Page 30 of Forgive You

Thank fuck, I’m wearing sunglasses.

Jason’s gaze has been thunderous from the moment he set foot on this yacht and spotted me, his jaw clenched like he’s grinding stones or something. He makes his rounds to the rest of the team, Jordan and Ford trailing behind them, while my heart beats loud enough to climb its way up my throat with each yard they move closer.

“—it is, you know?” Mike’s enthusiastic voice catches my attention, and I turn to face him.

“R-right.” I have no clue what he’s talking about.

“Oh, hey, Cash!” Mike’s hand flies up, and Jordan nudges his way before the three men step into my proximity.

Jordan holds out his hand, greeting Mike with a fist bump, before meeting my eyes. He drags his lip between his teeth, a glint of mischief sitting in the dark rings around his irises before he leans in.

“Hey, Jules.” He sweetly kisses my cheek, then briefly holds his mouth flush with my ear. “If you’re trying to piss my brother off, it’s working.”

He pulls back, but I still spot the wink he throws me behind his brown sunglasses.

My chuckle releases some of my nerves, and I hold his gaze, silently thanking him for that boost of confidence, and grateful that at least nothing has changed between Jordan and I. He’sstill the little shit I love like he’s family, even though he’s clearly all grown up.

“Nice to see you, boys.” I fling my gaze to Ford and Jason with a produced smile, but I keep it on Jason with as much bravado as I can muster.

His jaw tics, his arms highlighting every muscle as they are propped in front of his chest. The cream linen shirt he’s wearing highlights his tanned skin, and my mouth waters at the thought of him taking it off.

Why does he have to be so goddamn sexy?

From my line of vision, Ford lifts his sunglasses, taking me in like the playboy his reputation paints him to be. “The pleasure is all mine, baby.”

His eyes rake over my pale blue bathing suit and shorts, leaving me happy with my outfit choice for today.

I see Jason’s eyes shut behind his tinted glasses before they fly back open. His neck slowly cranes to Ford, puncturing him with a glare.

Ford winks, then he meets Jason’s gaze. “What? I’m happy to see her. Aren’t you happy to see her?”

Ford focuses his fake innocence on Jordan, who stifles a laugh. “She looks good, right?”

“She does.” He nods.

“Shut the fuck up.” Jason rubs his hand over his face, dropping his back to the deck, then points his finger between the two of them like he doesn’t have one little brother but two. “Both of you.”

They both raise their hands in surrender, their amusement evident in their wide grins, and I can barely hold back one of my own. Ford’s a flirt, but I don’t mind him using his big mouth to torture Jason. After what he did to me, he deserves it.

“I’m gonna get a drink.” Jason grunts, then stomps off.

“Good idea, can you bring me back some tequila?” Ford bellows, followed by Jordan: “And shot glasses! Gotta bring this party to life.”

I belt out a laugh when Jason flips them off without turning around.

“You’ve all met before?”

I glance at Mike, who’s impersonating a confused bunny as he flicks his head between the three of us, his eyes narrowing slightly as he follows Jason to the bar, then tries to hide his discomfort by taking a pull from his beer.

“Yeah, we–”

“We go way back, right, Jules?” Jordan interrupts, and from the teasing glint in his eyes, he has obvious intentions of poking at Mike.

“Oh, really?”

“We’re all from Braeden, North Carolina, and Julie dated my older brother.” He leans in, lowering his voice as he holds his hand before his face. “But really, she always had a thing for Jason.”

He hikes his thumb over his shoulder with an expression that saysyikes.

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