present during your childhood, but I know you. A lot better than you think I do, and it’s as clear as that oversized nose on your face. You’re so in love with that woman, you can barely see straight. And you’re miserable at the thought of losing her. What I don’t understand is why my ambitious, go-getter of a son, doesn’t…well go get her?”
“It’s complicated and messy.”
“Well, uncomplicate it, Miles. If you love the woman, figure it out. I’ve never seen you look at anybody the way you look at her. To be honest I’ve despaired of ever seeing you look at someone like that…and now that you’ve found her, you’re just letting her go?”
“She’s not mine to keep. She never has been. The best thing I can do for her is let her go.”
“Like this? With so much reluctance and surliness and moodiness? What kind of message does that send? She’s surrounded by all these people who care about her, who will miss her when she leaves. Who want her to succeed in the future, and all she can do is stare at you with her shattered heart in her eyes.”
Her words jerked Miles’s head up and he unerringly sought and found Charity. True to his mother’s words, she was watching him. Her eyes widened when he caught her staring, and she hastily looked away.
“She shattered my heart first,” he said, sounding like the petulant boy she had called him earlier. He shut his eyes and shook his head, irritated with himself for being this way.
“I’m being a prick.” It was a statement of fact, an acknowledgment of his ridiculous behavior. Not too long ago, he had promised to be her friend above all else.
And he was being a terrible fucking friend.
“Excuse me, Mum. I have to—”
“No need to explain, my boy,” his mother interrupted cheerfully, taking another swig from her beer. “Go talk to her.”
He was coming over.
Charity’s breath hitched, and her heart, which had been glumly lurking close to the vicinity of her feet all evening long, leaped back into her chest and tattooed a frantically happy beat against her ribcage. She watched him approach, unable to take her eyes off him.
He moved like a panther, sinuously, gracefully, purposefully…
Would she ever stop loving him?
He glided to a stop in front of her. His eyes boring intently into hers. With his dark brows furrowed into a glower, and his hair untamed, there was a familiar hint of wildness about him. And she found it utterly irresistible.
He held out a hand, palm up. “Dance with me?”
Her tongue was glued to the roof of her dry mouth, and she struggled to formulate her response.
It took so long, his hand started to shake, and the spark in his eyes dimmed.
“There’s no music,” she eventually managed to croak out, and his eyebrows lowered even more.
“There isn’t?” He looked confused by her statement for a moment. But then he smiled. And his face transformed from savage to drop dead gorgeous in seconds. “I always hear music when I’m with you, Charity.”
The words were cringingly sweet; but her knees went weak, and her legs turned to gelatin.
“That’s hands down the corniest thing I’ve ever heard you say,” she said, with a laugh, and he grinned.
“I know.” His palm was still outstretched, and she dropped her own hand into it and allowed him to tug her into his arms. He nuzzled the hair at her temple and breathed the rest of what he had to say directly into her ear, “It’s true though.”
He was swaying gently, to the beat of some song only he could hear. Charity sighed and snuggled closer, her arms going around his waist, while his hands fisted against her back.
“I’m sorry I’ve been such a twat,” he muttered, and she shook her head.
“I understand that my decision to leave was a shock. I’m sorry too.”
“Let’s not spend the remainder of our time together apologizing to each other, okay?”
“Okay.”
“You all packed?”
“Hmm.”
“I’m going to miss you, my love.”
“I’m going to miss you too, Miles,” her voice wobbled. “So much.”
“You’re going to have a phenomenal life. Because you deserve it.”
Her throat and nose clogged up, and her eyes stung. She buried her face in his neck, wishing he could hold her forever.
He started to hum softly into her ear, and she smiled, her arms tightening around him.
“You really need to learn some other songs, Miles,” she chuckled, and she felt his lips stretch into a grin against her ear.