Page 22 of Raised On It (Between the Pines #1)

Well, almost. I still don’t understand why Emmett and Josh are engaged.

I mean, I get they’re best friends who made a pact when they were kids, but that doesn’t mean you actually get married.

Watching them in the same firelight illuminating the love between Reece and Rachel, I don’t see anything but friends with a capital F.

We all know Josh isn’t into Emmy that way; he never has been.

I have a feeling this is all for the press and to advance his career in some way, and I don’t like it at all.

Especially when it means Emmett will be moving away right after Rachel leaves with Reese.

Our little group keeps spreading its wings, and as happy as I am for everyone, it kills me every time someone moves away, even if only for six months but especially when I don’t think it’s for the right reasons.

Josh has always been the selfish one of the group.

In the past, it was just something we gave him shit about, but now Emmett is involved.

If this ends in heartbreak and humiliation for her, it will be a different story, and he’ll have all of us to answer to.

Once I get two seconds alone with him, I need to make sure a conversation is had.

For the next couple of hours, stories are told, sing-alongs are sung, and s'mores are eaten. All the while, Mason and I have had constant contact with one another.

Hand holding. Check.

Light back rubbing. Check

Soft caresses that are almost undetectable. Check.

Quick kisses whenever the urge takes either one of us. Check.

Since making the bold move of kissing me, she hasn’t stopped touching me.

Something changed tonight, and it’s pretty powerful.

So powerful, I know without a doubt now that she’s mine.

I’ve known from the start, but I needed her to figure it out on her own, and by God, I think she has.

The night is wrapping up as Josh, Reece, and I put out what’s left of the bonfire. Mason is making plans with the girls, and while the girls are distracted, I take the opportunity to talk to Josh, who’s busy on his phone.

He’s been preoccupied with his phone for the past five years.

“Hey, man. You’ve been on that thing all night. Everything okay?” I ask.

Looking like he’s been busted with his hand in the cookie jar, he quickly shuts off the device and shoves it in his pocket. Hmm…

“We’re rarely all together like this, but it’s like you aren’t really here. What gives?” Reece asks, backing me up.

“Sorry, guys, just working on something with my manager.” Finally focusing on us and shaking off the fact that I called him out on what, I have no idea, but I don’t believe he’s working on a “deal” of any kind.

“Hey, Mason’s really cool, man. You seem to be really serious about her,” he says, taking the conversation off him.

“Serious as a heart attack. She’s it, Josh.”

“What do you mean, she’s it? Like she’s the one?” Reece questions in a whisper when Josh stares at me speechless like I just told him I was running for president or something.

“Without a doubt.”

“So what you’re telling me is that Miles Montgomery, Mr. One-Night Stand, Mr. Hit It and Quit It is in love?”

Glancing over my shoulder, I make sure she’s still distracted before confirming his smart-assed yet well-deserved question. “I mean, she doesn’t know that, and you two are the first I’ve said any of this to, but yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s what this is.”

Wow, did I really just say that out loud?

Not gonna lie, like everything else tonight, it feels good.

“You’re saying you don’t want anyone else but her? Ever again? Only her?” Josh presses, clearly in disbelief.

I’ve been so certain of how I feel about her that I never really thought about it that way, but now, hearing him say it, I’m really taking in exactly what it means to find the one, and I couldn’t be more confident about my answer .

“Yep. She’s the real deal. The thought of being with anyone else makes me a little sick to my stomach, to tell you the truth.”

With their eyes bugging out of their heads, Josh and Reece look at one another in disbelief.

“I’m happy for you, man. I always wondered if you’d find love, and I’m glad to be here to witness it. I feel like I miss everything these days, and I’m glad I got to meet her,” Reece replies while Josh stands back examining me.

His reaction to the possibility of me finding love reminds me why I started this conversation in the first place.

“Well, you must know how I feel, Josh. You and Emmett are engaged after all.”

Clearing his throat, he gives me what feels like a well-rehearsed answer.

“We’ve known each other since we were kids.

I’ve loved her my entire life, so there isn’t that whole new exciting thing like you have with Mason.

What Emmett and I have has grown over time.

She’s one of my best friends. No, she is my best friend. ”

“You, and Parker, and Reece are my best friends, but you don’t see me asking any of you to marry me.

