Low murmurs outside the door meant the Fosters were nearly upon us. Miles leaned in closer, his warm breath a feather on the skin below my ear. “What’s it gonna be? Are you going to kiss me? Should I hold your hand? Gaze into your eyes?”
I pretended to gag. “I’m not a PDA type of girl, so just stand there and keep your hands to yourself.”
Just before the door opened, Miles wrapped his arm around me, pulling me tight against his body. “The first thing you need to know about your fake boyfriend is that I am definitely a PDA type of guy.”
Tingles ran up my spine, but before I could shake them off, the door yanked open, and Glenn Foster and his parents stepped inside.
EIGHT
“My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”
Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice
Each of them did a double-take as they realized it was me.
“Olive?” Lyle asked.
“We were so excited when your mom told us you would be here,” Virginia said brightly. Her smile dimmed a fraction as she eyed Miles’s arms around my waist.
Miles released me just before Virginia swooped in for a hug. Her tight embrace and the strong floral scent made it hard to breathe for a second. Lyle was next, giving me a quick squeeze before stepping aside, leaving a clear pathway for Glenn.
Glenn took me in with a wide smile. His eyes scanned my body with a quick efficiency that instantly brought me back to our short time dating years ago. He seemed taller, though I wasn’t sure he actually was. He wore expensive-looking clothes, and his dark-blond hair spiked at the front as if he were trying hard to look younger. He was older than me by four years, which meant he was now pushing thirty.
“Hey, Olive Oil.” He leaned in and pulled me into his arms, completely ignoring Miles standing next to me. After a moment’s hesitation, my hands patted his back awkwardly. He lingered a bit too long, the same expensive cologne infiltrating my nose. His hug was both familiar and unwelcome, and I quickly extracted myself from his arms and stepped back toward Miles.
Glenn finally took notice of the man standing patiently by my side. His parents were staring at him as well, and each set of eyes trailed across my shoulder where Miles’s arm currently rested.
“Who’s this?” Virginia asked. Her voice was polite, if a bit uncertain.
Miles stuck his other hand out toward her, smiling. “Hi. I’m Miles, Olive’s boyfriend.”
Chills shot all around my body. His words mixed with that casual low drawl had me suddenly wanting to curl up on his lap while he played with my hair as we watched a movie. Though he was quite a bit taller, our height difference seemed complementary. But I couldn’t allow myself to get distracted by thoughts like that, because there was no doubt in my mind that he was going to make me suffer for this. Everything had a price with Miles Taylor. Now the feel of his hand lightly rubbing my upper arm felt different. Ever so slightly, I flicked my shoulder upward, trying to ward off his fingers. They stilled but didn’t move.
Virginia’s expressive blue eyes bounced from mine to Miles. “Oh! Boyfriend? Your mom didn’t—" She cut off, glancing at Glenn.
“It’s pretty new,” I stated brightly, desperately wanting this moment to be over. “It’s so nice to see you all again.”
Virginia smiled tightly, sending one more curious glance toward Miles before saying, “Yes, I can’t wait to catch up. We’ll go in and say hi to your mom and Russ now.”
Lyle and Virginia moved toward the main room, leaving only Glenn standing in front of us.
He stared at us both for a long moment, then finally gave a slightly patronizing smile and stuck his hand out toward Miles. “Glenn Foster.”
Miles shook his hand, dropping his left arm to fit snugly around my waist. Even though I knew it was Miles and we shouldn’t have been touching like this, I couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit more at ease with him next to me. I wasn’t alone with Glenn, and I wouldn’t have to be.
“Miles Taylor. Nice to meet you.”
A glint hit Glenn’s eyes as he took Miles’s measure. “And what do you do?”
“I teach English with Olive.”
He stepped back, looking between us both before he started laughing. “Both of you? Oh geez. I’ll bet you have some crazy Friday nights, busting out Shakespeare or whatever those boring books were that Olive used to read all the time.”
Miles looked as though he found something amusing—not Glenn so much, but something. Looking down at me, he said, “Sometimes she writes me love notes.” I pinched his side, and he did the same to mine.
Glenn scoffed, shaking his head. “I can’t believe there are two of you.”
My foot twitched inside my boot. Something niggled. I could handle Glenn’s comments—the snide, underhanded rudeness covered by a charming smile. I knew to expect them, but it really rubbed me wrong that Glenn was doing the same to Miles. I mean, to me, Miles was the worst. But to everybody else, he was beloved. Just because he wasn’t my cup of tea didn't mean I wanted my ex-boyfriend to put him down. Although…it shouldn’t have mattered. I should have kept my mouth shut. It would only add fuel to Miles’s fire later on, but I couldn’t help it.
I folded my arms and tried to seem nonchalant with my praise, but my heart was pounding. “Miles is an author, actually. He was just picked up by a big publisher to finish out his series. He’s also quite the adventurer–rock climbing in the summer and skiing black diamonds in the winter. ” I should have stopped there, but all reason left me and I kept going. “And he still finds time to write me love notes.”
Glenn raised his eyebrows. “I thought you wrote him love notes.”
When I had the nerve to actually look at Miles, he had a grin on his face. “I help her find the right words, so they’re actually from both of us by the time we finish.” He pulled me closer and kissed me on the temple before I could blink.
I stiffened into a stone statue when warm lips from Miles Taylor touched my face.
Don’t think. Don’t react. Normal boyfriend behavior.
DON’T THINK.
Glenn stared at Miles, disbelievingly, for a long moment. “What do you write? Romance?”
Miles stared deeply into my eyes for a few too many long, agonizing moments. He seemed to enjoy working over his crowd and making everybody, including me, uncomfortable. The payback had already begun. “Maybe someday.”
Okay. We had to reel this in or else Glenn would know something was up. I gave Miles a warning look.
“He writes middle-grade adventure,” I said.
“Kid books?”
Miles cleared his throat, this time looking less amused. “What is it you do?”
Glenn smiled tightly. “I’m an acquisitions manager for a manufacturing company outside of Boston.”
“Sounds like a mouthful.”
Glenn smirked. “Pays the bills.”
By this point, both men were still smiling, but it felt more like rabid dogs bearing their teeth.
“Well, it’s been nice seeing you again, Glenn.” I smiled up at him, giving him a gracious hint that it was time to move on. My body was in a flurry of agitation. I needed Glenn gone, Miles to stop touching me, and this whole miserable night over before my pounding heart went into cardiac arrest.