Page 17 of Beginnings By the Sea

When my body allowed me to breathe, I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, Miles’s eyes locked with mine. He stared at me and I stared right back, the memories of our past replaying through my mind. This was why I never wanted to see him again. I knew it would bring up the past and everything I did wrong. The regret was real, and it was debilitating.

Noah and Luke’s mouths both gaped and they whispered something to Miles, but Miles never broke his focus on me. He slowly stepped toward me, and all I could hear was my pulse pounding in my ear. My legs felt like lead and there was no moving them. All I could do was stand there while Miles closed the distance.

A small smile lifted the corner of his lips and my eyes burned. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed him. His dirty blond hair was a little longer on top, but it still looked the same in that unkempt sort of way that all the women loved. But it was always his crystal blue eyes that managed to make my knees weak. There wasn’t anyone alive who had the same eye color as Miles.

“Nyla,” he said, his voice so smooth and familiar. He stopped in front of me, his eyes searching mine. “What are you doing here?”

I cleared my throat and released a sigh. “I could ask you the same thing.”

His eyes never wavered from mine as he nodded in Noah and Luke’s direction. “Luke’s getting married in three weeks,” he explained. “We’re here for his bachelor weekend, but I’m also here for work.”

My heart leaped for joy at the news. Luke was a good guy, and I was happy he’d finally found someone. I used to enjoy hanging out with him when Miles and I were together. The same went for Noah. I glanced at them over Miles’s shoulder and waved enthusiastically. Luke and Noah were twins and both firefighters, just like Miles. They looked exactly alike, but Luke’s dark hair was shorter and neat, whereas Noah’s was a little shaggier.

“Congratulations on the wedding, Luke!” I shouted, grinning happily.

Luke waved back. “Thanks, Ny. It’s good to see you!”

It’d been a long time since anyone had called me Ny. Miles used to do it all the time. Miles glanced back at them, and they waved again before getting into a midnight blue Toyota 4Runner.

“So . . . you said bachelor weekend, huh?” I laughed and shook my head. “You picked a low-key place for something like that, didn’t you? Oak Island isn’t exactly a party town with strip clubs.”

Miles chuckled and the sound made me smile. “That’s not what we were looking for. We’re actually going deep-sea fishing tomorrow morning.”

A gasp escaped my lips. “Who’s taking you out? Is it McLean Charters?”

Miles raised an eyebrow. “You know them?”

Reaching into my purse, I pulled out one of my business cards and handed it to him. On it was mine and Everleigh’s names, along with the name of our medical practice.

“Jensen, the owner of McLean Charters, is my partner’s husband.” I tapped the card. “Everleigh took over the practice from her father, and she sold me half of it.” When Miles’s gaze met mine, I felt myself getting lost in it. “I live here now. Oak Island is my home.”

Miles sighed in disbelief. “And I’m here, too. What are the odds of that?”

That was a good question. And it was just as I was trying to move on. Silence filled the air as we stared at each other; I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him. There were so many questions and things I wanted to know about him. It was crazy to think that Miles and I had once been married. So much had happened since our divorce that now we didn’t even know each other. Looking around, I remembered what happened just a few weeks ago when I was in the parking lot with Cohen. I thought I had seen Miles.

“How long have you been here?” I asked.

Miles glanced down at his watch. “Let’s see. We arrived about three hours ago.” A part of me wished it had been him I’d seen turning that corner, but sadly, it was my mind playing tricks on me. When he looked into my face, he peered at me with concern. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” I said quickly, clearing my throat again. I wasn’t about to tell him he was a figment of my imagination when I was standing in almost the exact same spot about to kiss another man. “You said you were here for work. Are you teaching classes like you did before?” I asked.

Miles nodded. “Yep. Starting next week, I’ll be teaching Building and Life Safety classes to firefighters around this area.”

Not only was he a well-trained firefighter, but he was knowledgeable in so many fields. He used to travel around the country and teach classes when we were married.

“Noah and Luke will be heading back to Massachusetts in three days,” he continued, “but I’ll be here for another two weeks, and then I’ll head back home to Virginia.”

A surge of excitement washed through me, and I knew I shouldn’t feel that way. But then, the mention of Virginia caught me off guard. “Wait! Did you just say Virginia?” I said, staring at him incredulously. “When did you move there?”

Miles smiled. “You’re not the only one who relocated, Nyla. I live in Richmond now. After everything with us, I needed a change of scenery.”

My chest tightened and I nodded. “So did I,” I agreed. “This place saved me.”

I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. The stars were so bright, twinkling as if they were happy to glitter alongside the moon. Miles stepped closer and I could feel the warmth of his body. My body trembled nervously as I tore my gaze away from the sky to look into his eyes. The intensity behind them was one of the things I loved about him. But it was the last thing I needed to see. What I wanted was to move on, and I couldn’t do that with the past staring me right in the face.

“I should probably get back to the guys,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper.

Despite my best intentions to try and start anew, I couldn’t help the spark of disappointment that shot through me. “Go,” I managed to choke out. “It was great seeing you again. I hope you have a great time while you’re here.”

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