Page 27 of Chasing You

“Does it get messed up with sleep?” he asks quietly, his finger fiddling with the long ends hanging down my back.

“A little,” I say. “I have a silk pillowcase at home, that helps.”

“Hmm, interesting.” It’s like I can hear him taking mental notes, and I just smile against his chest.

“What about your family?” I ask, jumping back to our conversation from earlier without letting up on my grip on him.

I remember that first night at Bub’s, the way he diverted the conversation as soon as the topic of home was brought up, so I won’t be surprised if he shoots it down again. It’s not as if we have known each other very long, even if it already feels like we’ve known each other forever—at least to me.

“What about them?” he asks. I have to stop myself from stepping back to look at his face, to see what lies in those green eyes. But I just stay where I am, letting him talk to the top of my head.

“I don’t know,” I shrug. “Did you guys have any traditions like me and my dad’s puzzle sessions?”

He’s quiet for a while, and I can hear his heartbeat quicken in his chest. “We always used to get ice cream on a Sunday after going to visit my grandparents. It was the one thing my little sister and I used to look forward to when we were kids. Sometimes it felt like the weeks dragged on for so long just because we were waiting for Sundays.” A small smile lifts the side of my face that isn’t buried into his shirt. His tone is funny though, not like someone who is reminiscing about a cherished memory. I kind of wish I had stepped back so I could see his expression, but his arms are still wrapped firmly around me, so I don’t pull away.

“But no, other than that, we didn’t have many cute traditions or inside jokes, or…stuff like that. Quality time with my father consisted of him reading the newspaper with his morning coffee and watching over me to make sure I did my homework, right up until the moment I left for school. That was just kind of the way our family worked. Grades, wins, successes over anything else.”

His heart is banging wildly against his chest, as if opening up about that scares him. As if it wants to get out just so it won’t be hurt if I say the wrong thing. But I just say the only thing that feels right to me in this moment. “I’m sorry, Miles.”

He clears his throat, his arms loosening around my back,enough to let me lean back and see the uncertainty in his eyes, but not enough to fully let me go. “It’s okay,” he says. “I turned out okay. I’m glad you got to have that.”

My heart hurts for the little boy who got sold the lie that nothing matters except his success. I press up onto my tip toes, my palm finding his cheek, and press a soft kiss to his lips.

It’s nothing short of magnetic, the way I feel toward this man, and this kiss is no different. It’s tender, softer than our other kisses. It feels raw. And when I pull away, the way he’s looking at me isn’t like anything I can describe; the closest word would be admiration. But then a smile kicks up the corner of his mouth. “So, those brownies?”

chapter eleven

MILES

PRESENT

“Smooth take off, Captain.”

“I hate when you call me that,” I shake my head at my co-pilot.

“Why? You’re my captain now.”

I glare over at where Wesley is sitting beside me. The two of us met in our last year at the academy, but we didn’t really become friends until last year, when we met up again at the Everglades private airstrip in Florida. It’s where most of us get our extra airtime in. We were both scheduled for takeoff at the same time, so Captain Williams suggested we go together. And when Williams suggests something, you don’t say no.

We’ve been friends ever since, spending the majority of our extra flying time together rather than separately. He’s a bloody good pilot, and a good guy to be sitting next to for hours on end. He’s the one friend I’ve been able to keep while doing this job. Being all over the world every single day isn’t exactly the best environment to be making friends, let alone anything more.

“What did you get up to after your sister’s wedding?”

I sigh. “Not much, really.”

I spent the day after at Hotel Dolce with Isla before she and Caio headed off to Australia for their honeymoon the next day. Then I made the drive from Ruby Cove to Rome and met Wes here for our flight to Tokyo—my first flight as captain.

He scoffs. “I can’t believe you didn’t get a plus one.”

“I did, I just didn’t want to bring you to my sister's wedding.”

He flips me the bird before his attention falls back to the endless sky out the cockpit windshield. “Screw you.”

“Love you too, man.” He shakes his head. “What about you? Did you get up to much in Rome?”

He gets this cheeky smile that is so undeniably Wes. “I just roamed around Rome, you know? Saw the sights.”

“And by the sights you mean…?”

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