Page 104 of Forgive You

“He’s not wrong, baby.” Her boyfriend smirks, and laughs fly around the room when Kayla flips him off.

I glance at the man beside me. His blond hair is short, bringing out the tan that deepens every time he catches a wave. Blue eyes that now remind me of an ocean I’m slowly facing my fears in.

He took me out in the water a couple of times now, and I’m getting more and more relaxed each time we do. I would’ve never had the guts to try it myself. I wouldn’t even have the guts to try it with anyone else.

But I trust this man with my life.

Charlotte wraps her arm around me, pressing her cheek against mine. “I’m so happy you’re staying with us. You sure you don’t want to crash at your parents’?”

She smells like flowers and candy, and dressed in a white sundress, she adopted the whole housewife role like no other.

“And miss all those morning cuddles from Logan and Lizzie? Hell no.” I stare at her firstborn, a rowdy toddler with devilish eyes like his daddy.I adore him. “He’s gotten so big in a couple of months. They both did.”

Lizzie is barely six months old, but considering she was a newborn the last time I saw her, she looks like she’s gonna start walking anytime now in my eyes.

Charlotte huffs. “I know. He’s eating like he’s a fucking sailor.”

“As long as he doesn’t swear like one.”

“Give it time with a dad like his,” Kayla jokes, throwing Hunter a wink behind her virgin Mojito, and we all laugh.

Hunter playfully squints his eyes, pointing an accusing finger at my brown-haired friend. “Watch it, preteen. Or I won’t swap your mocktails for real ones anymore.”

Bodi frowns at Hunter, then swishes his head toward his girlfriend, who’s taking the time to finish her entire glass. “Kayla,” he groans. “Are you drinking?”

She shrugs, like the little sassball that she is, then slams her glass on the counter. “I guess we’ll never know.”

“Bloody hell, Hunter. She’s underage.”

Hunter huffs, stepping toward the screen door as if he’s deaf. “I’m gonna go check on the grill.”

“Relax, Bodi. We’re with family. Don’t pretend you and I never got drunk before we hit twenty-one.” Jensen grins.

Rae points an accusing finger and a stern eye at Bodi. “Ha, I bet you two raised hell long before you both could drive cars.”

Bodi runs a hand through his brown hair with a crooked smile. “Yeah, I’m gonna go see if Hunt needs some help.”

I chuckle when Bodi squirts out of the kitchen, Jensen following him before my cheek is touched by soft lips.

They feel like velvet on my skin, flushing my face. I bite my lip and turn my head to Jason’s affectionate expression.

“I’m gonna hang outside with the guys,” he says, his hand rubbing my back like he’s been doing it forever.

“Okay.”

The burning stares of my three friends, still situated around the kitchen, are turning my body heat up as we all watch Jason stroll into the backyard. As soon as the screen door slams against the doorpost, three sets of eyes find me like lasers.

“So…,” Kayla drawls, swiping my strawberry Daiquiri from across the counter and taking a big gulp.

“So…” I parrot.

“What’s going on?” Charlotte asks, her green eyes tender and non-judgmental as always.

What’s going on?I knew I should have had this conversation with Jason before he dropped me off when we arrived in North Carolina. But then again, he’s acting like he already knows.

But calling him my boyfriend without his permission also doesn’t feel right. So, instead, I reach over the white marble, snatching my drink back. “Nothing.”

Kayla’s jaw drops as her eyebrows stick together in disbelief. “Are you freaking kidding me? Last time we spoke, Jason vowed to make your life a living hell. Now he’s kissing your cheek, letting you know he’s gonna hang outside. Spill it!”

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