I Do by A.J. Pine

Author:A.J. Pine [Pine, A.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, NA, contemporary romance, A.J. Pine, If Only, new adult, wedding, What If
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Miles

“What is this?” Miles asked, sipping his beer. His fingertips brushed the edge of a picture frame, but instead of a photograph, inside it sat an acceptance letter to the University of Virginia.

Alex was popping the top off his own bottle. He shrugged as he made his way to the small space that doubled as a kitchen eating area and small living space.

“I’m going to guess that you can read,” he said to Miles, a tightness to his voice he seemed to want to disguise with his disarming smile.

So Miles decided to prove Alex’s assumption. He read aloud.

“Dear Mr. Karas… We are delighted to welcome you to the University of Virginia’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences as well as the Cavaliers’ men’s soccer team—”

Alex tipped the frame over softly so it laid facedown on the shelf where it sat.

“Just proving you right,” Miles said. “Been reading since I was three. I’m precocious like that. Do you find my precociousness adorable?” he teased, and Alex ignored him, brushing past his shoulder and collapsing onto a small couch.

“So you went to the University of Virginia?” Miles asked.

Alex shook his head, then let out a long breath.

“I went to the City University of New York and then came back to Greece for culinary training, the only thing my father would pay for.”

Miles sat down next to him. He hadn’t wanted to know Alex’s name a few hours ago, and now here he was in the man’s apartment, on the brink of learning his history. His first instinct was to kiss him, to keep the past at bay even if it was only Alex’s and not his own. But when Alex turned to face him, their knees bumping as he did, Miles could tell Alex wanted, maybe needed, to tell him the rest of the story, so he let him.

“What happened with Virginia?” Miles asked.

Alex took a swig of his beer.

“I broke my leg the spring before my first year, playing on my secondary school’s team.”

Miles laid a hand on Alex’s knee, the gesture so natural he hadn’t realized he’d done it until Alex let his own hand rest on top of it.

“They took away your scholarship for an injury?” Miles asked, still not understanding.

Alex shook his head. “They took away my scholarship because I had to have three surgeries to fix my leg, because I’m lucky I can even walk on my own. Playing again was never an option, which meant the University of Virginia wasn’t an option anymore, either.”

Miles’s heart twisted at the thought of losing something like that.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Shit, I’m really sorry.”

Alex took another swig from his bottle.

“I’m not,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong. I spent a long time wallowing. I couldn’t even attend university the first year I was supposed to because of the surgeries and missing deadlines for applying anywhere for that fall semester. So yeah, I wallowed for a good few years until I found cooking. And then life just sort of clicked.

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