15. Chapter Fifteen

I had no clue how Miles and Weston came from the same parents. If I didn't know they were brothers, I never would've guessed. Weston was a couple inches taller, and his build was on the leaner side. Miles was more broad, with heavier muscles. Weston had light brown hair with some blond highlights, while Miles' was chestnut brown. Their hazel eyes and sharp jawline were the only similarities I could find between them.

It wasn't just in their looks where they differed.

Miles was a bright ball of energy, while Weston kept himself tightly locked down. I had a feeling he was similar to me—slow to trust, wary of intentions, but once someone was in with them, they were in for life.

For that reason, I didn't find his reticence off-putting, but I did wonder how he and Miles had turned out so differently.

Weston cleared his throat. "Your family owns the Dunham funeral home?"

"Yes." I braced myself for what came next.

He nodded tightly. "I've been there several times. It's nice for what it is."

"Thanks. My parents take a lot of pride in it."

"You don't want to go into the family business?"

"I don't. My brother-in-law works with my dad on his end of things, and my sister assists our mom part-time. They'll take it over when the time comes. I help out when they need me, and I keep their website running, but I don't want to die in the same place I grew up."

"That makes sense. I never had an interest in joining my father in his business ventures. Then again, he had a tendency to run his investments into the ground."

Ahead of us, Elise and Miles were having an animated discussion. With how at ease they were, I wondered how long they had known each other.

"You're not the type of woman Miles has brought around in the past," Weston stated.

"No? We haven't done a lot of talking about our past partners—"

"Forgive me, but I wouldn't call anyone I've seen Miles with a partner. They were…distractions. Acts of rebellion. Definitely not a partner."

"Distractions from what?"

Weston rubbed his scruff and peered at his brother's back, an enigmatic smile curling the corners of his mouth. "That's something I have yet to uncover. The root is probably our shit upbringing, but my brother doesn't talk to me, so I wouldn't know the rest."

"He doesn't talk to you?" I found that hard to believe. From what I'd seen, Miles had never met a stranger. He could talk to a brick wall and be happy.

"Not about anything real. We're doing better, though. Getting there," he gruffed. "Having Elise around helps. He likes her a lot more than me."

I huffed a laugh, doubting that. "Have they known each other long?"

"He didn't tell you?"

"He's shared a lot, but not those kinds of details."

"Ah…well, I've been friends with Elise and her brother Elliot since early childhood. Miles and Elise got to know each other in high school. He was a major dick to her, but he's managed to win her forgiveness in the last couple years."

"I hope she made him work his ass off."

He chuckled. "She didn't make it easy."

"Good."

My stomach twinged, thinking back to Nick's warning. This must've been what he'd been talking about. Chances were, Weston was underplaying just how big of a dick Miles had been. But if Elise was willing to forgive him, it wasn't on me to hold a grudge on her behalf.

Miles threw his arm around Elise's shoulders, drawing a growl from Weston, which made me laugh. He shot a dark gaze in my direction.

"That doesn't bother you?"

"No. I come from a tight as hell family. Someone's always touching up on someone else. That's what that looks like to me. Family."

He peered at the two of them again and nodded. "Family. You're right. That's what they are."

I chuckled at his tight jaw. "It still bothers you."

"I have a solid possessive streak I struggle to deal with," he muttered.

"I bet Miles knows that, doesn't he? Might he be egging you on?"

Weston's jaw rippled. "He might be. Kid was born to antagonize me."

"That's what little bothers are for."

"Little bothers?" He huffed a laugh. "Sounds about right."

"I have one of my own. Right now, he's going through a sullen teen phase, but he spent his first thirteen years laughing at me whenever he could."

Weston hummed, looking ahead on the path then turning to check behind us. Had Weston not been so alert, I might not have believed the mountain lion story. They hadn't been pulling my leg.

"By the way," Weston started.

"Yeah?"

"I noticed you're not wearing anything Andes."

"Oh." I ran my hands over my no-name cargos, suddenly self-conscious. This man had freaking invented the filler for his company's coats, and they made so much more. We'd been receiving Andes' catalogs for a few years, and I never failed to drool over the gear. That price tag, though? "No, I'm not."

"Do you own anything Andes?"

"I have an old winter coat in my closet." Purchased for a song at Goodwill. Not that I would tell him that.

"Hmmm." He tucked his shaggy hair behind his ear. "Forgive me for using you as market research, but may I ask why? You seem like an avid hiker and lover of the outdoors."

"I am, but Andes is beyond my budget. I buy dupes—oh, I probably shouldn't say that."

He let out a short, dry chuckle. "It's fine. I won"t have you arrested." He hummed again. "I think our prices are fair for what we offer, but it's always bothered me that we're not more accessible."

