Page 81 of Chasing You

“Does the water really help?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he says, moving his arm carefully under the water. “It takes the weight out of it, it makes it easier for me to move it around without using too much effort.”

“Hmm,” I mutter. Makes sense, I guess.

My eyes catch on the brown birthmark below his collarbone, on the left side. He must know what my gaze is stuck on because he says, “Now I’ll have one on each side. A birthmark, and a scar.”

I can’t tell by the tone of his voice what he thinks about that, if he’s worried about how it will look. “Two things that mark important moments in your life. It’s beautiful.”

His eyes just search mine like he’s waiting for something. Like he’s waiting for the shoe to drop.

In a way, our future lies in my hands. I know Miles’s intentions, he told me that all he wants is to gain my trust back, and I know he’s just waiting for the day when I tell him that he’s got it.

But I suggested being friends for a reason. No matter how much I ache to be in his arms, no matter how much I care for him, building back that trust is going to take time. I can’t serve myself up on a silver platter, not this time.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” he says. “Something I’ve missed.”

There are so many things I could say, so many things that have happened over the last year that I could tell him about, but only one thing comes to mind. “I have to fight the guy who lives on a houseboat at the laundromat for my leather pants at least once a month. For some reason, he thinks they’re his, and at some point, I think maybe I should just give them to him, he obviously wants them more than I do.”

Miles’s face splits into a grin as he laughs, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever heard. “Did I ever tell you that you’re remarkable?”

I bite my lip to stop my smile from taking over my entire face. “Once or twice.”

chapter thirty-four

MILES

PRESENT

“Pleaseeeee,”Isla begs, her hands gripping mine. “Please, please, please, please, plea?—”

“Oh my god, fine!” I give in. “But you’re going to be the one answering to Marina when she finds out.”

Isla has conned me into auctioning myself off for a date at this year's Ruby Cove Business Convention.

It’s something Caio hosts every year, and I did the auction last year after May and Isla forced me into it. After going on what might have been the most awkward date I’ve ever been on, I was just happy I’d never have to do it again, but here I am.

“How is all of that going?” Caio asks from where he’s sitting on their couch, their cat Marvin in his lap, purring like a motor.

“As good as it can be, I think,” I say, swinging around to face him from my spot on one of the kitchen barstools. “She wants to keep things friendly for now. She doesn’t trust me yet, and I can’t really blame her.”

“You know,” Isla says, walking from the kitchen over to the couch to sit next to her husband and their cat. “Some of the best things can flourish from friendships. We started off as friends.”

“To be honest,” Caio chimes in. “I never had the intention of being your friend.”

“What?” Isla stares at him.

“I wanted you from the day I met you, sweetheart. Don’t act coy.”

She just turns to face me as a blush flares on her cheeks. “My point is, starting as friends is a good thing, you guys have a lot of history, jumping straight back in could be…reckless.”

God, I want to be reckless with her.

But Isla is right, taking things slow is important, I don’t want to ruin anything by moving too fast.

“She’s in love with you,” Caio says plainly. “It’s easy to see, but Marina puts trust above anything, and you broke it. It’s going to take time to mend that.”

Hearing Caio say it so obviously that Marina is in love with me surprises me, but I don't let it show. “It’s a good thing all I have is time,” I nod towards my arm that is still hanging in a swing.

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