Chapter 31
Half an hour later, Miles sat alone in his car in the parking lot of Sonny’s Market, the rain dotting his windshield. What he’d accomplished in those seven minutes back at Tabitha’s apartment was nothing short of extraordinary.
If he did say so himself.
He’d made Tabitha come twice, the first time in less than two minutes—a personal record for him.
Damn right he was bragging.
He’d teased her with his fingers and kisses along her inner thighs, had just swiped his tongue along her slit, his hands spreading her thighs wider, when she’d started quaking, her head tossed back as she came on his mouth with small, breathy moans.
But that was fine. Gave him the remaining five minutes to settle in for a more leisurely taste.
And what a lovely little snack she’d been. Sweet and tangy and so fucking responsive, the way she twitched when he’d curled his tongue and pushed it inside of her. Her fingers tightening on his shoulders when he’d replaced his tongue with two fingers and sucked on her swollen clit.
When she’d started undulating against him, seeking more, he’d gripped her hips and forced her to stay still. Kept her locked there, ass pressed against the cupboard, while he’d lapped at her pussy like a man starved, and she’d chanted his name.
She’d come with a hoarse cry, her thighs tightening around his head, her legs shaking so hard, he’d had to wrap one arm around her waist so she didn’t topple them both to the ground.
The moment she’d stopped shaking, the instant her breathing had returned to normal, her body loose and lax against his, he’d wanted to do it all over again.
He might have if she hadn’t looked at the clock on the microwave, squeaked, then bolted from the room, her perfect bare ass peeking out from underneath her shirt.
While she got ready, he’d used the hand soap at the sink to wash her scent from his whiskers. Helped himself to a glass of iced tea, erasing her taste from his tongue. Only to have her walk back into the kitchen wearing that green sundress, her hair pulled back in a smooth ponytail, her cheeks still flushed from her orgasms, her eyes sparkling.
She’d looked pretty and fresh. Recently satisfied and completely fuckable.
She’d looked like his.
And he’d wanted, more than his next breath, to lift her skirt and shove his face between her thighs again. Wanted her scent back on him, clinging to his skin. Wanted her taste lingering on his tongue once again.
Had wanted to claim her. To make her his.
There was something between them. Something that had nothing to do with what they’d done or who they’d been.
And everything to do with who they were now.
Ten years ago, he’d had his life mapped out. His route carefully devised to take him where he wanted to go.
Now, all he knew was what he was going to do next.
And that was sit in his car until Tabitha came out of the store with the bottle of wine she’d insisted she needed to buy because she didn’t want to show up empty-handed for dinner.
His phone buzzed with a text notification. He picked it up and opened it.
Urban:You close? Toby’s bitching about you being late.
Before Miles could answer, his phone buzzed again.
Toby:I’m not bitching. I’m saying we’re eating in five minutes whether he’s here or not.
Urban:That was meant for Miles.
Verity: Then don’t send it through to the family group text. woman facepalming emoji>
Miles:I’m going to be at least another ten minutes.
Toby:Too bad. We’re eating in five.
Urban:We can wait.
Toby:No we can’t.
Urban: We. Can. Wait.
Verity: Ugh. Do we have to? I’m starving. And I don’t think it’s fair to punish those of us who did show up on time because of the rude behavior of one late person.
Miles: You live there.
Verity: Yes, but I’m not here every second! I have a life, you know hair flip emoji>
Toby:Dinner. Is. In. Five.
Toby:You can eat leftovers.
Toby:If there are any.
Miles:Will someone pull the stick out of His Royal Chefness’s ass for me? I’d do it, but as I mentioned, I won’t be there for at least ten minutes.
Miles:And I’m bringing someone.
There was, in his estimation, thirty full seconds of blissful silence, the only sound the rain tapping against the roof of his car, the soft whoosh of traffic on the street.
It didn’t last.
His phone buzzed and buzzed and buzzed again as his family’s responses came fast and furious.
Verity:OH MY GOD! IT’S A SUNDAY MIRACLE! ONE OF YOU NEEDS TO SHOUT ABOUT THIS DAY FROM A MOUNTAIN OR SOMETHING. THE SPECIAL, MIRACULOUS DAY ONE OF MY brOTHERS ACTUALLY brINGS A DATE TO FAMILY DINNER NIGHT! dancing girl emoji> confetti emoji> heart hands emoji> praying hands emoji>
Urban:We’ll wait for you.
Eli:Since when does Miles have a girlfriend?
Toby:We’re not waiting.
Willow: Of course we’ll wait. I’ll set another place at the table.
Urban: Why praying hands emoji>?