What’s really going on, Josh? I can’t help but think there’s more to this engagement than meets the eye.

Please tell me this isn’t something your ‘people’ said would be good for your image?

Because I may love you like a brother, but I will also rip your balls off if you hurt her for some sort of publicity stunt. You know that, right?”

“Miles, you know I love her. I would never marry her if I thought I was going to hurt her. Besides, all that matters is that Emmett and I are on the same page. She knows what she’s getting into.”

Reece’s forehead creases as he shakes his head and takes a step back. I’ve only seen him do this a hand full of times. He’s angry. Really angry when he whispers his rage so the girls don’t overhear, “She’s knows what she’s getting into? What the fuck does that mean? ”

Trying to calm the situation I had no intention of starting, I jump in.

“I know you love her like a sister, like family, but it’s not the same as being in love with her, dude.

I know I’m new to all this love stuff, but I could have told you that before Mason O’Brien walked into The Verdict and planted her ass on a stool at the bar. ”

“Listen, all relationships are different, and we can’t all be as perfectly in love as you are. You don’t need to worry about Emmett. I’ll take good care of her. I promise.”

This is not the answer I want to hear, but I know I’m not going to get the answer I’m looking for tonight because I can feel a different kind of fiery energy coming up behind me like a damn crackle in the air, and when the warmth of her hand clasps mine, I’m officially done talking to Josh.

But we will continue this conversation before anyone walks down any aisles.

“Hey, babe, you and the girls all set?”

It may be dark out here, but the smile beaming up at me fills this man-whore’s heart full to the brim.

“Yep. All set, babe.”

Ah, so that’s what has her smiling like a beacon in the night. She liked me calling her babe, and I like that she liked it.

Luckily, Rachel wraps herself around Reece, tampering down his rage, if only momentarily.

Even though they were together as kids, the decade apart finds them working in sync together again like they were never apart.

Watching them complete each other again balances out the group.

If only we all felt the same about Josh and Emmett.

Mason tugs on my arm, and I lean down as commanded. She whispers in my ear, “Miles, please take me home.”

When she pulls back, it’s clear she doesn’t mean she wants to go home because she’s bored. No, she wants me to take her home in the biblical sense.

“Hey, man, you got this?” I say, looking over my shoulder at Reece as I pull a giggling Mason behind me on the way to my truck.

He laughs and waves me off.

Lou is loaded in the back seat, and the truck is bouncing over the rough terrain of the field, but it’s nowhere as erratic as my warring feelings.

Feelings that are new and confusing as hell.

I never thought I would tell myself I wasn’t ready to sleep with a woman, but I don’t want to fuck this up by moving too fast.

Even if I want her so bad my dick is about to rip through the seam of my jeans I have to use my other head this time around. It’s not worth the risk of making a misstep and ruining things before they’ve officially begun.

Once we’ve passed Reece’s grandparents’ house that we learned in Vegas now belongs to him, we finally hit the pavement and the drive levels out. However, my brain is still moving a million miles a minute. When she finally speaks, her voice calms me.

“Thank you for a wonderful day. Your friends are really great.”

“They think you’re pretty spectacular, too. You know that, right? I think they like you better than me. Correction. I know they like you better than me.”

She laughs. “I’m just the new kid in town. The newness will wear off, and you’ll all tire of me eventually. They’ll forget all about me once I’m back in New York.”

“Not a chance,” I say, ignoring the gut punch of her reminder that she won’t be staying here forever.

“Trust me. You haven’t seen the truly annoying side of me yet.”

“Mason, you can try your best, but I promise you, I will never tire of you. ”

She turns in her seat so she has an unencumbered view of me. “What about the annoying stuff. You really have no idea what you’re dealing with.”

When we reach the city limits, the streetlights illuminate the cab of the truck, and her bright eyes surprisingly look much more serious than I expected them to. She really means it. She thinks when I see all sides of her, even the ugly ones, I’ll run. That she won’t be enough.

God, I’d love to obliterate the asshole who made her feel less than for all of those years. Along with her family. Yes, I have a few things to say to them as well.

“Babe, I don’t know how to tell you this, but you’re stuck with me.”