It was three little words that simply made sense.

“Okay,” Miles said.

And with that he let it all go—the repressed emotion, the defense mechanisms, the hesitation—all of it. He let it fucking go.

Then he kissed the man who asked for nothing but three days. Three days and his name.

“It’s nice to meet you, Alex,” Miles said in between flicks of his tongue against lips he’d been hungry for since the airport.

Alex wrapped his arms around Miles’s waist, tugging him closer as he parted his lips in a smile.

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Miles.”

Chapter Fifteen

Jordan

Jordan sprawled like a starfish on the hotel bed, luxuriating in the softness of the hotel robe. She missed Noah. Of course she did. But this alone time—quiet time without a story to write or a paper to grade; without Elaina putting on a false smile for all her guests, lying to Duncan’s family and her own that his flight was delayed; without worrying about the money Noah just spent on a round-trip ticket to Athens to rescue Duncan from whatever mess he’d gotten himself into—yes, this alone time was good.

The weekend would fly by, and then she and Noah would be traveling to the U.K. and taking a train to Scotland, back to the scene of the crime, so to speak. She laughed quietly to herself, picturing the vestibule on the train where Noah had first kissed her. A stranger in a strange place, he’d been exactly what she needed to interrupt her carefully planned life. Okay, so he’d traveled to Aberdeen with his ex-girlfriend, which led to her dating Griffin early in the semester. Maybe things weren’t exactly smooth sailing after that first kiss, but it was the start of something that would eventually alter her life.

I’m not a spontaneous guy, he’d told her that first summer when they’d traveled Europe before going home to spend their first real year as a couple in two different states. But you make me want to step outside that safe zone, even if there’s risk. Because despite the occasional mess—and the scars we have to prove it—loving you is worth all of it.

Jordan rubbed a finger over the scar on her forehead, caused by an unfortunate turn of events that included alcohol, mistletoe, and the edge of a pub table greeting her as she fell. She imagined the one on Noah’s palm, when she’d accidentally barreled into him after their British Novel in Film class and he’d cut it on a broken bottle.

Sure, what people saw were scars, but what Jordan saw were reminders that despite the hurt and the work, what she had with Noah was worth all of it. She hoped Duncan could do that for Elaina, show her that whatever happened today was just one of those wounds that would heal and scar and remind them that they are stronger together no matter what life throws at them.

With that comforting thought, she closed her eyes, barely letting herself drift off when there was a quiet knock on the door.

She leapt from the bed.

“Noah?” she asked, giddy at the thought of his return. Okay, so maybe the alone time wasn’t as great as she thought.

But when she looked through the peephole, Jordan saw a fidgeting Maggie. Her heart sank. Had it been selfish of her to want time alone in her room? After all of the people and the food and the noise and—ugh. She just needed some quiet. But Maggie was here all by herself, not even Miles to provide the buffer she probably needed.

“Maggie!” Jordan said as she threw the door open. “Hey. Everything okay?”

Maggie stood before her in a casual yet elegant navy dress with white polka dots. Her tangerine waves cascaded over her shoulders and onto her bare arms. She was a beautiful girl, and it warmed Jordan’s heart to see how she lit up when she was with Griffin and how he did the same with her.

Maggie’s features relaxed into a warm smile.

“Sorry,” she said. “I can’t relax, and when I can’t relax, I look for things to do, and I know we still have another hour until we need to be back at the restaurant, but the only thing I had to keep me busy was to get ready. So I’m ready. But…I can’t zip my dress. Would you mind?”

Maggie spun so her back was to Jordan, who had the dress zipped in seconds.

“Thanks,” she said. “I’ll see you soon.” She turned to head back to her room. Was it really only an hour before dinner?

“Maggie, wait.”

Maggie stopped to face her again.

“Are you worried that they aren’t back yet?” Jordan asked her.

The other girl let out a long breath, and Jordan realized they’d both been worrying, only separately. It was time to commiserate.

“Come on in,” she told her, and Maggie followed her into the room, taking a seat in the desk chair. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“That I let us spend the afternoon worrying about this on our own. Griffin would kill me if he knew I left you hanging like that.”

Maggie laughed. “I appreciate the thought,” she said. “But I’m pretty capable of taking care of myself. I know when we met in Chicago I was not at my best, but…”

Jordan shook her head. Shit. She was out of practice with the whole friend-making thing. She hadn’t forgotten meeting in Chicago last year when Griffin brought Maggie to the Aberdeen reunion. Maggie had joined them for glass after glass of champagne even though the alcohol and subsequent dehydration triggered a headache that laid her out for the rest of the evening.

“I didn’t mean to insinuate you weren’t okay on your own,” she told Maggie. “I’m sorry. Ugh, can we maybe just start over from when you knocked on my door? I’ll do better this time.” She chewed on her top lip, and Maggie smiled.

“We’re good. No worries. Besides…if Griffin wants to kill anyone, it’ll be Miles. He’s technically my chaperone, though I hope it’s obvious I’m doing fine without him.”

Jordan wanted to laugh off the comment, but Maggie’s nonchalance felt too forced, so she decided to try again.

“What else are you worried about?” Jordan asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.

“I’m not,” Maggie insisted, but Jordan wasn’t buying it.

“Okay,” Jordan said. “I just need to dry my hair and throw on my dress. Give me ten minutes. Then we’ll head to Ambrosia a little early for a coffee and a chat. What do you think?”

Maggie nodded and stood up. “Okay. Deal. I’ll go grab my coat.”

Chapter Sixteen

Maggie

The hotel was only a few buildings down the road from Ambrosia, so the girls walked in silence for the few minutes it took to get there. They entered the restaurant and were immediately ushered by one of Elaina’s relatives—Maggie thought maybe an uncle, though she couldn’t remember his name—to the small party room that would house this evening’s festivities.

“This is the small room?” Maggie asked, and Jordan giggled as they both handed their coats to a server.

“I think they’re using the whole main restaurant for the wedding, so yeah. This counts as small,” Jordan said.

Maggie spun slowly, taking in the surroundings—a long row of pillow-topped booth seats lined the side wall, each with a rectangular table and two chairs facing the booth. The windowed wall that looked out over the beach housed seven round tables, each seating four. Small, recessed lights gave the earth-toned furniture a warm, amber glow.

Much like this morning’s display of food, there was a table at the far end set with appetizers and shots of what she was sure was ouzo.

“Okay,” Jordan said as they approached the table. “I don’t see coffee.”

Maggie picked up a shot first. “When in Rome? Or Greece, I guess.”

Jordan’s eyes widened, and Maggie could tell the girl was trying not to say the wrong thing, so she let her off the hook as quickly as she could.