Verity:Thanking the big guy for prayers answered, obv. And here I was worried you, Miles and Toby would each head into your mid-life crises alone and pitiful, never to find women willing to put up with you but two of you have proved me wrong. single tear emoji> Now, as soon as we get Toby coupled up, I can move on with my life in peace. peace sign emoji>
Toby:We’re not middle aged.
Urban:We’re not middle aged.
Miles:It’s not a date.
Miles:And we’re not middle aged.
It was absolutely a date.
Maybe not his smartest idea, inviting her out for the first time in ten years to have dinner with him and his family, but when it came to Tabitha, he often acted dumb.
Dumb, reckless and, as he’d pointed out, like a fucking asshole.
Toby:You’re down to four minutes.
Miles:Knock it off. She wanted to stop and get wine first. We’ll be there in a few minutes.
Miles:And no matter what kind of wine it is, you’ll drink it. No dickish comments.
Toby:I don’t make dickish comments about wine.
Urban: eye roll emoji>
Verity:long nose face emoji>
Eli: cow face emoji> poop emoji>
Verity: Cow poop?
Eli: It’s the closest I could get to bullshit.
Silas:Why the duck am I still in this group chat? Verity I told you to delete me from it.
Silas:Duck! Duckity duck!
Urban:You know Miles bringing a date to dinner isn’t a miracle. I’ve brought Willow to plenty of family dinners.
Verity: Willow doesn’t count. First of all, she’s always been like family. Secondly, we all knew you and her whole Just Friends baloney was a cover to hide your mutual deep-seated love. Speaking of which, since I’m the one who ultimately got you two together, please feel free to name your firstborn after me.
Urban:What if our firstborn is a boy?
Verity: Uh, in this house, we are gender neutral and do not prescribe to antiquated and sexist views about gender “rules” including whether or not a name is “female” or “male”
Willow: high five emoji>
Willow: Also, could we please not discuss Urban and my future children? This whole relationship is still new.
Toby: You’ve known each other your entire lives.
Toby: And we’re eating in three and a half minutes.
Miles: It’s like you want me to kick your ass
Toby: meme of Clint Eastwood> You feeling lucky punk?
Willow: We’ve known each other as friends our entire lives. Not as potential parental partners. All I’m saying is that there’s much to discuss between us before we decide on whether or not to procreate.
Verity: No worries about Urban. He’s a great dad. Look how fabulous I turned out. queen emoji>
Toby: Humble.
Eli: meme of Will Farrell as Ron Burgundy> I don’t know how to put this but I’m kind of a big deal
Silas: Make it ducking stop.
Willow: Still, Urban and I have only been an official couple for a few weeks. How about he and I actually discuss it first before we open that conversation up to the general public?
Silas: I’m taking myself out of this chat.
Silas: Verity, do not add me to it again!
Silas: I mean it!
Verity: Don’t you dare, Silas Roscoe Jennings!
Eli: snickering emoji>Roscoesnickering emoji>
Verity:You are a part of this family and as such, you will be involved in family discussions. Period. If we don’t include you in this chat, you’ll never know what’s going on with any of us.
Silas: So take notes and fill me in the next time I come home. I can’t get dragged into this bullshit every week. I’m a little busy serving our country and protecting its freedoms.
Urban: And we all appreciate your service.
Miles: US Flag emoji>
Toby: salute emoji>
Eli: eyeroll emoji>seal emoji>
Silas: Duck off ball-boy.
Silas: Ducking autocorrect.
Verity:It’s not autocorrect. The last time you were home I changed your phone to switch the f word to duck.
Eli:laughing face emoji> Good one! high five emoji>
Verity: It was actually pathetically easy. I would’ve thought a Navy SEAL would’ve had a harder password for his phone and not his son’s birthday shrugging woman emoji>
Silas: Change. It. Back.
Verity: I will.
Verity: The next time you come home.
Verity: Until then, this will give you a chance to practice using other words. Expand your vocabulary a bit.
Verity: Now, back to appreciating your service for our country, which we do. But that doesn’t mean you get to use your job as an excuse to act like a recluse. Or worse, like you’re not even a member of this family anymore.
Eli: I think the adjective you meant to use was asshole.
Silas: Watch it. Miles isn’t the only one who can kick someone’s ass
Eli: oohh scared face emoji> Guess I’d better hide behind my piles of money so you don’t find me bag of money emoji>rich face emoji>
Eli: meme of man making it rain money>
Silas: That right smartass?
Silas: Heard you got the yips.
Eli: IT’S CALLED A SLUMP!
Urban: HE DOESN’T HAVE THE YIPS!
Verity: I never said that and if Ian said I did, he’s a liar!
Toby: Nice. He’s seven.
Verity: Exactly. He’s young and cute. Those two things will protect him.
Willow: I love your family group chat.
Urban: You’re only saying that because you and Sarah are the only ones in yours who aren’t either a psychiatrist or attorney.
