“What’s wrong with her?” I ask.
Ainsley changes the pitch in her voice to mimic, “I’m not like other girls. Men have always just loved me. I just connect with men better. I don’t know why I don’t have any girlfriends, but you look horrible in that outfit.”
“Ahhhh. One of those,” I say.
“Yeah. Not to mention, she dated Miles at the same time she started going out with Preston.”
Oh, that is interesting information.
I glance at Miles, but he’s avoiding me.
“But Preston is definitely the worst,” Ainsley continues. “Now that I think about it, maybe he brings out that side in her. Anyway…all that to say, I need Miles to take one for the team.”
Hugging the mug to my chest, I lean forward in anticipation of the next comment.
“Lucy doesn’t want to get pulled into this mess,” Miles says with an exasperated groan.
“I don’t?” I ask with a quick grin.
Ainsley’s face lights up. “Miles! You genius! Lucy would be perfect.”
I glance at Miles to see if he knows what she’s talking about. He’s wearing a blank look, probably similar to my expression.
“Ainsley, what are you trying to say?” Miles frowns at his sister, then glances my way.
“You…Lucy. You could win the bet. It’s brilliant.”
Miles stands up quickly, like the couch just caught fire. “You’ve lost your mind.”
With that, he leaves the room.
I’m left wondering what the heck she means and why it would make Miles so mad.
Just as I open my mouth to ask, Miles storms back down the hall and into the living room. Coming back to the room kinda takes the steam out of leaving abruptly.
He points to Ainsley and scowls at her as he says, “Preston might be the worst cousin in the world, but it’s not fair of you to try and drag Lucy—who’s completely innocent—into the family drama.”
My eyes widen as I watch Miles stand between me and Ainsley. It’s like he’s trying to protect me from her in some way, yet I don’t understand what they’re even arguing about or what it has to do with me.
“Maybe you should let her decide for herself if she wants to jump into it,” Ainsley shoots back.
“Yeah, right, like she’s going to want to just jump in,” he replies with a sarcastic laugh. He flings a hand backward toward me without looking, but I catch it in mine to keep him from hitting my forehead. He glances back. “Oh, sorry about that.”
He pats my head.Freaking pats it. “Look at this, Ainsley. She’s smart. She actually uses her brain. And she’s not going to go for it, and it’s not right of you to break into my house and make her uncomfortable like this.”
“I’m actually not uncomfortable,” I pipe up. Despite the large, warm hand still resting on top of my wet hair.
“Why are you so cold?” Miles asks, abruptly changing the subject as he looks down at me.
“House call for a sick llama. I forgot to bring my rain gear, so I got soaked.”
He seems to realize he’s still touching me because he removes his hand, then grabs the soft throw blanket from the chair and tosses it to me.
“She says she’s not uncomfortable, Miles. Why don’t I just ask her?” Ainsley asks.
“Because she’s a great roommate, and she shares home-cooked breakfasts with me. I’m not letting you scare her away,” he replies firmly as he presses his hands over my ears.
His hands are huge against the sides of my head, and although it seems like he’s trying to prevent me from listening, all it does is send a strange tingling throughout my body.
