“I…um. Hi, Milo.” Stupidly, I gave a little wave as heat flooded my cheeks.
“You guys know each other?”
We both tore our gazes away from each other to look at the kid on the counter. Milo, thank the powers of the universe, saved me from trying to answer that.
“Yeah, Carter, we do. Look, in the storage closet, there’s a copy ofAbsolute Batmanin one of the boxes at the back. Think you could go find it for me?”
“Sure thing, Uncle Milo,” the boy said as he hopped down and rounded the counter, disappearing into a hallway at the back of the store.
I continued to stare at Milo, standing before me in a Superman t-shirt that clung to the strong shoulders I had kissed and clutched and remembered until the image was seared into my brain. His cheeks had gone as red as I was sure mine must've been, though the color was only just visible over his auburn beard.
When I finally convinced myself to break the awkward silence, it wasn’t to apologize for leaving or ask how he’d been or beg for a repeat of that night at the hotel. It wasn’t even to voice the stupid question ofwhat are you doing here in Spruce Hillthat ricocheted through my head.
What came out of my mouth was, “Parking trouble?”
His lips twitched and those eyes, just as soft and inviting as they had been at the bar that night, twinkled at me. “Let me guess. You drive a red SUV?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
To my surprise, given the irritation evident in the parking conversation I’d interrupted, Milo threw back his head and laughed. The sound curled around me, coaxing more memories to the forefront of my mind.
“Of course it would be you,” he said, shaking his head as he leaned his hands against the counter. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m opening a store,” I replied. “Though it’s not a naked shop, strictly speaking. Lingerie, actually. Kind of the opposite of naked.”
Oh, god. The grin that lit his face made me want to climb across the counter and kiss him. Instead, I stood there like an idiot, frozen in place, waiting. Waiting for him to get angry, waiting for him to yell or throw out cutting comments about how I’d snuck out of his bed like a coward.
Milo did neither, just walked slowly around the counter and came toward me at that same careful pace, like he thought I might spook.
“You live in Spruce Hill?” he asked softly.
I shook my head to clear the cobwebs and saw his face fall, but it brightened when I said, “Yes, I do now. I grew up near Binghamton, but my cousins live here. We’re close, so I moved to town about six months ago from Rochester.”
“Cousins,” he repeated, cocking his head when he paused a few feet away from where I stood. “The blonde?”
“That’d be Adelaide, yes.”
“She came in yesterday. I thought it was weird, the way she reacted when she saw my name tag.”
My brows shot downward as I realized just how my cousin had played me. Even in my suspicion, I’d never expectedthisto be her endgame.
“That conniving little sneak,” I whispered. “She told me I had to come get some graphic novel for her godson’s party—aparty I had no intention of attending before yesterday, since I barely know the kid. She set me up.”
Milo’s teeth flashed when he smiled. “Remind me to thank her. I can’t believe you’ve been next door this whole time. And thatyou’rethe parking spot thief.”
“I’m just glad the kid didn’t key my car.”
“That’s my nephew, Carter. He talks a villainous game, but he’s a good kid. I don’t think you were in any real danger.”
“Milo, I—”
My apology cut off abruptly when someone entered the store behind me, exclaiming, “Shit, man, you’re parked half a mile away! Oh, sorry, I didn’t know anyone else was here.”
Milo’s eyes narrowed and I turned to see an absurdly handsome man with long black curls pulled into a ponytail. He was bearded, as tall as Milo, and had a killer smile. That distracted me for a solid three seconds before I realized he had the same gray eyes as Milo and his nephew.
“Hi, I’m Milo’s brother, Maverick,” the man said, stretching a hand toward me.
“Eden,” I replied as I shook it.
