A / N

So what's the deal with Prometheus? Nothing, really, it's just another one of Noelle's Easter eggs that she likes to slip into her novels to drive her readers crazy. Unless the fact that the frat Prometheus (from Miles Away) is about to be shut down somehow foreshadows the pack Prometheus (from Killer Instinct) being shut down too, in which case...

Happy reading!

x Noelle

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2 4

the one with the Evers

"THIS TIRAMISU IS amazing, Miles, thank you."

I smiled at Mom's words and shot a sideway glance at Miles. He seemed pleased as well, and mumbled a quick "you're welcome" before looking back down at his dessert.

It took this dinner for me to discover that the older Miles wasn't that much different from how he'd been. He let Ean kick his ass at video games, helped Mom lay the plates, and bought Dad's favorite tiramisu. I'd sat beside him for dinner, and he handed every dish down to me before serving himself and refilled my glass whenever it was low.

It was things like these that had me falling in love with him to begin with. Miles Callaghan was not grand gestures or whirlwind romance. He'd never read love poetry or bought lavish bouquets or given me expensive jewelry. But he didn't need to. He was kind and sincere, attentive in every thing, and brilliant without ever acknowledging it.

Six years down the road, he was still all of those things and more.

"So, Miles, tell us about Hale & Co.," Dad's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "When did you start it?"

I noticed Miles shoot me a glance before he spoke. "About three years ago. My friend Nate and I had discussed the venture in April, but it wasn't until November that we registered the company."

Three years ago. That was the year everything fell apart. I'd broken up with him in July—I remembered it because it was the hottest month. And without him, it felt like a drought. But I never knew that in the three months after we'd broken up, he'd gone and built the empire he had today.

He'd done exactly what I'd hoped.

So why does it still feel like it's the biggest mistake I've ever made?

My chest tightened at that thought and I looked back down at my dessert. Then I blinked. My tiramisu was gone. I reached over and punched Ean on the shoulder. "You glutton!"

He flashed me a smug grin and finished the rest of it. I frowned, only to stop when I felt a nudge. I turned back to Miles in surprise. He was still deep in conversation with my dad, but he'd pushed his own tiramisu towards me. When Dad looked away for a moment, Miles nudged his plate closer to me again and mouthed, "Share."

I smiled and took a small bite, before turning back to the conversation. It had taken a turn for a hotly-debated topic within my family: Ean, and his love for video games. Miles had brought up an internship opportunity at a video-game company in France, and Ean looked like he was about to worship the very ground Miles walked on.

"—but you have to be serious about it," Miles added, as he fixed my brother a leveled look. "Because you need to prove it's something you want, and not something you only think you want. I'll put in a good word, but everything else is up to you."

I smiled when I heard the enthusiasm in Ean's voice as he agreed. Taking one last bite of dessert, I stood to clear the plates and listened as Mom spoke to Miles. "My husband and I used to have our dates at that very café," she was saying. "We once joked that if we could have a third child, we'd adopt this tiramisu."

"Oh, yeah," Ean deadpanned. "Then you could ground tiramisu when it fights for justice alongside its friend, crème brûlée. And invite crème brûlée over for dinner after that!"

I rolled my eyes. "Can't believe you're still upset about that. Didn't Mom serve you lunch when you were playing your old Mario Kart?"

Dad turned to Mom in disbelief. "You what?"

"You served him breakfast!" she cried indignantly.

"I tossed him a granola bar—that's not serving!"

I snorted in mirth and glanced at Miles. He seemed amused, if the tiny twitch on his lips was any indication. As though sensing my gaze on him, he turned to me. I shrugged, smiled as if to say 'they're family, what can you do?' and brought the plates to the back.

Once alone in the kitchen, I chucked the dishes in the sink and began to wash them. My thoughts soon overwhelmed me and I let out a slow breath. The more time I spent with Miles, the more I wanted to tell him how much he meant to me. I wanted to tell him the truth behind my breaking up with him all those years ago. I wanted...

I wanted him.

"Hey, are you alright?" Miles's voice broke me from my thoughts.

I jumped and almost upset the stacked plates. But before they could crash into the sink, his arm came around me to steady them, his other hand on my waist. "I'm sorry—that was my bad," he said quickly, "I didn't mean to scare you."

I swallowed hard, feeling his body heat right behind me. I wanted nothing more than to lean back into him. If I twisted my head just so, I could yank him down for a kiss. It took everything in me to keep my composure. "It's fine. You just surprised me, that's all."

"Right, sorry." For a fraction of a second, his hand tightened around my waist before he pulled away. I felt the loss of his body heat, a sudden chill like winter, and let out a slow breath. "I just came in to bring you these," he added, as he placed the remaining plates into the sink. When he grabbed the towel and the nearest cleaned plate, I reached out a hand to stop him.

