Page 94 of Chasing You

“I thought you left.” My face crumples as soon as the words come out.

“Oh, baby.” Miles doesn’t wait a second before he pulls me into his lap. “I’m so sorry. I took a shower, I thought you’d still be asleep by the time I got out. I didn’t mean to scare you, princess.”

I can’t do anything but cry. Letting out every tear I’ve held in since that day four years ago. He didn’t do anything wrong, not today. But those feelings of anger and hurt flooded my system with so much ease it instantly makes me want to build those wallsright back up again so nothing can get in. But I can’t, not while I’m pulled so close against Miles’s chest that I can hear how fast his heart is racing, like he is just as scared of losing me again that I am of him. And it holds those walls at bay.

“I’m sorry,” I say in a hiccup between sobs.

“No,” he says. “Don’t you dare apologise to me. It’s okay, but I’m here. And I promise you, I’m not going anywhere. Not this time.”

I curl my fist in his shirt, nodding against him, trying my best to believe him.

“Where did you find this?” I ask with a sniffle.

I can hear the smile in his voice as he says. “On the floor.”

I cough a watery laugh, and his chuckle reverberates against me.

“Thank you for cleaning up, you didn’t have to.”

“Well someone had to do it, and we all know it wasn’t going to be you.”

I shake my head, not fighting the smile on my lips this time. “Seriously Miles,” I raise my head to look at him. “Thank you.”

His face is so close to mine I can see every strain of color in his green eyes. The spears of aqua that streak through the bright green. His eyes are those that seem to change color in every light. Sometimes they’re bright, like this, where I can almost see every single thread of color surrounding his pupil. And other times they’re as dark as the forest floor. I used to try to count how many different colors I saw in his eyes, but I always lost count, or lost focus.

I can see the way they dart to my lips, and all I can think is that if he kissed me right now I wouldn’t pull away. I couldn’t, even though we are supposed to be friends. But he doesn’t. Instead he rests his forehead against mine, breathing me in. “I promise you, Marina, I won’t hurt you again.”

“You can’t promise that.”

“Yes, I can,” he argues. “And if I ever break that promise, I’m pretty sure those guys of yours would bury me alive.”

I laugh, thinking about how my friends would react if this man ever hurt me again. “That’s probably true. Not before feeding your manhood to the sharks though. We can’t have them going hungry.”

He slowly shakes his head with a smile, his forehead still pressed against mine. “Fuck, I missed you.”

I pull my hand up and brush my finger over the curve of his ear. “I missed you too.”

chapter thirty-nine

MILES

PRESENT

I slipmy shoes off for the fourth time this morning and step through the front door of yet another house.

“So here we are, now as you walk through the open living space, you’ll notice the gorgeous view that hikes that price up into the range we are looking in today,” the agent says as she walks Isla and me through the space.

“Wow,” Isla says, her tone full of wonder as she walks straight through the room, her gaze glued to the expanse of windows that house the million-dollar view overlooking Ruby Cove.

“Holy,” she continues. “You can see Hotel Dolce from here!” She points out the window with a grin on her face.

I just smile, so appreciative of the fact that she’s here with me. Having my sister around to do things like look at holiday homes with me is a luxury I’ve come to adore. Not having her around for so many years makes it so much more special now, and I don’t ever want to take that for granted again.

“I’ll let you guys have a look around, let me know if you need me,” the agent says, before heading outside to the patio.

I look around the space, letting myself imagine living here.Letting my toes settle in the soft carpet beneath my feet before they step onto cold tile as I move further towards the kitchen.

I run my hand over the marble countertop. “Do you like it?” Isla asks. “The view is insane.”

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