18. Chapter Eighteen

From a very young age, my father had drilled into me my last name would open any door I wanted it to.

He'd had no idea what he was talking about.

When I was a kid, the one place I wanted to go was where my brother was—and more often than not, that had been Levy"s house. Elliot Levy had been his best friend for as long as I could remember. Their friendship had been a twosome. On the rare occasions I'd been allowed to third-wheel it, both had made it known I was unwanted. And it hadn't been because I was younger since they'd let Elliot's sister Elise tag along whenever she asked.

It took me a while to recognize the reason: they didn't like me.

Looking back, I had been annoying as fuck. My doctor hadn't found the right meds for me, and I'd had a bad habit of skipping them anyway. I had the zoomies on speed. Talking a mile a minute, loud and obnoxious. Making impulsive decisions, stealing, destroying, saying awful, hurtful things.

Once it sunk in that I wasn't wanted, I stopped trying to be around West and Elliot and got into trouble on my own.

Back then, I never would have pictured myself being invited to their bi-weekly Sunday brunches, yet here I was, sitting in my favorite spot between Elise and Saoirse.

Saoirse was married to Luca, Elliot and Weston's college bestie. I wasn't even salty anymore they'd added a third to their group when I'd been right there for years. Luca was slick as hell, rode a motorcycle in his off time, and ran a Fortune-500 company without letting them see him sweat.

I bounced my knees, giving my favorite toddler a pony ride. "Say ‘Miles is the best.'"

Joey furrowed her brow and scrunched her button nose at me. "Bah!" she yelped.

I tapped her little wrinkly nose. "Yep, that's right. I'm the bah."

Her mother, Kit, beamed at the two of us from the other side of the table. "Did Saoirse tell you Joey said ‘cat' when I took her to see Clementine last week?"

I frowned at Saoirse, who I worked with every single day. "No, she didn't. Did you not think Uncle Miles would have wanted that update?"

Elliot, Kit's husband, sighed, but he didn't deny my title. I'd been working on getting his kid to call me Uncle for the last year. At some point, he'd accepted it was going to happen. Maybe it was one of the times I'd volunteered to babysit when he'd wanted to take his wife out.

Saoirse folded her arms in her lap. "I apologize. I did get her on video, though. If I send it to you, would that make up for it?"

Joey slapped my leg to tell me to move before I could get too pissed about this video existing and being withheld from me. So, I got the pony going, keeping my niece happy. It didn't take a lot. She was a cool kid. Took after her mom.

Elliot eyeballed me like he could hear my thoughts. We both knew he had a stick up his ass ninety percent of the time, so he shouldn't have been surprised I was thinking it.

He and I weren't ever going to be best friends, but I didn't need that from him. I had his respect, and he had mine. Me taking a bullet protecting his wife had probably made the biggest inroads for me in his esteem. For me, him having a wife like Kit and a sweet baby like Joey had shifted him from "fuck that guy" to mostly tolerable.

Luca put down his coffee cup to toy with the ring on Saoirse's finger. "I always hear about Saoirse's half of the business. What have you been working on lately, Miles?"

I raised a brow at Saoirse. "I'm disappointed you don't talk about me to your husband."

"Oh, I talk about you." She smirked. "But not about your clients."

"I'm intrigued. All I do is work and sleep. Unless you're the one who put the hidden camera in my bedroom, you won't have anything to say about how I sleep."

Weston choked on his water. "What was that? A hidden camera?"

I waved him off while Elise patted his back. "That was a joke, Westie." Then I cocked my head. "Or was it? I have seen a little green light in the corner…"

Elise knocked against my arm. "Don't tease Weston. He'll have his security team sweeping your house for bugs before we even leave the restaurant."

I huffed a laugh. "Don't worry. I don't know any secrets about Andes, so I can't spill them."

My brother gave me a hard look. I braced for the admonishment to come, but he took a breath and switched gears. "I'm surprised you didn't invite Daisy today. She would have been welcome."

Luca lifted his coffee cup. "That's what we've talked about."

I swiveled back to Saoirse. "You're discussing my dating life with Luca? Is married life that boring?"

"There's nothing boring about being married to Luca," Saoirse replied. "I didn't think you had a dating life until Elise told me she'd met your girlfriend—who is our client."

Elliot hissed air through his teeth. "Dating a client?"

I lowered my chin. "You married your assistant."

Kit snickered. "Miles has a point. Don't throw stones."

The look he gave her transformed him from Elliot Levy, powerful CEO, to Kit's adoring husband. They'd been together a year and a half, and it still startled me to see Elliot openly displaying his heart.

Just like it had startled me the first time I'd realized he'd actually had one.

"We met before she became a client," I explained.

When I came up with the fake dating scheme, I hadn't considered having to defend our faux relationship to these guys. That was on brand for me, though. When it came to others, I could see every angle of a situation. I was myopic around my own issues.

