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Her lips parted, and out of nowhere, she reached over and slapped my leg. “What the hell were you doing working at High Bar?”
“Nick needed a favor.”
She tried to slap me again, but I caught her hand and squeezed it. That earned me a scowl, little lines pulling her mouth down.
“That was so dumb, Miles.”
“Yeah. Not my finest moment or best thinking.”
Wiggling her hand free, she picked up her water bottle and crumpled it in her tight grip. “Nick would have still been your friend if you’d turned him down.”
I shrugged. “I wasn’t thinking whether he would be or not when I said yes.”
She looked me directly in the eye. “You go overboard, right?”
“Yeah.” I shoved my fingers through my hair. I liked Nick, but he wasn’t someone I’d lay down my life for. Yet, when he’d asked, I’d only considered how he would’ve felt if I’d said no, not what saying yes could have cost me.
“If I see you at High Bar again, I’ll have Duke bodily remove you.”
“Got it, Cupcake. No more risking my sobriety. Thanks for caring.”
Nodding once, she rolled her lips over her teeth. After a moment or two, she reached over again, but I didn’t get a slap this time. Grabbing my hand, she gave it a firm squeeze.
“Congratulations on nine months. What an accomplishment.”
I almost downplayed it, but her intense expression stopped me. There wasn’t an ounce of sarcasm in her congratulations, and when I let it settle, it felt pretty damn great to have my nine months acknowledged. Not many people in my life knew about it. I was glad Daisy was now one of them.
“Thanks, Daisy-daze. Cool of you to say so.”
“I’m sending my dad your way if I see you being stupid,” she threatened, and it warmed lonely parts of my heart.
If we didn’t change the topic, I was going to do something more embarrassing than admitting the depths of my failures as a human to the woman I was supposed to be guiding.
“Got it.” I nodded toward the food in her lap. “Eat your sandwich.”
She put down her water and took a big bite of her turkey sub. It was fascinating how much she could fit in her mouth.
“Did you just unhinge your jaw?” I asked, making her sputter and choke. I quickly held out her water, but she waved me off while pounding on her chest, getting ahold of herself.
“Miles,” she gasped.
“You opened it so wide.”
She covered her eyes and laughed. “Can’t I eat in peace?”
“Go ahead. I’m not going to risk you choking again.”
Peeking at me from between her fingers, her mouth curved in a small smile. “I take big bites.”
I chuckled. “I noticed. Sorry for shaming you, it was just shocking. I’m glad you’re comfortable enough around me to go to town on your sub that way.”
“Since this is a fake relationship, I figured I didn’t have to impress you. Besides, I don’t have the mental energy to be anything other than myself right now.”
“Why would you want to be?”
“I just mean, if you and I were really dating, we’d be in the honeymoon phase where I’d only want you to see my attractive qualities.”
My forehead crinkled from how high I raised my brows. “You think being able to unhinge your jaw isn’t an attractive quality?”
