I shook my head and asked if he wanted something to eat or drink.
“Coffee,” he said immediately, which made me laugh.
Okay.
“For all of us, if possible,” he added sheepishly.
Of course, I signed.Some biscuits, too?
Myles nodded. “That’d be great.” He took my left hand in his and pressed his lips to the back of my fingers. “You rock, you know that?”
I smiled and slapped him playfully on the chest, and as I turned to leave, he grabbed my wrist and turned me to face him.
Our eyes met, right before he bent and kissed me – so hard that it left me utterly breathless and aching.
Now, if 2022 was going to be a year full of moments like these with the man in front of me, then I was more than ready to embrace it with open arms.
Anda hopeful yet completely helpless heart, too.
30. Demon
“Did you get that, Uncle Myles? Did you???” Sienna all but screeched.
I sighed as I lowered her phone. “Yes, you insufferable migraine of a human,” I grumbled.
She clicked her tongue and sashayed over to me. “You shouldn’t frown like that. You look like Grandpa when you do.”
I placed a hand on my hip. “I donot.”
“Do too,” she countered. “Let’s go there,” she pointed at the fountain on the far left. “I think the lighting there is justperfect.” Her floral dress went crazy with the wind as she began running, and, because I had no other choice, I stomped-followed her.
We were at theMillennium Park. It was Sunday, so me and the crew were off work, which meant that I was free, and also a very open prey for my niece to snatch onto for her weekly Instagram photoshoot session.
I’ve been a victim of it several times, which is why I try my best to avoid her calls on Sundays, but because Tori had fallen ill and Taron was busy looking after her, I was the only one remaining on Sienna’s hit-list.
I had, of course, asked her why she’d pickedmeinstead of her friends for something like this, to which she’d simply turned to me and said, “Because you take the best damn photos of me. You’ve got a talent, Uncle Myles, and you should be thankful Idiscovered it before you lost all the hair on your head and teeth in your gums. You could be a legend, all because of me!”
I wasn’t sure how I could respond to that, so I’d kept my mouth shut and agreed to do her bidding.
The weather was pretty nice for a Chicago winter morning, and as I looked around me, I saw several people enjoying it as well, by either taking pictures, or simply walking around with relaxed smiles on their faces.
“Uncle Myles!” Sienna called.
I turned my attention to her. “Yes, demon?”
She rolled her eyes, flipped her long black hair over her shoulders, and then struck a pose in front of the fountain – something very similar to the ones I’d seen those fashion models doing on luxe clothing store banners.
“Snap,” she all but ordered.
I scowled as I clicked a few shots of her from different angles, then handed her the phone so she could check them.
“OMG, Uncle Myles! These came out so good!” she said. And yes, she literallyvoiced‘OMG’ instead of saying ‘oh my God’.
“I’m glad you like them,” I told her.
She shoved her phone in my hands again. “Okay, now I need you to take a few more…” She glanced around for anaestheticallypleasingbackdrop, then gasped and pointed at the lush-with-flowers section of the park. “Here!”
I followed her, of course, and raised my brows while taking her pictures because…the poses she was doing here seemed more, I don’t know, delicate and candid.