"I didn't think it would bother you," I told Saoirse.

"It doesn't, really." She shook her head. "We're supposed to discuss everything that might affect Peak. A conversation would have been nice."

"You're right," I conceded. "I apologize."

Baby Joey smacked my leg again, crying, "Mah!" I interpreted that as her saying my name. The kid was going to get all the bouncies she wanted.

"I really liked her," Elise chimed in. "And I could tell Miles is smitten."

Saoirse's brow winged. "Smitten? Now I need to see you together."

"I do too," Kit agreed. "I didn't know Miles could be smitten."

"She's coming to our wedding." Elise reached for Weston's hand. "Under a month now. I can't believe it."

"Not soon enough," Weston murmured.

"The wedding? Really?" Elliot shot them a dubious look. "You approved of this?"

Elise nodded. "I was the one to invite her. Just wait until you meet her, El. She reminds me a little of you."

I gaped at her and her filthy accusations. "Take that back." If I started associating Daisy with Elliot, I wouldn't even be able to fake get it up for her.

She giggled. "I mean, she was wary at first, but once I started to get to know her, I found her warm and familiar." She placed a hand on my shoulder. "As someone who's a big fan of my brother, me comparing Daisy to him is a compliment."

Kit leaned forward, her chin on her fist. "Well, damn. Now I'm dying to meet this girl."

Elise gasped. "Bring her to the cabin next weekend. It'll be perfect."

"Really?" I flicked my gaze to Weston.

Next weekend, our group was sharing a house in Breckenridge for Elise and Weston's bachelor and bachelorette celebration. Calling it a cabin was a stretch since it was ten thousand square feet with six bedrooms, a huge game room, a ten-person jacuzzi, and all the amenities anyone could need.

I was the only one going solo, which I tried not to think about too hard. Bringing Daisy would certainly be a lot more fun than playing the seventh wheel yet again, but it would also be outside the confines of our agreement.

Weston nodded. "If you think she's going to be around, I'd like to get to know her better."

Yeah, this was where my guilt should have made me step out of the way of the speeding locomotive. Entwining Daisy with my real-life blurred lines that shouldn't have been blurred. But she'd get why I wanted her there, and with my track record, none of my friends nor my brother would be surprised when, at the end of the summer, I announced things hadn't worked out for us.

"I'll ask her and let you know."

Joey reached back and gave me a smack on the stomach.

I hear you, kid. None of this is a good idea, but the brakes are fried and there's no stopping it.

Me: Can I come over?

Daisy: I'm hanging with Reed.

Me: Perfect. Your place?

Daisy: Perfect? How is that perfect? I'm busy.

Me: Nah, Reed likes me. I'll be there in 15.

Daisy: You can't always have your way. You know that, right?

Me: Oh, I know it. But I'm going to have my way with you today, Cupcake.

Daisy: Sullen teen brother present. No ways will be had.

Me: You filthy little minx. That isn't what I meant, but I'm glad to know where your mind is.See you in 15!

Daisy opened the door to me before I could knock and stepped out onto the landing, which was crowded with the two of us on it.

I looked her up and down, a grin sliding across my face. "You look cute."

Her cheeks instantly flushed. I was so pleased to have been the one to do it, I had to stop myself from rocking back on my heels or I might've gone tumbling down the steps. But damn, Daisy in her fitted Andes vest and cropped black joggers was the perfect mix of emo meets outdoorsy. She also had a small braid running from one side of her head to the other, acting as a headband.

Too cute.

"Thanks." She put her hands on her hips. "Did you want something specific?"

I held up the Korean fried chicken I'd gotten on the way. "I brought food. I hear Reed likes to eat a lot of it."

Her brows lowered, and a hip cocked to one side. "You're really here to hang out with me and my brother?"

"Yeah. Why not? I just got done hanging with mine, why not hang with yours now?" Unable to resist anymore, I reached out to touch her braid, running my finger from behind one ear to the other. "I also have to ask you a favor."

"Here we go," she muttered.

"Don't be such a pessimist. I don't think you'll mind this favor."

"Okay, lay it on me. What's the favor?" She sounded as enthusiastic as someone about to eat a bowl of glass.

"Need you to come with me to Breck next weekend for Weston and Elise's bachelor-slash-bachelorette celebration."

A shallow line formed between her eyebrows. "Next weekend? What? Do they know you're inviting me?"

I took her by the shoulders and dipped down to whisper in her ear, like this was a big secret. "Cupcake, they issued the invitation."

Her eyes rounded like she was astonished they'd want her there. It was so adorable, I booped her nose like I'd done to Joey's earlier.

"Come on, say yes."

She tilted her head. "Do you want me there?"

"Uh, yeah. Everything's more fun with you around."

Those cheeks pinkened again. "Literally no one has ever said that about me."

