Page 125 of Hide and Seek

He pulls away from our hug, a smile on his handsome face. “Did Jace commit any felonies?”

I let out a huff of laughter. “Is water wet?”

He shakes his head, a grin stretching his lips. “And I’m guessing you weren’t exactly Mr. Innocent, either, hmmmmm?”

“I plead the fifth.”

“Of course you do.” He tips his face up, and I cover his lips with mine and give him a real kiss.

Even after three and a half years together, every kiss from Myles feels as incredible as that first one. It doesn’t matter how many times I kiss him or hold him or make him scream my name; it’s always amazing.

When I finally break the kiss, we’re both a little breathless.

“That never gets old,” he says with a soft smile. “Do you think it’ll ever get old?”

“Never.” I kiss him again. “You’re mine, Myles, and you willalwaysbe mine.”

He beams a smile at me, but I can see something else in his expression.

“Why do you look nervous?” I ask.

“Maybe because I am nervous,” he says, two spots of color appearing high on his cheekbones.

“Why?”

He doesn’t answer and instead tips his head up for another kiss.

I oblige and brush my lips against his, but pull back before either of us can get too into it.

“Why are you nervous?” I ask again.

“No reason.” He shoots me a wobbly smile.

“Tell me,” I say softly.

He slips his hands under my shirt and strokes his palms over my back. “It’s nothing.”

“Are you nervous about Monday?”

He makes a face. “Is it that obvious?”

“Why are you nervous about it?”

“Maybe because I’m about to start a new job at my boyfriend’s company, working directly under his uncles and father.”

“And why is that making you nervous?”

“Because I’m worried everyone will see that I’m nothing more than a nerd who’s good with code.” He chews on his bottom lip. “What if I suck at my job? What if I screw up and?—”

I cut him off with a quick kiss.

Myles hasn’t spent a lot of time with my dad or uncles over the years, thanks to their busy schedules and him still being at school, but he’s spent every major holiday with us since we got together and spent the summers with us too.

He’s as much a part of the family as Felix is, but after a lifetime of feeling like an afterthought in his own family, I understand why he doesn’t feel like he is.

Things with Myles’s family aren’t great, but they’re not exactly bad, either. He still talks with his parents and makes sure to visit with his siblings as they get older, but they’re not close-knit like my family is, and our “in your face” brand of family togetherness was a bit of a shock to him when he came home with me that first summer.

“You’re not going to suck at your job, and you’re not going to screw up,” I tell him patiently.