But all he could do was look at her, desperation in his eyes.
“You’re sweet.”She pulled her hand away, casting a glance down the hallway.
Of course, Bella was just down the hall, wrestling with the twins.He’d forgotten himself.
Again.
His heart beat against his chest with a sickly speed.It wouldn’t take much to stop lying.To tell her the truth.Pull her close again, close enough to smell her perfume.Close enough to make a bad decision.
Miles took a step back and cleared his throat.“We’re your friends.We’re here for you, whether you like it or not.”
She let out a laugh.“Thanks, Miles.”
He turned back to the sink, coward that he was.
Seventeen
Friends.He couldn’t make it any clearer what their relationship was.
Yet the moment he’d stepped into the room, she’d melted.Her muscles softened, the tension in her stomach released, and she turned into some form of putty.
Annie hadn’t stopped thinking about him since they had parted ways on Thanksgiving night.She could still feel his arms around her, still see his face only inches from hers.
He was gorgeous, and kind, and thoughtful.It wasn’t her fault she’d turned into a human puddle.That’s all she was – human.Who was she to resist the famous island firefighter?
For him to show up at her house like this, defending and encouraging her – it only added to her confusion.
Maybe that alone was reason to leave the island: to escape her very first crush.
“I don’t know if Bella told you, but we got a threat at the fire station,” he said.
There was a smile on his face, but Annie didn’t find it funny at all.A pit formed in her stomach.“What kind of threat?”
Miles rolled his eyes.“Something about if we keep pushing, there will be more fires we can’t put out.”
A frown pulled at her mouth.Before, she would’ve been hard-pressed to name anyone who didn’t consider firemen allies, if not outright heroes.
Now, the image of Lauren laughing in her new Porsche drifted into her mind.How had she been so cavalier about the firefighters not having working fire engines?Why had she been on the side of the private equity company?
It was so bizarre, and Annie hadn’t had time to properly think about it, but now…she had a nagging feeling it could be connected.
“Do you think it’s related to the monopoly case?”Annie asked.
He paused, lines creasing his handsome face.
Annie stared at him, helpless to look away, wishing she could reach out and touch him...
“I hadn’t thought about that, actually,” he said.“The case was thrown out at the state level, but they’re going after them in a different way.The announcement went out last week that it’s going to be taken up by the federal courts.”
“That seems...significant,” Annie said.
She was already running a text through her head that she wanted to send to Lauren.Maybe she could get her to talk about it.She said she’d worked for the judge; maybe she knew what was going on?
Or worse.Maybe she was somehow involved.
The pit in her stomach grew deeper.Would Lauren really sink as low as to leave a threat?
The idea was dizzying.
