Noah do that weird boy-hug where they slap each other on the back so hard I feel like it would make me hack up a lung.

“Missed you, bud,” Noah tells him when they break apart.

“Same, bro. But I’m happy to be here and help. Teddy said it was a gorgeous island, and he wasn’t lying.” He turns to me. “You have a beautiful home. And this private beach access?” He kisses his fingers. “Chef’s kiss.”

“Thank you,” I say, laughing. “I figured we could show you around while there’s good light, and then we could all go to dinner?”

“Sounds good to me,” he says.

“I’ve been bugging Millie to take me back to The Steamer because it has the best food on the island,” Noah says as he wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me in. “But last time I was there, I kind of punched her ex. So we aren’t sure if they’ll let me back in.”

Roman laughs. “Ever the gentleman.”

We talk a little as we walk around the house. We show him different spots that Noah has scoped out for private pictures, and then we walk him down to the beach. I point out where everything will be, letting him know where the ceremony will be set up and where the tents will be for the reception.

It’s kind of hard to paint a picture of how everything will look when you have such a blank canvas, but I wanted him to be as prepared as possible. I’ve heard he’s an amazing photographer, from both Noah and Teddy. But I just want everything to be perfect, and my mind won’t let me rest until I’ve pointed every little thing out to him.

“I also wanted to show you my portfolio,” Roman says to me after we’re done outside. “I know Teddy and Noah here have probably talked me up, but I’d like to treat you like any other client. And that includes talkingmyselfup with proof that I’m the best damn photographer on this island.”

Noah clutches his chest like he’s offended.

“Yeah, even better than this guy.” Roman smiles and claps him on the back.

“Let’s go inside, then. I could honestly use a few minutes of air conditioning to freshen up before we go anywhere anyway.”

Annie is waiting at the door for us when we get back, her tail wagging so hard that her entire butt moves from side to side. We all talk excitedly to her to get her wound up, and once the door is open she bolts out to greet us all, sniffing and licking as we pet her hello.

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