Page 46 of Chasing You

She turns to face me, and I swear it’s a small smile she’s wearing, but it’s gone before I can truly admire it. “She hasn’t killed me yet.”

I just shake my head as I follow her over to it. I can’t believe I assumed she’d have a car by now. Of course she’s still riding this thing.

I take one last look back towards the forest, and the only thing I see is an eagle taking flight off a low-lying branch, disappearinginto the trees as Marina’s bike rumbles to life behind me. I didn’t even know they had eagles here.

“Thanks,” Marina yells over the sound of her bike. “I, uh…” Her words slip away from her as she shakes her head, tucking her hair into her helmet. “I hope you don’t get kidnapped on the way back,” is what she lands on.

“Not even a little bit?” I ask, not shying away from the smile tugging at my lips.

She kicks up the stand with her heel, tipping her head in deliberation. “Maybe a little.”

And then she’s riding out of the small car park and disappearing around the corner back into the heart of Ruby Cove, leaving me in the dust.

chapter eighteen

MARINA

PRESENT

“I think I’m going insane,”I say as I storm through the door to Rosemary Cottage and plonk myself down on the couch. Huffing out a sigh as I slide my way down the cushions until I’m nearly horizontal.

The cottage smells of something delicious, something warm and savory. The smell fills every nook and cranny of the small space.

“What have you done now?” May asks from the kitchen.

“Nothing yet.”

“Well…what are youthinkingof doing?” I can almost hear her eyebrows wiggling in the tone of her voice.

I flip around to see her standing behind the counter, Rafael’s arms around her waist, and his chin on her shoulder as he listens in as well. The two of them finally decided to drop the L bomb and now Rafael has given up his Modern new build to move into the cottage with May. The way they are so effortlessly affectionate with each other takes me back to what I was talking about. I groan and slump back down on the couch.

“Spit it out,” Rafael says.

“I can’t stop thinking about Miles.” I groan as I say it out loud. I’ve barely admitted to myself that I’m not even sure if I want to stop thinking about him. It’s been over a week since he arrived back in town, and an entire week that my mind has been consumed by him.

“Oh my god.” May barely finishes the sentence before she’s rounding the bench and jumping onto the couch next to me. “Spill it, D’Angelo.”

“Yeah, D’Angelo,” Rafael says from his new spot on a stool at the kitchen counter. “Spill it.”

I roll my eyes at him before bringing my focus back to May. “I’m insane. I must seriously be going mad. Who in their right mind fawns over someone who shattered their heart into a million pieces?”

“I thought you guys only spent one fleeting summer together?” Rafael says, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

May’s eyebrows screw together and a smile curves at her lips as she slowly turns to look at him. “When in the world did you start speaking like that?One fleeting summer,” she mocks.

“I may or may not have been reading that romance book you left sitting on the coffee table for the last week.”

Her eyes widen before she checks herself, putting a hand up in dismissal. “We’ll talk more about that later. Back to you,” she turns her attention back to me. “What do you mean you’re fawning over him?”

“Like why is he even here? It’s not like Isla is here, so why is he now deciding to take time off from his precious job to hang around? And why am I letting it affect me so much? I thought I was over him. Iamover him.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you ramble,” she wonders with her head tipped. “But back to the point, I didn’t know he was sticking around, but you’re not wrong in thinking it’s weird. The guy never takes even a single day off work unless he’s forced into it.”

“That’s the exact reason we didn’t work out. He had to goback to his job, at least that’s what I am assuming, considering I never got an explanation from him. Did you know he saved me the other day from a kidnapper?”

“A what?!” May asks, her eyes widening.

“Okay, well, a suspected kidnapper, I guess,” I say. May’s hand flies to her chest. “I was out walking in the forest on the other side of town, and I swear to all things holy May, someone was following me. I ended up running into Miles, and he walked me back to my car.” May’s eyebrows draw together. “Okay, it doesn’t sound that heroic when I put it like that, but who knows what would've happened if he wasn’t there. Really fucking inconvenient. I had to be saved by the big, strong man.” I roll my eyes.

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