Chapter 45
Emma
“ A re you mad?” I peek over the rim of my sunglasses at Justice in the lounger next to me. She’s still staring, arms and ankles crossed in a cutout cover-up dress. It would make me nervous if her face wasn’t bunched up like she’s about to tell Roger to go home.
“If you’re asking if I’m upset that you’ve kept your relationship with Miles a secret for months, and the fact he’s been staying with you—”
Here it comes .
She reaches for my hand. “No. Disappointed that you felt the need to tiptoe around me? Sure, but I’m not upset. Now, surprised is a different story. Are you sure you want to be with him?”
“Don’t talk shit on my name!” Miles shouts from across the pool where he and Terrence sit, legs grazing through the surface of the illuminated water, wearing matching coconut tree swim trunks. I’m not even going to ask how they coordinated that.
“Don’t make me pop you again, Miles Devonté!”
“Aye!” Miles points a finger at Justice with a tight lower lip. He rubs the back of his neck at the memory of her smacking him and mumbles something to Terrence, who snickers and leans back on his towel.
Justice’s smirk says it all.
Once she put together that Miles was the man at the singles’ retreat and the one I cried about on our video call, she let him have it. After Terrence had his talk with Miles, Justice found a step stool and went upside his head for leaving the way he did. She chased him around with a spatula until Miles pleaded with Terrence to get his wife. Justice might be a hopeless romantic, but she gets her licks too.
“As I was saying”—Miles looks away when Justice hits him with a playful stare—“it took a minute to get over the reality of you two actually together. That said, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner.” She studies me. “Have you told him how you really feel?”
“No.”
She frowns. “Em.”
“I love him,” I release into the night air, freeing me from the fear of uttering my confession.
I love his gentleness.
The pauses he takes before kissing me.
His intelligence. His protectiveness. His wildly uncensored mouth.
“I know,” she says quietly. Justice motions to Miles. “Now tell him.”
“We—I—it’s complicated, Jay.”
Miles and my gaze meet under a starry night. We spent the rest of the day with Justice and Terrence. We went out to lunch and swung by my house for our bathing suits while Jay and T stopped by the store to get food to grill for dinner.
Most of the evening has been by the pool. Miles and Terrence are still getting in a few laps. Justice and I got out an hour ago to unprune and catch up.
My best friend is pregnant. Justice let the news slip during her argument with Terrence. Her confession stopped time. I couldn’t reach her fast enough, and we shared hugs and tears.
This is the first time the four of us are together since Miles and I became more than friends. Our dynamic shifted, but not in the way I imagined. Being with Miles and our friends feels like the last pieces of a puzzle coming together. We always fit, but we shuffled to squeeze in the wrong spot when the best place was by each other’s side.
I can admit that now, but it doesn’t remove the fear that something will go wrong.
“I hate to break it to you, but from what you’ve told me, you two have been in a relationship whether you want to admit it or not. You’re making time for each other, and that’s beautiful.” Light from the pool glimmers over her pecan skin with gold undertones. The warmth of her smile echoes in her voice. “Tell him, Em.”
My gaze reaches for the stars. Night extends beyond the domed concrete home, past the echo of waves from the Pacific Ocean in the distance. Lights inside the house glow over the backyard and pool, where Miles sits studying me.
It’s hard to let people in. To trust. I don’t make room for many changes in my life, but I don’t have to with Miles. Even from a distance, he’s been a part of it, our connection rooted in our love for our best friends. We found each other when we weren’t looking, where we least expected.
“It’s okay.”
I tear my eyes away from him. “What?”
“To let him love the parts you don’t think are lovable.”
Justice kisses the top of my head and gets up. Tears cloud her vision. “Take it from me, Em: don’t run from what you want. Even if it scares you.”
She and Terrence head inside hand in hand, fooling no one. They’re about to ride Tony Stark’s headboard into the next cinematic universe, and good for them. The backyard wakes with shimmering lights as Sade’s “By Your Side” croons through outdoor speakers.
Subtle .
I guess they finally found the controls.
Miles moves to the edge of the outdoor daybed, the long planes of his muscles at rest after a night swim. Moonlight filters through the canopy and dips over his freshly cut waves and broad chest. He’s watching me with a fixed gaze that stokes a fire inside my belly.
He sees all of me.
My strengths.
My weaknesses.
The soft parts of me I push away to be resilient.
The two of us in the same space are magnetic. I’ve tried to fight the pull, but I come alive when I’m with Miles. He unlocked a part of my heart I never wanted to uncover, and now I want it to be free.
So I stop fighting and allow my heart to lead—straight to him.
Miles lifts his head when I stand between the power of his legs. All the features I love are on display, but it’s the love reflected in his eyes that shines the brightest.
I caress his cheek and bend down for a kiss. He yields to my lips, which move slowly against his. Warm hands slide down my arms to my waist and anchor me in place. I don’t rush the stokes of our tongues but can’t get enough.
My mouth raises, inches from his. “I love you,” I say above my thundering heart, which is whirling at the declaration I’ve never given any man other than my father.
Miles clasps his arms around my body and buries his face against my belly. He holds me there, his lashes fluttering against the eyelet pattern of my cover-up. Every one of my curves molds to the contours of his muscular frame. In a single motion, I’m in his arms, bearing witness to the deep longing in his gaze.
“I love you beyond this lifetime, Emma.” Miles presses his lips to mine and eases me onto the outdoor daybed.
I suppress a sigh and let go.
Between each “I love you,” he plants kisses on my neck and collarbone. Our kiss deepens once his mouth is back on my lips. His tongue massages mine through long, surrendering moans. Desire flares in Miles’s eyes. He frees me from my dress, unable to control his need to touch me.
He lifts to release his board shorts. His dick bobs free and taps my stomach as he nudges my legs farther apart with his knees and pushes through my entrance. Pleasure tightens and explodes with every inch he takes.
Miles swallows my gasps and thrusts harder, angling his position to trigger a fire that burns my skin. My lips tremble at the vow he repeats with every glide into my soft flesh.
To love me.
To protect me.
To be my safe place.
Skin to skin, under the arena of stars, we step over the threshold and into the unknown.
Together.