Page 45 of Your Last First Kiss

“Hmm.”

“Yeah.” He rocks back on his heels but stays silent. He’s allowing me time to work through something I have a feeling he already knows.

“And Ashton can’t get the votes because he doesn’t live here. Even though he still owns a property in town?”

“Right. And while Remy liked Ashton…”

A protective streak flares in my chest. “What?”

“I mean, have you seen Ashton? He isn’t exactly the town jock. He even said he can’t make a basket to save his life.”

Relief washes through me that the hesitation isn’t about him personally. Ashton is a great man, but an athlete he is not.

Laughter starts in my gut and works its way up my body until it bubbles in my throat. “That’s true. So what happens next?”

“Well, it seems like Ashton and Remy have a plan. They just don’t feel like sharing it yet, so we wait.”

Fucking Ashton always has a plan, but now, maybe I do too.

“Yesterday, you said Ashton’s been trying to get Penny and me together for years. What did you mean?”

“I have a feeling if Eddy hadn’t forced your hand, you still would have wound up in Chance Lake eventually.”

I scan the open folder on Miller’s coffee table.

Dependent on D.O.H.

“Yeah, maybe.”

Six months. He said he wants me to be here for half a year. That asshole had a plan all right, and he only told me half of it.

“Get dressed. We’ll grab breakfast at Penny’s.”

My heart thumps against my chest cavity like a dog with an itch. Another meal in close quarters with my girl? My body screams hell yes, but my brain pumps the brakes.

“We can’t show up unannounced,” I argue, but the protest is weak.

“Welcome to small-town life, Dill. Trust me when I say this, she’ll be expecting us.”

I toss an incredulous expression his way, but he flashes a wide grin. “Well, she’ll be expecting me because when life gets gritty like this, we’re all the other has. She’ll watch Izzy while I check on our neighbors.”

That ache the size of the Grand Canyon in my chest keeps me from moving.

Miller watches me closely. “Penny’s parents had her later in life. They passed away a few years ago.”

“I know,” I grumble. “She told me.”

He smirks. “I forgot you probably know a lot more than I give you credit for. Three years of coffee dates is a long time to get to know someone.”

I nod.

“Most of the friends she had growing up are still in town, but Eddy was really good at isolating her and the boys. I think it’s how he hid his infidelity for so long, but she hasn’t managed or is too embarrassed to try and rebuild the bridges he burned.”

The coffee scalds my throat as I chug it down. I don’t want to hear this shit from Miller. Freaking Matty Miller. I want to hear it from her. Straight from her.

“I’ll be ready in five minutes,” I say.

He gestures toward the armchair in the corner. “Those are all clean. Pick whatever you want, but it’s going to be fucking cold, so dress in layers.”