“I havezerobetter things to do.”
“Are you sure?”
“You really have to ask after almost two decades of friendship?”
The lump expanded again, but this time, from gratitude. It swaddled the grief, preventing its ragged edges from tearing me up further. Although I didn’t feel fully healed when Adalyn left that night, I felt better.
And the following morning, I felt better still. And when Miles asked if I could meet him at Seoul Sister for coffee—probably to grovel some more and discuss his sister’s trip at great lengths—I decided to pay it forward and said yes.
Chapter 56
Itugged my duster cardigan closed and heaved my bag farther up my arm as I walked through the sun-drenched streets of town toward Seoul Sister. The sky was a shade of blue so bright it seemed surreal. Not a cloud marred its limpid expanse.
I inhaled a slow breath, filling my lungs with its blueness. Maybe I’d go for a run before my spa date with Adalyn. Not maybe. I’d definitely go for a run.
When I’d awakened this morning, I’d decided today was going to be a good day, and since we were the architects of our moods, today would be awesome.
The aroma of milky coffee and baking bread whirled into me as I entered the restaurant. Miles was standing behind the bar, the only soul in the dining room at this early hour. Besides the cooks, who I assumed were already tucked behind the stoves, prepping Sunday brunch.
“Something smells delish.” I swung my heavy bag onto a barstool, then sat on the one next to it. “Please tell me your coffee invite includes breakfast.”
Miles, who was standing at the sink, blinked a few times, as though he had something stuck in his eyes, then turned off the water, wiped his hands on a kitchen towel, and rubbed his twitching eyes.
“You okay?” It was a stupid question considering how red the whites of his eyes were. Lack of sleep and worry had clearly taken their toll.
“I made you a mocha.” He slid a tall glass striated with coffee, milk foam, and cocoa powder in front of me.
“Thank you.” I wasn’t all that picky about how I took my coffee, but I usually preferred it black. Not that Miles would know.
I doubted Liam even knew that.
The mere thought of my Alpha stained my mood, so I scrubbed his name from my brain and tipped the drink to my lips, drowning my smarting insides in sweetness and warmth. “Mmm. This is really good.”
Miles stared and stared at my face, then averted his gaze and joggled his head. “Glad you like it.”
Wow.Poor guy was several steps beyond frazzled.
I drank some more. “Miles, Bea and Nate made up.”
His eyes rammed back into mine with such violence that I felt my eyeballs dip. “You’re just saying that to make me—” He rubbed the back of his neck a tad spastically. “Please don’t lie to me, Nikki.”
“Lie? I’m not lying.”
His sharp Adam’s apple bobbed.
I wrapped my hands around the warm glass. “I swear, Miles.”
He shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Is he going to fly out to meet her in . . . where is she again? Cambodia? Or is it Bhutan? Or is she back in South Korea visiting our cousin three times removed?”
I chewed on my lip, then took another sip of my mocha, trying to buy myself time to decide how to answer. In the end, I went with the truth. “No.”
His lids flipped up. “They made up over the phone?”
How I wished I could just tell him the truth, but since I couldn’t, I said, “Yes,” then chased the bitter aftertaste of lying with more coffee.
He snorted, gripping the edge of the bar, muscles shifting like taut riggings.
“Phone her up right now and ask her, and she’ll confirm it.”