Her door swung open, and Reed poked his head out, looking as put-upon as ever. He barely glanced at me, focusing on his sister. "Are you going to come back inside, or should I go home?"

I held up the chicken and wrapped my other arm around Daisy's waist. "We're coming in. I brought Korean chicken."

After a beat of hesitation, he moved away from the door. He didn't open it wider, but I took him not slamming it in my face as all the sign I needed.

Reed was standing by the kitchen island, using his phone, uninterested in me and what I'd brought. I could respect his need to play it cool, which was why I wasn't going to point out how much I loved him and Daisy wearing matching vests. He'd paired his with cargo pants that were barely hanging on his scrawny hips.

I put the food on the island, opening all the containers, then walked away so Reed could pick what he wanted without me seeing he wanted anything at all.

Daisy bumped my shoulder as I looked out the window overlooking the funeral home.

"We're going to watch a movie," she said.

"All right. I'm assuming it's Reed's choice."

She grinned. "You know it."

I hooked my thumb into the armhole of her vest. "I like your matching outfits."

"Thanks for not mentioning it in front of Reed. I don't think a day has gone by he hasn't worn his vest since he got it. I think it makes him feel kind of good about himself, which has been…tough."

"He looks good in it, so I get it." I glanced back at the couch. He was getting settled with a plate of chicken in his lap. "You look good in it too, Daisy-daze. Make sure you bring it with you next weekend. Weston and Elise will be pleased as punch to see you wearing their gift."

"Did I agree to that?"

I gave her zipper a tug. "Yep, you did. Now, shut up. It's movie time."

"You shut up," she muttered.

I grinned like an idiot. Everything really was more fun when she was around.

Me: How's your week going, Daisy-daze?

Lydia-Daisy-Cupcake: I only saw you two days ago.

Me: I'm still recovering from those movies.

Reed had some intense taste. He'd picked Requiem for a Dream followed by Oldboy. I'd left Daisy's somewhat shell-shocked, but Reed had had a good time.

Lydia-Daisy-Cupcake: Poor you. I've seen them both before, so I was prepared. Should I send you my therapist"s number?

Me: No thanks, have my own. How is your week looking?

Lydia-Daisy-Cupcake: I have deadlines I have to meet before next weekend. In other words, NO SLEEP 'TIL brECKINRIDGE.

Me: Did you just Beastie Boys me?

Lydia-Daisy-Cupcake: Maybe. BTW, does anyone in the group, besides you, have allergies?

Me: Not that I'm aware of. Are you gonna make us cupcakes?

Lydia-Daisy-Cupcake: I can't show up empty-handed. Whitney Mae would faint.

Me: I have a busy week too. Thanks for asking.

Lydia-Daisy-Cupcake: What are you up to this week, Miles?

Me: One of my clients is launching their T-shirt business. Would you wear a shirt with an irreverent saying on it?

Lydia-Daisy-Cupcake: I would not. But good luck to them, and congrats to you. Proud of you.

Me: Thanks, Cupcake. That means a lot. See you this weekend.

Lydia-Daisy-Cupcake: Looking forward to it. xx

My chest was warm and fuzzy from her unexpected praise, so I decided to try my luck with the other Dunham sibling. He'd given me his number, albeit grudgingly, but I hadn't needed to twist his arm either. I'd sensed a kid who needed to form all the connections he could right now. If he got too untethered, he might just…go. I knew what that felt like. Remembered it all too well. So, I reached out.

Me: Hey, Reed. I'm here for the movie recs. Preferably something that won't make me cry in the bathroom while everyone else is eating cold Korean fried chicken.

Five minutes passed. I didn't think I'd hooked him. Then the dots on my screen started to move, and finally, a text appeared.

Reed: That's an incredibly specific reference. I'll have to look over my lists to find movies for emotionally sensitive people.

Me: That would be ideal. Send me some music too. Need to know what's good.

Reed: You won't be into my kind of music.

Me: Why don't I be the judge of that? Try me. I'm open-minded.

Reed: You don't have to act interested in me to get with my sister, you know.

Me: One has nothing to do with the other. If you don't have any good music recs, you can just say that…

Reed: Manipulation 101. I respect that. Hold on, I'm gonna make a playlist for you.

An hour later, he came back with a custom playlist for me. Ten songs, all weird as hell, transient electronic music. I listened to every track.

Me: Gonna take some time to let it all sink in.

Reed: You actually listened?

Me: Yeah, I did. Not my style, but I'm flexible. Thanks for the tunes.

Reed: Welcome.

I needed to make this kid a playlist that didn't suck. My brain wouldn't let me do anything else until I did. So, I spent the rest of my evening creating the perfect playlist for Daisy's younger brother.

Hoping he liked it.

And if I was honest, hoping he might casually mention to Daisy I'd done it for him.