Page 41 of Some Sort of Crazy (Happy Crazy Love 2)
“You’re always welcome, honey.” She patted his cheek. “So handsome.”
I rolled my eyes and took the brown paper bag from Miles’s arm. “We brought a couple bottles of wine.”
“Great. There’s one open on the table, too. Help yourself. Is Dan coming?” My mother looked at me quizzically.
“Uh, no. He had some things to do.”
“Oh.” She looked satisfied with that. “Well, Miles can sit at his place then. I already set the table.”
“Perfect.”
My dad came over and shook Miles’s hand, my sisters both gave him a hug, Skylar sending me an impish grin over his shoulder, and then I introduced him to Sebastian.
We poured some wine and sat chatting on the deck a few minutes, and when my mother called us in to eat, Miles pulled out my chair and sat me before taking his place on my right.
Skylar kicked me from the left.
She kicked me again when Miles raved about my coffee shop, telling everyone how he’d helped out there today and had a new appreciation for running a place like that.
“My shin is going to be black and blue! Will you knock it off?” I whispered in her ear.
But she kicked me a third time when he praised my photography skills, again when he complimented my baking, and yet again when he boasted that he’d gotten me to agree to a few days off.
“Wow,” laughed my dad. “I didn’t think Natalie was familiar with the concept of ‘days off’ during the summer. How’d you convince her?”
“I have my ways.” Miles smiled cockily, and I kicked him under the table.
“What are you going to do, Nat?” Jillian asked, scooping more pasta salad into her plate. “House stuff?”
“I haven’t exactly decided yet.” Flashing Miles a murderous look, I reached for my wine.
“I’m trying to convince her to go on a road trip with me.” Miles smiled at me with gotcha eyes.
I continued glaring at him. Stop, I mouthed.
“A road trip, how fun!” Skylar squealed while everyone else at the table looked from Miles to me and back to Miles again, trying to figure us out. “Where will you go?”
“I want her to come stay with me in Detroit for a couple days. If she says no, I’m going to kidnap her.” He put an arm around my neck, his hand over my face.
Jesus. Could he be any more obvious? I shook him off, guzzled the rest of my wine, and looked around the table at the perplexed faces. My mother’s fork was stopped halfway to her mouth. Sebastian looked like he was trying not to laugh. And Jillian was blinking rapidly.
“Dan and I broke up!” I blurted.
“What?” said at least two women at the table, maybe three.
“When?” Jillian asked, her eyes wide.
“Last night.” I scanned the shocked, concerned faces of my family. “Look, it’s not something I want to talk about right now, and I’m not really sure if it’s permanent or just some time apart, but when I’m ready to talk, I promise to fill you in.”
“Are you OK?” my mother asked, her blue eyes concerned.
“I’m fine. And Dan’s fine. Everyone’s fine.” I gestured to my right. “And I have Miles here to take my mind off things.”
“Well, I think you guys are smart,” Skylar said. “You’ve never been apart for any length of time, not in ten years. You were just kids when you got together. It’s hard to know who you are as a person when you’ve always been part of a couple, don’t you think?”
“Yes. That’s exactly it.” I picked up my fork again, anxious to end the conversation. Jillian caught my eye, and I sent her a silent plea. She nodded.
“Sky, fill me in on wedding details. What’s new?”