We volleyed ideas back and forth about accessibility and luxury brands. Once Weston got on the topic of his company, he became another person. More like Miles, enthusiastic and practically bouncing on his toes.

I decided I might like Weston Aldrich. I definitely liked his fiancée, Elise.

When we reached the parking lot, Elise and I hugged, and Weston gave my shoulder a pat before he tugged Elise to his side. Miles mimicked his brother, gripping my hip possessively.

I would have liked it if it were real.

Miles walked me to my car and backed me into my door. "Play along. They haven't left yet. If you were my girl for real, I'd be making out with you right now."

I pressed my hand to his chest. "I'm not making out with you."

"I didn't expect you would." He dipped down, shoving his face in my neck like he had at the beginning of the day. Only now, I had been outside for hours and done a decent amount of sweating. When Miles inhaled, I cringed.

"Goddamn, Daisy. You smell delicious."

"I'm sweaty."

His nose dragged along the side of my neck. Something wet poked against my skin for the barest second, followed by a low groan. If I hadn't known better, I would have said he'd licked me, but that couldn't have been right. It must have been his lips.

"Like I said, delicious," he uttered.

My stomach swooped and crash-landed at my feet. Maybe I hadn't been wrong.

He broke away from my neck to peer down at me, one arm braced beside my head, the other still holding onto my hip. His fingers dug into my flesh, kneading me.

"You made friends with my brother," he stated.

"‘Friends might be an exaggeration. We had a pretty good conversation once he relaxed, though."

"That's what I mean. Weston doesn't relax."

I shot him a small smile. "Well…he relaxed in that he didn't see me as a threat to Elise or you." My fingers curled into his T-shirt. "Were you and Elise friends in high school?"

He scoffed. "No. I wanted to be, but I didn't know how to get her attention in a constructive way. I was a dick to her."

"Those were Weston's exact words."

"I'm surprised he didn't say worse." The hand resting beside my head moved to my hair, stroking the fine strands. "We both worked at Andes a couple years ago, and I forced my friendship on her."

"Seems to have stuck."

"Yeah."

I felt the need to poke at him a little. "You didn't get jealous when she went out with Weston?"

He let his forehead fall against mine. "You're treading on a really complicated bevy of emotions right now and don't even know it. The bare bones answer is no, I'm not jealous Elise and Weston are together. Them ending up together was always inevitable. I'm just happy to be along for the ride."

I cupped his cheeks, coaxing his face away from mine so I could look at him. "There's so much you're not saying."

"Too much for a parking lot." Wrapping his fingers around my wrist, he lifted my hand, turned his head, and placed a kiss on my palm. "Thanks for coming out today. You really raised my brother's opinion of me."

"I didn't do anything special, Miles. I think he already likes you."

He straightened, his hand sliding down my arm. "We did a good job convincing them this is real. I'm giving you the credit for going along with whatever was thrown at you. I didn't think you'd be so flexible."

I snorted. "Big family. Grew up above a funeral home. I am used to chaos and every day being different. Today was easy-peasy."

He squeezed my bicep. "God, you're cute, Lydia-Daisy-Cupcake."

I rolled my eyes. "I still seem like a Lydia?"

"Yep, but Daisy is growing on me."

Miles was growing on me.

He was like the wildflowers he'd picked for me, splashes of bright beauty that seemed to come from nowhere.

We said our goodbyes with promises to meet next week to talk about my progress with Grazing. My social battery was almost on empty by the time I started driving home. When I arrived, all I wanted to do was shower, curl up on my couch, and veg for a solid two hours.

As I trudged up the stairs to my apartment, I remembered the flowers nestled in my backpack. I found a jar in my kitchen, filled it with water, dunked my sweet little bouquet inside, and put it on my desk—exactly where Miles had envisioned.

Then I took a picture and sent it to him.

Me: You're right, they look perfect here. Thank you again.

Miles: Look at you, taking my vision and bringing it to fruition, just like you're going to do with Grazing. You're very welcome, Daisy. I'm honored you kept them and put them where you'll look at them. xx

The next day, Reed showed up at my door. It was enough to knock my socks off. Reed rarely left the house. I could have counted the times he'd visited my apartment on one hand. What almost put me on my ass, though? The big box he was carrying, stamped with the Andes, Inc. logo.

"This was just delivered for you." His flat intonation caught my attention. Reed had never been a flat sort of guy, and lately, getting any reaction out of him was a challenge.

"Come in and help me open it." He followed me inside, placing the box on my coffee table. I gave him a pair of shears, letting him do the honors of slicing it open.

