Page 3 of Chasing You

She just scoffs on the other side of the line. “And did you have your meeting yet? What did the chief want? Have you and Wes been called into the principal’s office?” she asks, and I roll my eyes as she mentions my best friend—and also my co-pilot for the majority of my off-the-clock flights.

“Not quite,” I say.

“Go on.”

“I got promoted to captain.”

“Oh my god, Miles!” Isla squeals from the other side of the phone. This is it, this is the joy I was waiting for. Hearing my sister's excitement is what finally makes my heart kick. “That is amazing, I am so proud of you!”

“Thank you,” I chuckle, her happiness making me smile. “Yeah, it’s an amazing opportunity.”

“It is…” Her voice trails off. “You don’t sound all that excited about it though?”

“No, it’s great,” I say, forcing my tone to perk up. “It’s awesome really. I’m sure Mom will be happy about it.” I force out a chuckle.

“Of course she will, but areyouhappy about it, Miles? Because that is the most important thing.”

“Yeah, no, I am,” I say, trying to sound as convincing as possible. It occurs to me that I shouldn’t have to convince my sister I’m happy about something if I’m truly happy about it. It should radiate off me, the way it does from her when she talks about her paintings. I close my eyes against the sun, trying to block it all out. “Did you just call to check in?” I ask, flipping the conversation.

“Yeah, kind of. Okay. Umm.” She has that nervous Isla muttering thing going on.

My eyes fly open. “What, Isla?”

“I sort of need to tell you something. About the wedding. About someone who will be there.”

My face contorts into a frown, trying to think of anyone that could possibly be a part of the wedding that I should be concerned about. “You didn’t invite Uncle Ernie, did you?”

She snorts. “God no.”

My face splits into a grin as I hear that snort. The one I used to hear so much as a kid. “Okay, spit it out then.”It can’t be worse than Uncle Ernie.

“It’s, um… It’s Marina.”

I hear the sound of fabric shredding, almost like a record scratching on the reality TV show of my life.

When I look down, I see the little muppet running away with a chunk of my jeans. My mouth hangs open as I watch him sprint to the other side of the park. I should be standing up, I should be chasing that little fucker through the park to get the bottom of my jeans back. But all I can think of is that name.

Marina.

Marina?

“Miles?” Isla asks, jolting me back into action.

I stand up. “Marina who?”

“D’Angelo,” she whispers. My heart kicks against my chest, my mind shooting through a highlight reel of one of the best summers of my life. Reminding me of dark curls wrapped around my fingers, and hazel eyes that caught my attention from the first time I ever saw them. Reminding me of the last time I felt that heart fluttering, face-hurting-so-much-from-smiling kind of happiness, and the girl I walked away from.

I instantly feel like I can smell coconut shampoo, and my hands begin to feel damp.

“Why is Marina D’Angelo going to be at your wedding?” I ask wearily.

“Because she’s Caio’s cousin, and one of my closest friends.”

“What?” I sit straight back down again and run a hand through my hair, tugging on the strands. How could I not know that my sister is best friends with my…Marina? “How? I mean, I—I met all of your friends.”

“You remember that first night you came to Ruby Cove for my birthday?”

“Yeah.” Not even the amount of tequila shots we took that night could make me forget the look on Isla’s face when I walked through those doors to surprise her.

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