Willow: Exactly. We’re surrounded by two of each. Not only is every text psychoanalyzed and each detail of those texts discussed, but there’s no winning any argument. Ever.
Urban: There’s no winning with this lot either.
Eli: Can we get back to my original question?
Eli: Who’s Miles’s girlfriend?
Miles: She’s not my girlfriend.
He hesitated, his thumbs hovering over the letters.
He was going to regret this.
His new motto in life it seemed.
Miles: But she used to be.
There was yet another thirty seconds of peace where, if he had to guess, the people who were at Urban’s house—Urban, Willow, Toby and Verity—were exchanging smartass comments and pointed looks.
Verity:heart eyes emoji>
Willow: We will most definitely wait for you to get here to start eating!
Eli: Is this the mystery woman from Miles’s past?
Urban:Told you.
Urban:You can Venmo me the money.
Toby: middle finger emoji>You had insider information.
Urban: Not true.
Willow: So true. Last night we saw Miles dragging a gorgeous blonde through The Cockeyed Chameleon and disappearing down the hallway when he was supposed to be getting us drinks. And when he finally made his way back to our table—alone—he was in a horrible mood.
Urban: He was sulking. Big time.
Miles: I wasn’t sulking.
He’d absolutely been sulking.
And kicking his own ass for letting Tabitha walk away.
Toby: I’ll pay but I’d like to lodge a formal complaint about unfair betting practices.
Willow: Noted.
Miles: You bet on who I’m bringing to dinner?
Urban: Yes.
Toby: Yeah.
Fucking brothers.
But Toby also had insider information from Miles’s visit to him last week. He’d seen, firsthand, how torn up Miles was over Tabitha. How confused. And he’d kept it to himself.
Eli:Is it the same girl? What’s her name? Tanya?
Verity:Tabitha.
Verity:And don’t call her a girl. She’s a grown woman.
She sure as hell was, Miles thought as Tabitha exited the store. Gladly setting the phone aside and taking a break from that clusterfuck of a conversation, he got out of the car and hurried across the parking lot.
“I’ve got it,” he said, taking the plastic bag from her when he reached her.
The surprisingly heavy plastic bag, considering she’d gone in to grab one bottle of wine.
Laying his free hand at her lower back, he ushered her toward the car. Stepped around her and opened her door.
And got such a bright, pleased smile in return, he felt like a fucking hero for doing the bare minimum.
“Thank you,” she said, then got in.
He shut the door and circled around the front of his car. Got back in behind the wheel.
And immediately heard the buzz, buzz, buzz of his family’s never-ending texts.
“Do you want to get that?” Tabitha asked.
“Hell no.”
Ignoring his phone, he reached around to set the bag on the floor behind her seat. Took the opportunity to peek inside and noted the reason it was so heavy was because she’d bought four bottles of wine.
Straightening, he raised his eyebrows at her in a silent question and she blushed.
“I didn’t know what to get. I don’t know anything about wine, so I just sort of guessed.”
“I’m sure they’re all good,” he assured her.
And if Toby pulled any of his wine-snob bullshit, Miles really would kick his fucking ass.
She nodded but didn’t look convinced. She dropped her hand to her lap where she was twisting the fingers of both hands together.
“Hey.” He covered her hands with his. Squeezed gently. “It’ll be okay. It’s just dinner.”
“Just dinner for you, maybe,” she muttered, staring down at his hand on hers. As if uncertain whether to let him continue to keep it there, offering her some small measure of comfort.
Or yank her hands free and get through this moment like she’d gotten through everything else in her life.
On her own.
He got it. She didn’t trust him. Not fully. Not yet.
His fault for holding back. For not trusting her, either.
“I’ve never brought a woman to family dinner before,” he admitted gruffly.
She pulled her left hand free, turned her right hand and linked her fingers with his. “I’ve never gone to a man’s family dinner before.”
It was a start, these small confessions to each other.
The start of what, he wasn’t sure. Or maybe he just wasn’t ready to define it.
It felt like he was on the cusp of something. Something big and terrifying. Something bright and shiny and new.
Something just out of his reach.
The past was like a noose around his neck that tightened each time he tried to take a step forward. The mistakes he’d made holding him back.
All the things he should have said choking him.
His heart started to pound. His head buzzed. His fingers tingled and prickled.
“I should have brought you home with me,” he managed. “When we were together before.”
“Miles,” she said, noticing his distress. “You don’t have to—”
“I want to.” But it came out rushed, his breathing shallow. “I need to.”
But he couldn’t do it alone.
Rubbing his free hand over the growing tightness in his chest, he faced her. “Will you help me?”
Gaze soft, she leaned over and cupped his cheek. “Always.”