Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
QUINN
The past week with Miles has been … gosh, I don't even know the words to describe it. Stress free, maybe? It’s crazy. Nothing really matters the way it used to. I haven’t been on my phone like I usually am. I’m just in the moment with him, and it’s incredible.
I click send on another invoice, smiling because Miles’s business is really booming. He’s so busy. I love this for him, and I hope that one person can’t take all that away from him.
Which is exactly why I haven’t mentioned the breakup we have planned for this weekend. The whole point is for us to cut ties from each other so that Mr. Pepperton doesn’t do anything crazy.
But maybe since Cherry seems to be happy with Danny, even for now, Miles and I are worrying over nothing.
At the same time, Miles hasn't come in here to talk about it either, so perhaps this whole thing is still filling his thoughts.
I grab my phone and pull up my emails.
My agent sent me a text a week ago, to which I replied that I’d think about it .
Signing another contract with one of the hotel chains I work with. It’s good money, but the contract would be for two years. For some reason, that seems like a bigger commitment than I want to make right now.
I read her latest email, with more details and how they need an answer within the next two weeks.
I sigh and flip my phone face down.
My entire life feels like one big deadline. Be here, be there. Don’t settle in because you’ll be on another plane in just two days.
That's the life I wanted, right?
To turn my love of traveling into something that pays me.
To keep doing what I love for as long as I can.
“Excuse me.” The door to the office opens and a dark-haired boy whose face is young enough to put him in high school walks in.
“Hi.” I stand. “Can I help you?”
“Yeah, um, my uncle said you were hiring.”
“We are. How old are you?”
“Sixteen.”
“Sixteen,” I repeat. Is it even legal to work at that age?
“I can work the same hours as any adult,” he says quickly to my hesitation. “You can look online.”
“Aren’t you still in school?”
“Yeah, but … it’s summer.”
I nod. “True, but don’t you want to be out having fun with your friends?”
He shakes his head. “I just moved here with my family, so I don’t have any yet.”
He looks away with that statement, so I don’t pry. It’s not my place.
“What’s your name?”
“Henry. ”
“Do you know anything about cars?”
“Yeah. I used to work on them with my dad.”
“Okay. Are you planning to work when school starts?”
He nods. “Whenever I can.”
I study him for a moment.
The last interviews we did were grown men, which isn’t bad, but Miles likes his space. A young kid who won’t be here all the time might be nice for him. He’ll get the help he wants but still have plenty of time here by himself.
“Okay, wait here.”
I pop into the shop to find Miles.
When he hears me walking toward him, he turns and grins. As soon as I reach him, he swoops me into a kiss.
“Is it time for a break?” he asks, and I match his grin.
“Miles Asher is looking for a reason to take a break. Boy, look how far you’ve come.”
He laughs at my tease. “You’re worth it.”
He goes in for another kiss, but I stop. “That’s lovely to hear, but there is actually a young man in the office looking for a job.”
Miles quickly goes from playful and flirty to business.
“A kid, huh. How old is he?”
“Old enough to work for you part-time.”
Miles sighs. “Old enough to know about cars?”
“He says he does. I think you should talk to him.”
He rubs his chin and nods. “All right, send him back here. I’ll need to see a few things.”
“You got it. I’m going to lock up the office and get ready for Grandma Betty’s wedding.”
He snaps his fingers. “I need to shower for that.”
I laugh. “It would be nice.”
He reaches out to grab me, but I escape him and return to the office.
“Henry, come on out here. ”
I introduce him to Miles then finish what I need to before getting ready to go.
Grandma Betty is having a mid-morning ceremony and reception during the week.
Of course she would.
But it doesn’t bother me, because as happy as I am for her, I'm more excited to see Miles in a suit.
That I, of course, will be removing later.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Grandma Betty so happy.
Mike glides her around the dance floor as they share their first dance. She is wearing a cream lace dress, and Mike is in navy blue.
It’s a small gathering, but it’s perfect. In fact, it’s so intimate that I think if I ever get married, this is the kind of wedding I’d like to have. One with my closest friends and family, which, as I’m learning, are the same people.
Maybe not in the local dance studio the way this one is, but still, it sort of fits the idea.
“Does anyone else feel weird that we are at a mid-morning wedding? I mean, I know it’s almost lunch, but I’ve never heard of morning weddings,” Miles asks.
Natalie and Tobias both erupt into laughter.
“What?” Miles looks at me. “Was that not a good question to ask?”
“No, it’s fine,” Natalie says as she wipes tears from her eyes after laughing so hard. “It's just a long story.”
“One we would love to tell you someday, but not today,” Tobias adds. The cue for other couples to join the dance floor happens, and he grabs Natalie’s hand, leading her away from the table .
“Care to join me?” Miles stands and offers me his hand.
“I’d love to.”
We are on the dance floor for possibly a minute before Luca walks through, his head down as he hastily makes his way to the door.
“What’s he doing?” I whisper to Miles.
“I’m not sure. He’s been weird the last couple of weeks.”
“Is it because you’ve been spending so much time with me?”
“No,” Miles says and kisses my forehead. “I think it’s something else.”
Luca is now standing by the door, on the phone. His hands are waving around very theatrically then he shoves his phone in his pocket and walks out the door.
“I think we should follow him,” I say and stop dancing.
“Why?”
“He seems upset.”
“He’s a grown man, and we can’t just walk out of your grandmother's wedding.”
I ignore him and pull him toward the doors, but when we get there, Luca is nowhere to be found.
“I wonder where he went.”
“And I wonder what it’s going to take to keep you on the dance floor.”
He nuzzles his face into my neck and kisses me softly.
“Well, that’s going to get you a lot more than a trip to the dance floor.”
Miles chuckles as we return to the reception.
“Is Luca seeing anyone?” I ask.
“Not that I know of, why?”
“He just seemed frustrated, and I feel like it has to be work or a woman.”
“Only those two things, huh?”
I nod .
“It makes the most sense. Look at how much I used to frustrate you.”
Miles spins me and pulls me close to him again.
“How about we let him figure it out.”
“But we are so good at matching people.”
“We did it once and for our own benefit. I don’t think that makes us experts.”
“Maybe a little.”
Miles takes a step back and just grins at me.
“What?”
“I love how your brain thinks. Like anything is possible.”
“Well, the only other option is to think of things that aren’t possible, so why not?”
The song changes, but it’s another slow song, so Miles holds me for a little while longer. I rest my head on his shoulder as we sway to the beat.
For the next two hours we eat, dance, and celebrate my grandmother and Mike.
After she and Mike make their exit, Miles wraps his arms around me from behind and rests his head on my shoulder.
“Come on, baby, let’s go home.”
Home.
Instantly, my chest swells and tears threaten my eyes.
Of all the people who have said this to me, I never thought Miles Asher would be the one to make me feel something.
He holds my hand and leads me to the exit with two squeezes.
Home.
I like the way that sounds.