Chapter 6 Ghosted #2
Miles rests his hand on my back, just an inch from the safe zone I told him about, but I don’t mind. It reminds me he’s here. He leans closer, voice low. “You alright?”
“Yeah.” I tilt my head up with a smile. “Everything’s great.”
“Okay. Good. You’re usually more talkative than this.”
“I’m easing in. I don’t want to dominate the conversation.” My gaze drifts over the crowd. “This is your family, so I’ll let you take the lead.”
“Okay.” His hand slides down before falling away, and a small, unexpected part of me misses the contact.
Once our plates are full, he grabs two waters and guides us toward an empty picnic table, but it doesn’t stay empty for long. His sisters—Mallory and Melanie—join us, and the bench space shrinks until he shifts closer, our thighs brushing.
Conversation flows easily from there. Miles takes the lead, launching into an explanation about a new drone he’s building.
Which is news to me. I thought he only flew them, but building them blows my mind.
The way he talks about them, animated and focused, makes it obvious how passionate he is about his work.
“So how did you two meet?” Melanie asks.
“At a coffee shop,” I blurt.
“Mutual friends introduced us,” Miles adds.
Mallory props her elbows on the table, grinning. “How cute. They’re already finishing each other’s sentences.”
“It’s always nice when you have friends to introduce you. These days everyone’s glued to those dating apps,” Melanie says.
“I don’t even know if they’re dating apps anymore,” Mallory cuts in, spearing a piece of watermelon. “More like hookup apps.”
“It’s refreshing to see traditional dating is still alive and well,” Jackie adds warmly.
I wonder how they feel about fake dates with a strict no-hookup policy. I hope I don’t have to find out.
Mallory takes another bite of fruit and turns to me. “Miles said you’re a dental hygienist. What office do you work at? We’re looking for a new dentist.”
Miles and I exchange a quick glance before he jumps in. “Um… you probably wouldn’t want to go to her office.”
Mallory’s brows lift. “Why? Is it bad or something?”
I clear my throat. “No. I’m just… switching careers.”
“Oh!” Melanie perks up. “What are you doing next?”
“Bartending.” I shrug. “Sometimes you just got to go where your heart wants you to go.”
“That is… different.” Jackie smiles politely. “Good for you, following your dreams.”
While Mallory, Melanie, and Jackie drift into a discussion about dental offices around town, Miles leans closer, his voice low. “Sorry. I panicked. That was supposed to be Caroline’s line.”
“We got it. I don’t think anyone noticed. Plus, now I don’t have to pretend to be a dental hygienist anymore.”
By the time we finish eating, the kids are restless, darting past the table in a blur of laughter and grass-stained knees.
Jackie asks if I need sunscreen. Melanie wonders if I’ve always lived in Harbor Highlands.
His dad offers to grab me another drink before I even realize my cup is empty.
I’ve only known Miles’s family for a couple of hours, and they’ve welcomed me as if I’ve been part of the family for years.
It feels… nice. But also a very bad idea.
Miles leans closer, his voice low. “You okay?”
I nod a little too fast. “Totally.”
A little boy barrels up and grabs his hand. “Uncle Miles! Will you help me fly my drone?”
Miles glances over his shoulder at me. “Want to come?”
“I’ll watch from here.” Plus, the pause gives me a second to collect my thoughts.
Miles jogs off, laughing, completely at ease in the middle of the chaos. He’s nothing like the guy who once rambled about sea cucumbers.
Around me, conversations blur together with weekend plans, school plays, and home improvement projects. It’s warm and loud in a comfortable family way. I smile and nod along until a small tap lands on my arm.
I turn to find a little girl with blonde pigtails proudly holding up two foot-long bubble tubes. “Want to blow bubbles with me?”
“I’d love to.”
She presses a wand into my hand and tugs me toward an open patch of grass. We dip, lift, blow—and suddenly the air is thick with floating, shimmering orbs. A low buzz cuts through the air. I glance over my shoulder just as a drone swoops toward us.
“Hey!” the girl yells, pointing. “You’re popping our bubbles!”
“What are you going to do about it?” a boy shouts back, laughing.
I crouch beside her and drop my voice like we’re planning something top secret. “What do you say we attack them with bubbles?”
Her eyes go feral. “Yeah!”
“Okay. I’ll go left and you go right. On three.” I hold up my fingers. “One. Two. Three.”
She bolts toward Miles and his nephew, and I take off after her, both of us blowing bubbles as if our lives depend on it.
The drone zips left and right, buzzing louder as laughter ripples across the grass.
I catch up just as Miles stumbles backward, trying to keep the drone steady.
Bubbles drift around him, catching in his hair and clinging to his sleeves as he laughs.
“Okay! Okay! Truce!” Miles doubles over, hands braced on his knees, laughing so hard he can barely catch his breath.
“Bubbles win!” I throw my hands in the air in victory.
The little girl crashes into my legs. “We won!”
“We totally did.” I crouch and give her a high five.
Miles passes the controller back to his nephew, who immediately dashes off with the girl, already scheming their next attack. When he turns back to me, his eyes are bright, cheeks flushed from laughing. “Want to get cake?”
I narrow my gaze. “Are you talking dirty to me right now?”
His shoulders stiffen, eyes going wide. “Oh—um—no?”
A laugh slips out. “I’m teasing. Cake sounds perfect.” I bump my shoulder lightly against his. “We might need to work on your social cues. And your flirting.”
“Were you flirting with me?”
“It’s called banter.” I grin. “You’re supposed to fire back with something like, ‘Only if I can use the cake to make you dirty.’”
His brows knit together in concentration. “Is that what you like?”
Another laugh escapes me. “Never mind. Let’s just get cake.” I catch his bicep and tug him toward the pavilion.
We walk side by side, and without looking, he reaches for my hand. Our fingers brush. Instead of pulling away, he laces them together. My breath stutters. His thumb rests against my finger, slowly sweeping back and forth as if he’s done this a hundred times.
He leans in, his breath warm near my ear. “Is this okay? I thought the handholding might make it seem more real.”
I nod. “Yes. Good call.”
It’s been years since anyone held my hand like this.
With Miles, it feels effortless. You’d think I was the one who needed the confidence boost, not the other way around.
Still, something in my belly flutters. But I didn’t come here for me.
Not to feel… chosen. I’m here for Miles. I push the thought away.