Lahat ng Kabanata ng Ruin me, Stepbrother: Kabanata 181 - Kabanata 190

The barn had been transformed.When we arrived, it had been charming but empty. It was just string lights and exposed beams and the promise of something special.Miles and I stepped inside and weighed the apples with Patricia. It was twenty-three pounds between both baskets, and I didn't even know how we were able to do up to that, but Miles had insisted we'd use them all, and it had become something almost magical.We got into the space, and long wooden tables ran the long length of it, covered in white linens and dotted with mason jars filled with wildflowers and tea lights. The string lights overhead created this warm, intimate glow, and someone had added pillar candles on every available surface, their flames flickering in the slight breeze from the open barn doors.Soft music was playing from speakers and I tried to locate where they were placed but I couldn't see. It was something instrumental with a cello that made the whole space so calm that it felt like we'd stepped into a d

“I have a confession,” Miles said as we finished the sorbet. “I’m already so full I’m not sure I can eat another course. But I also don’t want this to end, so I’m going to eat it anyway.”“Same. I might need to be rolled out of here.”“I don’t think we should if we know we shouldn’t.” He said, looking at my wide open eyes, then laughed at his own contradiction. “Okay that made no sense. We’re eating it.”The fifth course arrived — a small board of artisan cheeses paired with honeycomb, candied walnuts, and thin slices of pear so ripe they were almost translucent. The wine was a late-harvest Riesling, sweeter than everything that had come before it, golden in the glass.I cut a sliver of aged cheddar and pressed it against a piece of honeycomb and put it in my mouth and sat very still for a moment while my brain processed the combination.“Okay,” I said. “I take back every skeptical thought I had about cheese as a dessert course.”

"What's going on with you and your stepbrother?"I froze. "What?""Jax, right? He was there the other day at the event. And I don't know, there's just... something. The way you both got kind of tense when he was around the whole time, you probably didn't realize it was very obvious, but you were just eager to leave him." He held up his hands. "I'm not saying anything, just... observing. And wondering if everything's okay. Family stuff can be complicated."My heart was hammering. He didn't know. He couldn't know. He was just noticing the obvious tension."We're just..." I chose my words carefully. "Going through a phase where we're not getting along that well. It happens with siblings sometimes. Or step-siblings. Whatever. But yeah, it's just that phase of growing up. That's just it.""Do you want to talk about it?""Not really." My voice was too sharp. I softened my voice. "I mean, it's just a family drama. Boring stuff. I'd rather talk about literally anything else."He studied me fo

"Oh shit." That was the first thing I muttered when I woke up, and I didn’t even know why.The smell of coffee was drifting up from downstairs, and for a disoriented moment, I couldn't remember why I was still wearing yesterday's clothes, why my mouth tasted like wine and chocolate, why my body felt pleasantly tired in a way that felt like it had nothing to do with the gym. I just sat there in that easy silence knowing that my body was rebooting. Then it came back all at once. Everything. The orchard, the dinner, the fire, and once that I kept replaying in my head was Miles's kiss goodnight at my door.Okay. So today… so today is a new day right?I rolled over and grabbed my phone from the nightstand. The time was 9:23 AM, and there were some texts from Him, Miles.The first one was from last night, saying: "Made it home safe.” The second was sent about twenty minutes after: “Goodnight princess.” And the third one was this morning: “Wakey Wakey.”I stared at the messages, and smiled.

The Lumineers. This whole album is perfect for road trips." He adjusted the volume slightly. "Though if you want to DJ, my phone's in the center console. Spotify's already open."I liked that he offered to let me control the soundtrack if I wanted.I left it alone. The song was good, and watching the city give way to suburbs and then to open road felt right with this kind of music playing."So are you going to tell me where we're going?" I asked after a few minutes. "Or is this another elaborate surprise situation?"He grinned, eyes on the road. "It's actually not a surprise and I'm surprised you actually don't know it.""You've told me about it before?""Have it? Okay, I'll give you a hint.""I'm listening.""It's about an hour and a half away. It involves being outside. And you're going to want that sweater—it might get cold.""That's not a hint, that's just literally telling me what I already know.""Fine. I'll give a more specific hint." He paused, and then continued. "It's someth