I threw my hands up. “I must have missed it in all of our conversations.”
He made a noise of disbelief before he folded his arms. “How’d you find out about this place, then?”
“Millie told me—"
I stopped abruptly, my hands covering my face while Miles only laughed. Millie’s last text message from this morning telling me to have fun and be willing to embrace the unexpected delights in life took on a whole new meaning now. That little punk. She’d be receiving a strongly worded text from me later tonight.
I rubbed my hand over my eyes. It was difficult to have a fake imaginary boyfriend when the real guy had just shown up. I had to end this now. Glenn would officially be my problem this week.
“It was all so stupid, okay? I’m sorry I dragged you into this. I’ll tell my family everything tonight. I can just…deal with Glenn. You are officially allowed to forget this ever happened.” I gave him a tight smile and turned to make my escape.
“Wait a sec—"
Nope. I was out of there. I reached for the door handle when my eyes caught movement outside. And then I wasn’t moving anymore. Out on the sidewalk, under the lantern-lit walkway, striding toward the lodge, were Glenn Foster and his parents. Though it had been years since I’d seen Virginia Foster, her platinum-blonde bob was impossible to miss. Her husband, Lyle, walked beside her, grasping her elbow to keep her from slipping in her three-inch heeled boots. And in front of them, leading the way and looking as suave as ever in a black trench coat, brown scarf, and a newsboy hat, was Glenn.
And then I panicked.
There were different levels of awful, and I quickly realized that Miles’s awful was much more palatable than Glenn’s. Flipping around, I found him still there with his arms folded and looking at me with raised eyebrows. With my mouth gaping and no words exiting, I shot another glance out the window.
“Okay, will you pretend to be my boyfriend just for right now? I’ll figure something out after this, I promise.” My words came out choppy and quick. I didn’t have time to overthink my actions. Glenn would be here in seconds.
Miles leaned over me, taking his time to glance out the window. “Ohhh. This must be the ex. He doesn’t look so bad. What’s the story?”
I was definitely not about to get into past relationship issues with Miles Taylor, but I did need his help, so I had to give him something.
“He’s just not for me.”
Miles stepped up beside me, rubbing his hands together and cracking his neck as if preparing for a boxing match. “Alright, what stage of dating are we at? Hand holding? Pet names? Making out behind the barn? Not sure what you prefer. I never woke up in time to finish reading how Rochester got the job done.”
I mentally forced myself to ignore the attack on my favorite book to address the higher priority. “We will never be to the barn stage, Taylor.”
“That’s not what your sister alluded to.”
I whacked his chest while he breathed out a laugh.
Low murmurs outside the door meant the Fosters were nearly upon us. Miles leaned in closer, his warm breath a feather on the skin below my ear. “What’s it gonna be? Are you going to kiss me? Should I hold your hand? Gaze into your eyes?”
I pretended to gag. “I’m not a PDA type of girl, so just stand there and keep your hands to yourself.”
Just before the door opened, Miles wrapped his arm around me, pulling me tight against his body. “The first thing you need to know about your fake boyfriend is that I am definitely a PDA type of guy.”
Tingles ran up my spine, but before I could shake them off, the door yanked open, and Glenn Foster and his parents stepped inside.
EIGHT
“My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”
Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice
Each of them did a double-take as they realized it was me.
“Olive?” Lyle asked.
“We were so excited when your mom told us you would be here,” Virginia said brightly. Her smile dimmed a fraction as she eyed Miles’s arms around my waist.
Miles released me just before Virginia swooped in for a hug. Her tight embrace and the strong floral scent made it hard to breathe for a second. Lyle was next, giving me a quick squeeze before stepping aside, leaving a clear pathway for Glenn.
Glenn took me in with a wide smile. His eyes scanned my body with a quick efficiency that instantly brought me back to our short time dating years ago. He seemed taller, though I wasn’t sure he actually was. He wore expensive-looking clothes, and his dark-blond hair spiked at the front as if he were trying hard to look younger. He was older than me by four years, which meant he was now pushing thirty.
“Hey, Olive Oil.” He leaned in and pulled me into his arms, completely ignoring Miles standing next to me. After a moment’s hesitation, my hands patted his back awkwardly. He lingered a bit too long, the same expensive cologne infiltrating my nose. His hug was both familiar and unwelcome, and I quickly extracted myself from his arms and stepped back toward Miles.
Glenn finally took notice of the man standing patiently by my side. His parents were staring at him as well, and each set of eyes trailed across my shoulder where Miles’s arm currently rested.
“Who’s this?” Virginia asked. Her voice was polite, if a bit uncertain.
Miles stuck his other hand out toward her, smiling. “Hi. I’m Miles, Olive’s boyfriend.”
Chills shot all around my body. His words mixed with that casual low drawl had me suddenly wanting to curl up on his lap while he played with my hair as we watched a movie. Though he was quite a bit taller, our height difference seemed complementary. But I couldn’t allow myself to get distracted by thoughts like that, because there was no doubt in my mind that he was going to make me suffer for this. Everything had a price with Miles Taylor. Now the feel of his hand lightly rubbing my upper arm felt different. Ever so slightly, I flicked my shoulder upward, trying to ward off his fingers. They stilled but didn’t move.
Virginia’s expressive blue eyes bounced from mine to Miles. “Oh! Boyfriend? Your mom didn’t—" She cut off, glancing at Glenn.
“It’s pretty new,” I stated brightly, desperately wanting this moment to be over. “It’s so nice to see you all again.”
Virginia smiled tightly, sending one more curious glance toward Miles before saying, “Yes, I can’t wait to catch up. We’ll go in and say hi to your mom and Russ now.”
Lyle and Virginia moved toward the main room, leaving only Glenn standing in front of us.
He stared at us both for a long moment, then finally gave a slightly patronizing smile and stuck his hand out toward Miles. “Glenn Foster.”
Miles shook his hand, dropping his left arm to fit snugly around my waist. Even though I knew it was Miles and we shouldn’t have been touching like this, I couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit more at ease with him next to me. I wasn’t alone with Glenn, and I wouldn’t have to be.
“Miles Taylor. Nice to meet you.”