Page 24 of The Winning Ticket

“Of course you should have. It just felt like you guys were hiding it from us when we didn’t hear about it until last night.”

“Okay then… Well, we weren’t, so I guess it’s fine then.” Jake mouths the words ‘What the fuck?’ at Chris before heading inside.

Beside me, Will has gone stiff, I imagine because he feels as uncomfortable as I do about the exchange we’ve just witnessed, and I’m not sure I want Jake to know I saw any of it.

He passes through the apartment to his room without seeing me standing there, and I exchange a look with Will before we join everyone else outside. Neither of us say anything about what we saw and heard.

After I chat for about ten minutes with the others, Jake steps back outside, looking far too attractive in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, and looks down as Maddie bounces around his legs.

“Hey, fluff ball!” He picks Maddie up, and she starts licking his face and neck. He momentarily holds her away from his face before tucking her under his arm and scratching her ears. “She’s fucking adorable,” he says, looking at me for the first time since I arrived.

My heart skips slightly when I notice him checking me out before catching himself.

God, how had I forgotten how my heart reacts when I am around this man?

“Ha, she knows it too,” I say. “She’s a bit of a licker, sorry.”

“All good.” He puts Maddie down, and she scampers back over to jump into my lap while Jake joins Chris and Will at the barbecue.

“So, how are you settling back in, Bri?” Annelisa asks, taking a sip of her glass of water.

“It’s okay. I think it will take a while to adjust to being back in Brisbane,” I say, and Morgan’s head snaps up from where she has reached over to pet Maddie.

“You are not allowed to move back to Sydney!” She exclaims, and I roll my eyes.

“Morgan, stop freaking out. I’m not moving back to Sydney.”

“That’s good because now that you’re back, it will make all the wedding planning so much easier,” she says with a cheeky grin.

“Ah! So the real reason you’re so happy I’m home comes out!”

“Of course it’s the real reason! It was getting annoying trying to coordinate bridesmaid dress fittings around when you could come back,” she says, and I shake my head.

“I can’t believe you guys are finally getting married in a few months. Feels like you’ve been engaged forever,” Annelisa says before taking another sip of her water.

Although Chris popped the question years ago, Morgan had it in her head that she couldn’t get married before she was twenty-five, and she had been dragging her feet when it came to organising anything, which was incredibly surprising. But the second she turned twenty-five two months ago, the wedding plans started in earnest.

“I know. Pretty soon, it’ll be your turn.” Morgan nods towards Will.

Annelisa chokes out a laugh, and Will shakes his head.

“Ease up there, Morgan. Let’s just get you two down the aisle first before we worry about anyone else, okay,” he says, avoiding looking at his girlfriend, who has gone a little pale.

Morgan pouts. “Fine, spoil my fun.”

“Anyway,” I cut in. “What’s for dinner?”

Annelisa shoots me a relieved smile, and I mouth back, “You’re welcome.”

“Steak and salad.” Chris waves a steak at me.

“Sounds good to me.”

We chat until the food is ready and move to the outdoor dining area. Jake sits beside me, and I glare at Morgan when she narrows her eyes at us across the table.

“So Jake, have you decided what to do about this place yet?” Annelisa asks once we’re finished eating, and Jake leans back in his chair, slinging his arm along the back of mine.

He takes a swig of beer, and there is just something so sexy about how he is sprawled in his chair next to me. He has always been so comfortable in his own skin.

---