Page 57 of Tourist Trap

I break the kiss again, moving down the other side of her neck, wanting to grace every inch of exposed flesh I can.

“You are. You just won’t admit you want to be with me.”

Those words have me hesitating, reality crashing back in as I rest my forehead against hers. “I don’t have time for a relationship, Claire.”

Something curls in my stomach, canceling out the peace and excitement that was just dwelling in there.

“I’m a relationship kind of girl,” she admits, something that, despite it all, I knew.

It’s why Paul stayed with her instead of just fucking her and running once he got what he wanted.

I stand there, staring at her with her kiss-swollen lips and the dazed look in her eyes, committing it to memory.

Because I won’t ever see it again.

I can’t do the same thing my brother did to her, taking what she so willingly gives without thinking about whatsheneeds.

“We shouldn’t do this,” I say, and her body goes tense.

“Excuse me?”

“We shouldn’t be doing this, Claire.”

“I don’t have time for…whatever you want this to be.” The words twist in my gut and taste sour on my lips, but I know it’s what needs to happen.

She steps back, anger playing over her face.

“Don’t make it seem like I’m forcing you into something, Miles. You kissedme.”

“I know, I know,” I say, running a hand over my hair. “Trust me, I know. And god, I fucking want to, Claire. I really do. But I can’t.”

The sad smile that moves over her face puts salt in the self-inflicted wound. She steps further back and shakes her head, disappointment clear on her face, hurt hidden beneath it.

“You don’t have to sacrifice everything all the time, Miles. You know that?”

“If I could have you, I would, Claire.”

She gives me a pitying smile.

“Except, you already do. It’s totally crazy, but I like you. And you like me too, but you’re so caught up in your responsibilities and what you think youhaveto do,that you won’t give yourself what you want.”

She shakes her head and takes another step away from me, each one feeling like I’m losing something vital before she turns completely away. When she’s almost in the sun, she looks over her shoulder, giving me one last look.

“I do wonder, Miles, just how happier you’d be if you justlet yourself.”

Then she’s gone.

And even though her words echo in my mind throughout the night and into the next day and the next, I make the decision that I’m going to keep away from Claire Donovan to the best of my ability.

TWENTY

CLAIRE

It’s been a week since our kiss under the boardwalk, and Miles has made one thing glaringly clear: he is making every effort to avoid me. It’s like a single moment together flipped some switch, reminding him that we can’t not only be somethingmore, but we can’t even be friends.

We’re barelyacquaintancesat this point.

Two days in, I took the list off the fridge and crossed outeat ice cream, leaving it on the counter for him to see. I was somewhat mollified when he didn’t crumble it and toss it in the trash, instead putting it back on the fridge where it belongs.

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