Page 103 of Forgive You

Her eyes are laced with fatigue, tugging on my heart, but a small smile spreads onto her lips. “I’m fine, really.”

I rub her arms. “What did he want to ask?”

Her features twist for the smallest second, and I frown, but it’s gone before I can say anything. “Nothing special.”

“Jules?”

She kisses me, which I’m sure is a way to distract me, but I disconnect our lips, forcing her to look at me.

“It’s nothing, really,” she reassures me. “He just wanted to know if he could transfer the results to my doctor in North Carolina.”

Oh, that makes sense. “Really?”

She wraps her arms around my back, melting our bodies together. “Really, baby. They will call me in two weeks with the results.”

“You’re gonna be fine,” I tell her, then tuck her underneath my arms before we make our way out of the hospital.

“I know,” she says, peering up at me with her pretty brown eyes.

But as we drive back home, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something I’m missing.

28

“Ican’t believe Ford agreed to babysit the dog.” Jordan tosses a couple of peanuts into his mouth, hanging over Charlotte and Hunter’s kitchen island.

The sweetness of my strawberry Daiquiri swifts into my nose, and I smile. I love being here. Charlotte and I used to sit at that breakfast bar and pretend we were at an actual bar, sipping homemade cocktails.

Her mother would let us. She always said she’d rather us drink here, in the safety of her home.

I miss that woman. My stomach squeezes. Seeing her battle cancer for so many years has me fearing my next appointment.

The reason in me knows that it could all be nothing, but still, my feelings go from confident to frightened as fuck within a split second whenever the situation reminds me of it.

“I didn’t give him much choice.” Jason shrugs, looking sexy as hell in his baby blue collared shirt. It’s short-sleeved, and though Jason is not chiseled like Hunter or bulky like Jensen, he’s toned in all the right places, including his arms. “It was either take care of the dog while we’re gone or find a new agent.”

He winks at me, and the squeezing of my stomach is turned into a flutter that makes me smile.

“Maybe some responsibility will do him good,” Hunter offers, taking a sip of his beer with Logan sitting on his hip.

“Doubt it,” Jordan snorts, and we all laugh.

It’s good to be home. I glance around the kitchen, happy I have all my friends here with me. Jensen has Rae pressed against him, her back against his front. Kayla is sneaking sips of Bodi’s rum and Coke, just to mess with his head. Jason has his arms leaning on top of the white countertop, close enough to brush against the brittle hairs on my lower arms from where I sit beside him, and Charlotte and Hunter? Well, they are just smiling and touching each other every chance they get.

It took them seven years to get their heads out of their asses, but now they have everything I dream to have one day. A happy marriage, kids, and they even have the cutest, fluffiest, and damn-near biggest dog they could find.

They have a home.

“Everybody smile!” Jordan flips his phone, activating selfie mode, and snaps a picture of us all in the kitchen before anyone can object.

“I donotwant to see my face on your grid, Mr. Superstar,” Kayla sputters. “I like my life anonymous, thank you very much.”

“Don’t worry, baby girl, it’s just my stories.”

“You really need to stop calling me baby girl.”

“You’re not even legal yet and you’re a girl.” Jordan shrugs. “If the shoe fits.”

Kayla rolls her eyes, looking for back-up in Bodi.

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