Page 1 of Mine to Love
1
Miles Kirby snagged a glass of bourbon and strolled to the other side of the pool. The sun beat down on his face. Thank God his brother and his bride hadn’t required ties at this wedding. If they had, Miles would have not only been sweating, but he would have been uncomfortable as hell. It was bad enough his mother demanded he wear a decent pair of slacks and a button-down shirt versus his usual jeans and T-shirt, which considering this had been a family only event, it would have been fine. But to avoid the argument, he did what his mother requested.
He glanced over his shoulder and smiled. Emmerson was a lucky man and Miles was damn happy for his brother. But all these weddings and babies had certainly put Miles in a funk.
Or perhaps it had been something else.
He’d spent the entire day trying not to think about his sexy neighbor, but try as he might, she was all he could think about. It drove him batshit crazy. The woman had turned him down every single time he asked her out and part of him understood why.
Didn’t make the rejection any easier to swallow.
His entire family had surrounded the happy couple. There was laughter and tears of joy.
“Here’s to Emmerson and Rumor,” his father said with a raised flute.
His brother and his new bride were so disgusting sometimes it made Miles want to gag. Only, his heart had a different reaction. It swelled with pride and bliss for his brother, it truly did.
But now Miles was the last man standing. The only Kirby boy who wasn’t married. How dare all his brothers run off and tie the knot.
To make matters worse, Emmerson’s new bride was expecting their first child. Now he was the only one left who didn’t have a kid. Or two. Or three. Well, Emmett was still waiting for that miracle to happen, but this time the adoption would come through. Miles just knew it.
But with all these flipping babies, his mother seemed to more than enjoy reminding him of his single status every chance she got. It had never bothered him before. He could always shrug it off because he didn’t care about such things. Sharing a bed for anything other than mutual gratification wasn’t in his wheelhouse. He didn’t have the bandwidth for relationships. Nor the tolerance. Not because he wasn’t a caring man. He was. But he liked his life simple. Without complications. And women complicated the fuck out of it.
And there was that other thing. The thing that reminded him he wasn’t good enough.
But he constantly told himself it wasn’t that. It was the entanglement of a lady and being tied down. He’d attempted it once. And it had gone to shit before it really got off the ground. It wasn’t worth it. For more than one reason.
Sure, all of his sisters-in-law were great women who complemented his brothers, not ruled their lives. He and all his brothers still got together for poker nights. They went fishing. Did all the things they did before marriage and kids.
But it wasn’t as often and there were times family life just got in the way. He couldn’t begrudge his brothers that. Besides, he loved his nieces and nephews. And all his sisters-in-law. He enjoyed the big family barbecues and birthday parties. Every last one of them.
Only now, he was the last single man and everyone looked at him differently, even though his brothers said they didn’t. He knew damn well Seth and Nathan thought he was nuts. They couldn’t understand his aversion to being in a relationship and lately, neither could he.
The rest of his brothers? Well, they sort of got it. But only because they’d been sucker punched in the gut by a woman, leaving them brokenhearted.
That had never happened to Miles. Not even by Trixi and he had cared about her. A lot. More than anyone else he’d ever dated. But he knew nothing of love. Had never experienced it. Wasn’t sure he ever wanted to, in part, thanks to his mother and those of his brothers who had their souls stomped on.
However, it was more than that and Miles chose to ignore the real reason he never allowed himself to get serious. The one time he came close, he got reminded real fast of all the reasons he’d never make for a good husband. Or father.
He eased into a chair at the table on the far side of the pool and stared at Emmerson and Rumor. He knew the pains they had gone through to get to this moment. Rumor was damn fucking lucky to be alive. Poor girl had been running from bad guys for fifteen years, constantly looking over her shoulder, until she landed in Lighthouse Cove.
Thank God for small favors.
This had truly been her safe harbor, as it had been for all of his sisters-in-law.
The sun hung high over the big beach house, owned by Miles’ mom and her second husband. It had been a picture-perfect dayfor a poolside wedding in front of the ocean. Miles watched as Emmerson kissed his new wife with his hand firmly planted on her midsection. Emmerson would make for a great father, and he couldn’t have picked a better woman to share in parenthood. The man deserved a bit of happiness in his life, especially when it came to women. That man, in the past, had piss-poor taste when it came to choosing ladies for long-term relationships.
And he wasn’t any better at finding the right ones for friends with benefits either.
That’s because Emmerson was the kind of man who needed a partner, only it took him his entire life to mend a broken heart and let a woman like Rumor heal it.
While Rumor hadn’t an easy start to her life in Lighthouse Cove, and she came with her own wounds and set of baggage, she was exactly what Emmerson needed and they made for a spectacular couple. Even Miles could see that.
He was truly thrilled for them and wanted the best for their growing family.
But it didn’t change the sudden shift in his emotions. He’d been a confirmed bachelor his entire life. Unlike all of his brothers, he had thought he never wanted—or deserved—a family. The mere idea had made him break out in hives.
Even when he turned forty, he still didn’t want to settle down.
