10. Owen
CHAPTER TEN
Owen
I’m outside rearranging lumber, since Miles finished with the shelving earlier.
At this high altitude, the temperature might never get very high, but the sun is intense. I came in to grab a bottle of water from the fridge in the break room.
I nearly finish the bottle in one go. I pause, seeing a head of black hair walking through the store at Miles’s side. My feet are walking in their direction before I’ve even decided to do so.
I haven’t been avoiding Avery since our moment in the garage a few days ago, but I also haven’t been seeking her out, either. Well, I guess that’s changed now as I walk toward the greenhouse they just disappeared into.
Kissing her again was the worst idea ever. I thought maybe I could get her out of my system with just one more kiss. I’m a fucking idiot because obviously that didn’t work.
If I thought it was a problem how stuck in my brain Avery was before, it’s a full-blown crisis now. It’s making me want to throw caution at the wind and just go for it.
There’s only a thread of restraint keeping me from doing something irrational.
Like kissing her in a pitch-dark garage?
I fight the urge to groan at myself. The greenhouse comes into view, Lyla’s dark ponytail hanging over the back of the wooden bench across the room.
At first, I don’t see my brother or Avery, but then Avery lets out a small gasp. My head jerks to the right.
They’re tucked into the small alcove that’s hidden from view. Well, from everywhere other than the exact spot I am currently standing.
I have a perfect view of the way their bodies are pressed together. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but I don’t know if I want to.
One minute they’re quietly talking, and the next she leans up and wraps her arms around his neck to bring him closer to her.
I can’t even process what’s happening before she kisses him. She’s the one that initiates it, but Miles certainly isn’t fighting her off.
Jealousy courses through me, seeing her kiss someone else. It honestly doesn’t even matter that it’s my younger brother.
There’s another potent emotion swimming through my veins that I can’t quite identify. Resignation? Relief? Contentment?
Shockingly, I’m not boiling with anger seeing the two of them kiss. Would I rather be the man she was kissing? Hell yes. Do I want to storm over there and tear Miles away from her? Not exactly.
As jealous as I am, there’s also a piece of me that’s okay with it. I care about both of them, and they seem happy.
It doesn’t even make sense in my own brain, but it’s where I’m at in this surreal moment.
They shift slightly. I hold my breath, but they still don’t seem to notice I’m here staring at them like a total creep. Now I can make out some of what they’re saying.
Avery looks thoroughly spooked after the kiss. Miles comforts her in his usual joking manner, explaining that it was just a kiss. It was fun, nothing more.
She visibly relaxes in the cradle of his arms, which are still banded around her.
Carefully stepping backwards, I walk outside to where I was working earlier. I can’t even remember what I was going to do next, but I know I can’t be inside anymore.
Fun? Could something really just be fun with Avery?
I honestly have my doubts given the way I feel about her even in the short amount of time we’ve spent together. Remembering the way she relaxed when Miles explained how he felt makes me reconsider.
Is that something she would want? Would I want that?
Stepping out into the sunlight that temporarily blinds me, I groan. I fist both of my hands in my hair, staring up at the blue sky.
Why does all of this have to be so complicated?