He picked up an envelope. "There's a note. See who it's from."

"I'm pretty sure I know who."

"You have a hookup at Andes?"

"Um. Let me read the note first."

Daisy,

Elise helped me pick out what she deemed "essentials" for you. If the sizes are wrong, you can exchange them at any Andes store. Included is a voucher for hiking boots.

I'd love to discuss ways to make Andes more accessible to a greater population. Maybe next hike?

Elise says hi, and she'll be texting soon.

Best,

Weston Aldrich

"Holy shit." Reed was standing behind me, reading over my shoulder. "That's the CEO of Andes."

"Yeah." I slapped the card against my palm. "You know my friend, Miles? Weston is his brother. I met him and his fiancée Elise yesterday when I hiked with Miles. Weston was miffed about my lack of Andes gear."

"You landed some rich friends, D."

"Not on purpose." I elbowed his side. "Would you believe none of them asked me about ghosts?"

"No. I don't believe it." He nodded toward the box. "Open it."

"All right already."

I ripped open the tissue paper, my stomach a bundle of nerves and excitement. This was a big freaking box, and it was filled all the way to the top.

There were several tops, long sleeve and short, all made of material to wick sweat, two vests, socks, hats, gloves. Three pairs of pants that looked like they'd fit just right, and a dark plum windbreaker with fleece lining I wanted to slip on. On the bottom, there were two thin puffer coats.

Reed eyed my piles of clothing and outdoor wear with envy, while I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount.

"I don't need all this," I stated. "It's way too much."

He picked up the black puffer coat, running his finger down the front. "You're lucky. I've always wanted one of these."

It struck me that Reed was…well, excited would have been too strong of a descriptor, but he was emoting. There was light on in his beautiful brown eyes, and he seemed interested enough not to be jonesing to get back to his room.

"Well, I have two—one more than I need. What about if we go to the Andes store and exchange that one for one in your size?"

His brow dipped. "But these are for you. I don't have rich friends."

"No, but you have a sister with rich acquaintances. Besides, I happen to know Weston Aldrich is all about sustainability. He would hate to see the clothing he gifted me going to waste. You'd be doing him a favor by taking that jacket." I picked up a couple T-shirts and the boots voucher. "These too. I just got new boots. Since you're growing at the speed of light, I'm sure you could use a new pair. Let's go on a shopping spree, courtesy of Weston Aldrich."

Reed rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze sliding to the side, no doubt searching for a reason to say no. As of late, my brother went to school and came home. He'd dropped his hobbies, and I hadn't seen many friends around. It worried me. Worried all of us. Getting him to do this with me wouldn't cure what ailed him, but we could have a nice afternoon together, and that was something.

"All right, but only if you're sure you don't need that stuff," he mumbled in his sullen, put-upon teen way.

"I'm completely sure."

Our day out together ended up being short, but no less sweet. Reed even agreed to take a selfie with me in our brand-new, matching Andes vests. It might've been wishful thinking, but I swore he stood a little taller in his new gear.

I sent Miles the picture of us together.

Me: Send this to Weston and tell him thank you from me and Reed.

Miles: Cute pic, Dunham siblings. Why am I thanking Weston?

Me: He sent me a huge box of Andes gear. Reed and I took a trip to an Andes store and exchanged some of it for his size. Now we look like rich outdoorsmen.

It took so long for him to reply, I thought he was going to leave me on read. Then a text finally came through.

Miles: Sorry. Had to get some screams out. I gave you weeds, and Westie gave you a new wardrobe. Honestly, fuck him. I mean, I'm happy for you, but fuck him.

I snorted a laugh. I could picture Miles pacing in his rubber duckie living room, cursing his brother's name.

Me: Reed hasn't left the house with just me in months, but sure, make this about you.

Miles: Okay, honestly, could you make me look like more of an asshole?

Miles: I looked at the picture again. Is he…almost smiling?

Me: Almost! He was feeling himself in his new vest.

Miles: That's awesome. I forgive Weston for attempting to usurp my place as #1 in your heart.

Me: He did say Elise picked everything out. If anyone in this scenario is going to be #1, it's her.

Miles: Sounds like her. You guys had a good day, huh?

Me: Yeah. I've missed my brother. It was exactly what I needed.

Miles: So, what you're saying is you're in a good enough mood to come help me peel wallpaper?

Me: Not on your life.

After a few more minutes of texting, I found myself driving over to his house, eager for another uncomplicated, easy hangout with Miles. It had been a long time since I'd looked forward to anything, but in the short time I'd known Miles Aldrich, he had given me a lot to look forward to, both big and small. I had a feeling, if I stuck around him, this was only the beginning.