Ugly Love (Hoover)/Chapter 7
from the Collection “Ugly Love”
Chapter Summary
Tate had not seen Miles for two weeks, but she continued thinking about him. As she and her brother, Corbin, prepared to visit their parents in San Diego for Thanksgiving, she learned that Corbin had invited Miles because his father was working.
Tate went ahead to the elevator to hide her excitement. When the men joined her, she struggled not to stare at Miles in his casual clothes. They held each other's gaze until the elevator reached the ground floor.
In the lobby, Cap asked about their holiday plans. Miles stared silently at him before wishing him a good Thanksgiving without answering his question about going home. Tate questioned whether Miles's earlier stare had meant anything special.
Tate quietly remarked to Cap that Miles seemed to be having another bad day. Cap suggested that some people simply disliked questions. Outside, Miles offered to drive because Corbin had not slept, and Corbin agreed.
In the backseat, Tate felt overwhelmed by her attraction and wondered whether Miles felt anything for her. She doubted that he did and wanted to stop dwelling on him, especially with work and school demanding her attention. She took out a paperback while Corbin settled down to sleep.
Miles asked whether she was comfortable. After half an hour, reading in the moving car gave Tate a headache, so she put her book aside and rested her feet on the console. She kept studying Miles in the rearview mirror, frustrated by his unreadable expression.
Their eyes repeatedly met in the mirror. Tate finally smiled at their silent exchange, and Miles smiled back. When he lowered his arm onto the console, she began moving her feet, but he stopped her by holding one foot and telling her she was fine.
Miles stroked the side of her foot with his thumb before withdrawing his hand. Tate struggled to contain her smile and began believing that he was attracted to her. At her parents' house, her father immediately recruited both men to hang Christmas lights.
Tate put Corbin and Miles in her old bedroom, which had two beds, and took Corbin's former room. She joined her mother in the kitchen. Thanksgiving was normally limited to immediate family, and their pilot schedules had often kept her father or brother away, but everyone was present this year.
While Tate prepared eggs, her mother remarked on Miles's good looks and asked whether he had a girlfriend. Tate downplayed her interest because her mother had a history of sharing private information. She changed the subject to her father's retirement, but her mother's knowing grin made her blush.
Characters
Quotes
That’s how it is when a person develops an attraction toward someone. He’s nowhere, then suddenly he’s everywhere, whether you want him to be or not.
He never smiles. He never laughs. He doesn’t flirt. His face appears as if he keeps a constant veil of armor between his expressions and the rest of the world.
My thighs clench together and my breath halts in my lungs and my legs tense, because I’ll be damned if his hand didn’t just caress my foot before he pulled it away.