Chapter Twenty-two
Twenty-two
It was hard not to read into it – the closeness on the sleigh ride, the relaxed weight of Annie leaning into him.
The kiss.
Yeah, it was just a kiss on the cheek. It didn’t mean anything. Miles knew that. It was how she might kiss an elderly relative, or Santa Claus.
Most likely Santa Claus. Wasn’t that how he’d acted? He’d even worn a hat. She thought she’d have a terrible Christmas, and because of his butting in, she’d had a decent Christmas. Rescued, as she put it.
There was nothing romantic to the kiss, and he wasn’t going to let his mind wander down that road. Annie didn’t need him pining after her.
He didn’t need to pine after her, either. It was bad enough that he thought only of how to see her again and again. Imagining some scenario where a cheek kiss meant she was interested in him wouldn’t help anyone.
After the holiday, everything went back to normal. The twins returned from the mainland, with Roy failing to set up another exchange date, the court date looming in the distance. Bella kept babysitting, and Miles kept whipping up dinners for both families to enjoy together.
The only addition to their routine was a weekly movie night with Bella. They rotated picks, with Bella selecting Korean dramas, and Annie and Miles dusting off movies from their childhood.
Bella relented to watching the “oldies,” as she called them, and gave a rating via the traditional thumbs-up and thumbs-down system. So far, she approved of the Back to the Future movies, but gave Annie’s beloved Clueless two thumbs down for “rampant misogyny and embarrassing clichés.”
“Kids are tough these days,” Annie murmured after Bella left the room.
“You have no idea,” Miles said. “I still think it’s a cute movie, though.”
“Me too!” she whispered. “I told her it’s loosely based on Jane Austen’s Emma, but she wasn’t impressed.”
“That Paul Rudd, though,” Miles said, shaking his head. “What a hunk.”
Annie suppressed a smile. “Stop it.”
“I’m serious. He’s a beautiful man. Funny, too. A total package.”
Annie sighed. “Don’t let Bella hear you say that. I’m sure there’s a word for what you’re saying, and it wouldn’t be good.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
The weeks went on, perfect and comfortable, without any hints of romantic feelings from Annie.
They enjoyed one another’s company, and the fact that she kept him at arm’s length, as a friend, made it easier – easier to pretend, at least. He could pretend he was happy with just friendship.
He could pretend the urge to pull her into his arms didn’t flare every time he saw her.
He could pretend his mind didn’t drift off when she spoke, imagining what it would be like to finally press his lips to hers…
Miles’ job was to pretend to be a sane person when he felt wildly insane.
All things considered, it was going pretty well.
One bright Saturday morning in February, Bella woke him early. “I have a surprise, and you have to promise you won’t be mad,” she said.
He looked at her, bleary-eyed from his pillow. “Is it breakfast in bed? I won’t be mad about that. Bring it in.”
She bit her lip. “No, but that would have been a good way to soften the blow.”
He sat up, yawning and stretching. “It’s never too late for breakfast.”
“No, it’s too late.” She shook her head. “We need to go. I need you to pick someone up from the ferry.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Is something wrong?”
“You have to promise you won’t be mad,” she repeated.
If she was in some kind of trouble.
He sat up. “Of course I won’t be mad. What’s going on?”
“Good.” A smile flashed across her face. “I’ve been corresponding with someone.”
His heart rate picked up. This was a rude awakening. “Okay, and they’ve come to find you?”
“No, they’ve come to find you. It’s that pediatrician I’ve been telling you about.”
Miles groaned. “Bella.”
“What? I was honest with her. I told her that I liked her, but how you weren’t really interested in anything, and how disappointed I was.”
He rubbed his face with his hands. “You told her I wasn’t interested in her, and she still showed up?”
“It’s not like that! She said she happened to be coming to the island for a weekend getaway, and I said we’d love to meet her.”
Miles sat in the morning light, his face resting in his hands. Truthfully, he should only be surprised it hadn’t happened sooner.
“I see,” he finally said.
“You promised you wouldn’t be mad!” Bella pulled a hand off his face.
“I’m not mad,” he said slowly. “But I didn’t make any promises about seeing this woman, so I don’t know why I need to pick her up from the ferry.”
“Dad,” Bella bemoaned, “she’s really nice and really smart. Don’t you think I deserve a nice stepmom? She’s a good influence, too. She’s a doctor!”
As if that was the key to sending Bella off to medical school. The real issue was Miles finding a way to survive Bella’s conniving years with her repeatedly outsmarting him. Or would it be decades of this?
He shuddered at the thought.
“That’s if she even is who she says she is. What if the person you’ve been corresponding with is actually a fifty-year-old man? What if he’s come looking for you?”
“Ew, Dad. Be serious.”
He laughed. “I am serious. Don’t they teach you about the dangers of the internet at school? Isn’t there some movie I can scare you with?”
She stood taller, running her hands over her blouse. “Well, her ferry’s going to be here in thirty minutes, so you need to get dressed.”
How did she keep outmaneuvering him? Was there a movie he could watch?
Miles shut his eyes. He had promised he wouldn’t be mad. If he ever wanted her to come to him with real problems, he had to stick to that.
But meeting some desperate stranger from the internet was the last thing he wanted to do with his weekend. He opened his eyes and formed a protest, but Bella was gone.
He got up, got dressed, and threw back a cup of coffee. They got to the ferry with time to spare, then stood back watching.
“Is she going to bring a red rose or something?” Miles asked.
Bella shot him a look. “She won’t need to. I’ll recognize her.”
“Or him,” Miles muttered. “It still could be a fifty-year-old man.”
No response.
A blonde woman in hiking clothes stepped off the ferry, rolling a suitcase beside her. Bella waved at her wildly.
“She’s not an old man. See!”
Miles frowned. “I wouldn’t say fifty is old, but – ”
“Over here!” Bella flailed her arms.
The woman caught sight of her, and her face brightened. Miles watched warily as she approached, remembering the pictures Bella had shown him months prior.
To be fair, she looked just like them – big eyes, short blonde hair, and a slim figure. She was, by all measures, attractive.
“Bella! It’s so nice to finally meet you.” She clasped Bella’s hand with both of hers. She turned to Miles. “I’m sure this is very strange for you, Miles. I’m Gemma Birch.”
He offered her a handshake. There was no need to be rude. “A bit of a surprise, I can admit.”
She had the sort of warm smile that reached her eyes. They were blue and clear, framed with slight wrinkles. Her smile looked honest. “Well, please don’t let me impose on your weekend. I – ”
“Should we all get breakfast?” Bella asked brightly. “I’m really hungry, Dad. I’m starting to get dizzy, actually.”
He shot her a lazy look. “I’m sure Dr. Birch has plans.”
“Please, call me Gemma. And not exactly. I try to come up to the islands as much as I can to enjoy the calm and the hiking.”
“The islands are good for that,” he said.
His stomach growled. There was no use pretending he didn’t want breakfast, and maybe if he entertained Bella’s attempt at setting him up, she’d finally stop doing it.
“There’s a great breakfast joint in town,” he said. “I feel I owe you that much, since my daughter lured you here under false pretenses.”
Bella’s eyes bulged. “Dad!”
Gemma laughed. “There was nothing false about them. The billboard made me laugh out loud. I don’t know what possessed me to send the email but...here I am.”
She shrugged, a smile still broadly on her face.
Bella looked at him, her eyes full of hope.
How could he explain to her that life wasn’t a Hallmark Christmas movie?
He could start by making her watch one. Or by showing her that when a real person showed up, it was far more complicated than the movies.
“Shall we?” he said.