Page 105 of Fragile Hearts

I laugh. “Oh my god, Ma, you see her at work every time she has a shift.”

Mom hits me with a look as she says, “Yes, and that’s work. I’d also like to see her outside of it. Regularly, in fact.”

“I’d like that too,” Sloane says quietly, smiling at Mom.

“Good,” Mom says with a nod as she glances at me again, a knowing look on her face, and beside her, Cara laughs, waggling her ring finger and the huge diamond solitaire that Zach gave her at me.

“Jesus,” I mutter, reaching for Sloane as I discreetly flip my sister off. “Come on, babe, let’s go.”

We head home, but as we pull into the drive, I see Miles sitting on the front porch. “Hey, everything okay?” I ask as we get out of the car.

He nods, glancing at Sloane as he says, “Hey, Sloane.”

“Hey,” she replies, shooting me a questioning look.

“Dude, you okay?” I ask again while we make our way to the front door, Sloane taking the keys from me before she disappears inside, leaving us to chat.

“Yeah, no,” he says, blowing out a breath as he shoves a hand through his hair.

“What’s up?” I ask as I gesture for him to head inside, following behind as we head toward the kitchen. Sloane offers a quick smile as she takes Mochi outside, closing the doors to the back deck behind her to give us some privacy.

“I think...” Miles starts, scrubbing his hand over his jaw. “I think I...” He trails off, and I can’t figure out if he’s nervous or just doesn’t know how to say whatever it is he’s come over here to say.

I grab us both beers from the fridge, twisting off the cap as I hand him one and say, “You want her back?”

Miles takes the beer, taking a long pull, draining half the liquid in one go as he looks at me and nods. “Yeah,” he eventually says, the word low. “I never wanted to let her go, Owen.”

I smile, stepping toward my best friend, a guy I’ve known for most of my life. Putting a hand on his shoulder, I say, “I know, dude.”

This is the first time since they broke up that Miles has admitted he wants Daisy back, something I think we all knew anyway without him ever having to say it. And maybe that’s partly why he’s here, because he watched me wait for Sloane, win her over, and he wants to do the same with Daze.

And even though I don’t know the real reasons they ever broke up in the first place or why the fuck she hooked up with Isaac, I do know that she and Miles belong together. And that I would do anything to help my friends find their way back to each other.

“What do you need from me?” I ask.

Miles finishes off his beer, holding the bottle up as he says, “Couple more of these?”

Chuckling, I grab us both another, handing him a fresh one as I say, “Come on, let’s go chat outside and come up with a plan.”

I walk over to the doors, waiting for Miles to join me before I open them wide and we step outside to find Sloane and Daisy sitting together on the deck, Mochi sitting between them. They are both clearly deep in conversation. A conversation that stops the second we walk outside.

I glance at Sloane, who gives me a small smile and a knowing look, before I turn to Daisy, who’s staring at Miles.

“Miles?” she says, a surprised look on her face.

Miles freezes beside me, a look on his face that’s half shock and half wonder as he says, “Hey, Daze.”

In the end, Sloane and I spend at least two hours talking with Miles and Daisy. Miles and I on the front porch, Sloane and Daisy on the back deck because it’s clear they still need space from each other. Miles and I talked things out though, and while I still don’t know the reasons for their breakup, Miles can at least acknowledge that he needs to tell Daisy he wants her back.

“How’s Miles?” Sloane asks, her warm body curled around mine in the bed we now share.

“A mess. How about Daisy?”

“Same, but she’s not ready to…” Sloane trails off, her words lost in the silence of the room. “I still have hope for them. If we can make it.”

She looks up at me with her ocean-blue eyes. Eyes that drew me in the first day I met her, and my chest aches with just how beautiful she is. Her hand is resting on my cheek, her gorgeous lips pursed, like she’s deep in thought. It’s a look that I know well, her thoughts swirling, always concerned about everyone else. It’s a beautiful thing, her empathy, her love for everything, and the growth she’s made.

I still can’t believe she’s mine. That I get to kiss her, touch her whenever I want, and I think about all that time I spent waiting.

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