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Miles

Fuck the dinner. I’ll be home in 15. Meet you in the bath.

Me

See you then.

It's only takenme seven weeks but I’ve finally figured out how to connect to the Bluetooth to play music from any speaker in the house. With the music playing softly, I didn’t hear the elevator doors open so I am pleasantly surprised to hear that husky voice behind me, “I could come home to this every day and die a happy man.”

I know he means it as a simple comment but hearing the way he saysevery day, has my heart longing for some kind of future with him.

He leans against the vanity. When he untucks his shirt from his pants I get a glimpse of that dusting of dark hair trailing down from below his belly button. I know realistically he’s probably moving at a normal pace, but watching him it feels like he’s pulling his jacket off and undoing his shirt buttons in slow motion.

“Now if you just ditch the pants you could join me in here,” I say.

His head falls forward with a small laugh and he looks up at me from under his thick lashes. “Well since we’ve already almost flooded this place once before, I think I’ll stay out here.” He pulls a bench away from the wall and props it next to the tub before sitting on it. His strong hands find my shoulders and unaware of the tension I was holding there, I relax them. I look down at his bruised knuckles as he continues to knead my shoulders.

“How was your day?” I ask him.

“Boring. How was yours?”

His tone is sarcastic but I still can't help myself. “Miles,” I playfully growl at him while I let my head fall back and rest against the rim behind me. The truth is, I’ve been busy renovating the studio, butI don’t miss the way his eyes have been heavy. Like he has something on his mind. I bring my lips down to his hands and leave a kiss, silently telling him,I’m here, you can talk to me.As if that was the reassurance he needed he huffs out a long breath and continues.

“My dad reached out to me.”

I shoot up from the bath and turn to face him. “When?”

“Last week maybe? Or the week before? I don’t really remember.”

“Why? Are you okay?”

His eyes stay trained where my hands clutch tightly around his. “I wanted this. I wanted him to see that I could be successful without him. I wanted it to sting. But I’ve been so angry at him for so long and when I hit that level of success, he was the last thing on my mind.”

Understanding dawns on me. His father, who he doesn’t have a relationship with, and is the sole reason he claims to work so hard. He says he wanted this as a way to hurt his dad but he doesn’t seem happy with the way this situation has turned out.

“Hey—”

“I’m okay.” He looks at me now. “I was mad to hear from him initially but I think that was just a programmed response at this point. After a while, I realized I’d been successful and done all the work and I hadn’t thought twice about doing it to spite him. I don’t really even know this man anymore. And I don’t want to continue being pissed off and working for his reactions.”

“Have you ever thought about reaching out to him?”

His lips purse as he shakes his head. “There’s no point.” He kisses the corner of my mouth. “Calling it a good thing might be a stretch, but I can see the situation better now. I don’t care what someone who I don’t even know anymore thinks about me. I still want to be the best at what I do but I want to be great for myself. I want to make myself proud. And you.”

His words make my eyes well up, and I have to bite my cheek to stop myself from crying.

“Maybe one day. Maybe clearing that negative air between you two will help you to really let go and move on.” I kiss his hand that I’m still holding. “And Miles? Youdomake me proud. Honestly, the only thing bigger than your scowl is?—”

“My dick?”

I flick my wrist, spraying him with water. “Is yourheart,jackass.”

“Must be the Leo in me.” He shrugs with a laugh and gets up to turn on the shower. After it’s running warm he reaches his hand out to mine. “Come on, let’s rinse you off,” he says, unbuttoning his pants with his free hand.

I climb out and step up to him on my tip toes so I’m closer to his face. I trace his soft lips with my fingers. “I could do this every day and be happy too.”

“Your mind is wandering.”

We got in bed hours ago. The warmth of Miles’s body seeps into me. His powerful thighs cradle me from behind, providing immense comfort. But still, I’ve been lying here with a thousand thoughts and not one of them is clear.