"Don't—you're our guest. Get back out there and talk to them. They've missed you, you know."

"I know," he said quietly. "I have, too."

So have I, the thought surfaced in my mind, but I shoved it aside quickly. Still, he made no move to leave the kitchen, nor did I ask him to either. It felt like three years ago again, when we did the dishes side by side after dinner with my parents. When I handed the next plate to him, he took it without a word.

"I want to thank you," I said after a lengthy pause. He didn't react, save to flick a glance at me, and I continued. "I really appreciate what you're doing for Ean with the internship."

"I didn't do anything. I just know the person who owns the company, and he happened to have a few job openings."

"I know. But still, you went out of your way to ask him. You have no idea what this means to Ean, or to me," I added, then let out a sigh. "I'm his big sister and I'm supposed to help him chase his dream, but... It's not easy in a place like this, when I'm barely anyone myself."

I felt him shift closer to me, and his elbow brushed mine. "Don't sell yourself short. Head of operations at Sereinn is a big deal, considering how lucrative this business is. And graduating Linville within three and a half years? That's impressive."

A tiny grin curved on my face at that. Miles had left Caverly as soon as I was accepted into Linville, so he wasn't there to see how hard I'd worked my ass off taking extra courses over the summer. It had been one of my biggest accomplishments, and nothing felt sweeter than seeing the look of surprise on Miles's face when Mom mentioned it over dinner.

"Well," I said lightly, as I nudged him back, "I learnt from the best."

He didn't say anything, but I noticed his lips lift in a fraction of a smile. We continued to wash and dry the plates in silence, until another thought came to my mind. I ran my soapy hands under the water, dried them on my jeans and reached into my pocket. "Before I forget, this is for you."

He took the flash drive I held out to him. "What's in it?"

"Evidence." His eyes flickered to mine and I smiled. "You can thank Flo for that. I spoke to her about it because she's Riverton alumni like you. More specifically, she was from one of their sororities called Ursa. All she had to do was pull a couple of strings and have some of the girls from Ursa film a few incidents at frat parties."

His hand tightened around the flash drive. "How bad are they?"

I let out a sigh. "Bad like the cops could get involved. Most frats and sororities know their limits, so these incidents only took place at parties hosted by Corvus and Prometheus. They're the most serious offences—one of those kids gets forced to drink gallons of water; another gets taped to the roof for a whole night; and the last one has two pledges being forced to fight in a ring. No shirts, no shoes, no stopping. It's..." I swallowed hard as I studied him. "...it's what you almost went through before you dropped out, isn't it?"

My heart twisted when I saw the pained expression on his face. Though he kept his features controlled, the hardness of his blue eyes gave everything away. His knuckles were white; his mouth set in a grim line.

Slowly, I brushed my fingers against the back of his hand. He flinched, before he looked down at our hands. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to," I said softly. "It's just an option."

His lips tightened. "I have to. The winter carnival is only a week away, and it's the only time I'll ever have the board and the public present. If I don't show them how bad things are right now, I may never get the chance to again."

"And your dad? Are you ready for the fallout?"

He let out a slow breath and braced his arms on the counter. "When I was in middle school," he began, his voice quiet. "I ran home crying because two guys pulled my pants down in front of the whole cafeteria. My dad's advice was to stick close to Hale at school—except those two guys were Hale's friends. In high school, I came back with a broken nose after I got shoved into a locker. Dad wired me money to go to the hospital on my own because he had a meeting to get to. And when I dropped out of Corvus's pledging and told Dad what they made me do, he said that he was sorry."

Miles let out a mirthless laugh at that and shook his head. "He was sorry that these things happened to me, but not sorry enough to stop it, because Hale had established a chapter of Corvus." He sighed again and shrugged. "So if there's a fallout—there's a fallout. Maybe it's been a long time coming."

It took all of my willpower not to blurt out what I thought of Hale. That Miles suffered in a system that his older brother had created was irony at its finest. But before I could respond, Ean's voice echoed through the kitchen. I rolled my eyes as I heard him yell for Miles to play another round with him.

I reached over to grab both towel and plate from Miles. "Go. I'll finish the rest."

He hesitated, but I shot him a reassuring smile and motioned for him to leave. As he started to head out of the kitchen, I couldn't stop myself from catching hold of him.

"Hey." He turned back to me, a confused frown on his face, and I met his gaze. "If there's a fallout, I'm on your side. You know that, right?"

He stared back at me for a moment, then his features softened. Before I could even blink, he leaned in to press his lips to my forehead. Warm lips to cool skin; I caught a whiff of his aftershave and felt my stomach twist. I shivered, wanting nothing more than to pull him closer, but the moment passed all too quickly.

When he stepped back, a tiny smile played on his face. "Now I do," he said, and headed out of the kitchen.