HIDDEN VOWS

Chapter 11

Breakfast has never been this awkward. Miles stole another glance at his fiancée as she pushed her food around her plate.

Maybe they should have gone out for breakfast like she suggested but Miles had surprised her with room service by the time she got out of the shower. He dreaded going down to the restaurant —lest they bumped into his nightmare.

But this was torture. He would rather face Chanel Preston.

“I'm sorry, did you want something else?” Miles set down his cutlery. “We can go out for breakfast if you don't-”

Emery gave a little shake of her head. “No. This is actually good. I just…” She sighed. “I don't have much of an appetite this morning.”

Miles nodded. She took a sip of her cranberry juice and set the glass down. Her phone's screen lit up with what sounded like a notification. More beeps followed and Miles noticed how stiff she got with every sound.

Miles couldn't help but ask, “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah…” She forced another smile. “It's just, Nat.”

She had been checking her phone like every second since she sat down for breakfast so of course, he knew there was more going on with her than allergies. But like he had promised, until she was ready to open up to him, he would not push her.

“Emery?” She met his gaze. “You can call Nat.” He motioned to the balcony which was free of any audience. Clearly she was avoiding Nat's messages because he was there.

The phone beeped again. She looked between him and the phone and then back at him as if she was debating on a life altering choice. She seemed to come to a decision when she muted the phone and placed it back on the table.

“I will call her back.” She went back to her breakfast.

For someone who didn't have much of an appetite, that notification seemed to trigger her hunger hormones as she scooped a fork full of eggs. Then another. Talk of stress eating. Miles stopped staring at her and went back to his breakfast.

They ate in silence for a few minutes until she spoke again. “So… I saw your clothes in the guest bathroom hamper when I was in there earlier.”

Miles swallowed his food so fast, he almost choked on a grape. He reached out for his orange juice and took a long sip to push it down.

“Yeah…” Miles cleared his throat. “You were asleep when I got back yesterday and I didn't want to wake you so I showered there instead.” He said, his tone leveled.

“Oh…” She nodded. “So how was the meeting with Lewis?”

An alarm went off somewhere in Miles' head but he couldn't quite fathom why her question would trigger any alarm. Obviously she was trying to change the topic or make conversation for god’ sake.

“Lewis?” Miles asked, perplexed.

“Yeah.” She dropped her napkin back on her lap. “You said you were meeting him last night?”

That was when it dawned on him. “It was fine.”

Miles realized he had spoken too soon when her fork stopped midair at his response. She looked up at him—actually met his gaze for the first time that morning.

“That's odd.” She said, her gaze steady.

There was that alarm again but Miles went along. “What is?”

She set her fork down. “The fact that you were having a meeting with Lewis who was here looking for you half an hour after you were gone?”

Miles set his cutlery down as well. For a second there, they stared at each other. She knew something. But as to what she knew or how much she knew, Miles wasn't about to tip his hand.