Page 66 of Broken Bonds

If I’m quiet, he’ll fill the silence for us because it seems like he never runs out of things to say. I’d be lying if I said his energy isn’t infectious.

Even with all the pain and guilt he carries, he finds something to smile and laugh about. He doesn’t let himself wallow in it. It’s something I admire about him.

“Mm, maybe the garlic parm curly fries,” he says, brows furrowed as he eyes the combinations he hasn’t tried yet. Not that there are many.

I hum under my breath and chew on my lip. Deciding what to order is always a struggle for me. Forde often takes the initiative and orders for me without consulting me and it’s always something I end up loving, but I’ve started making snap decisions and ordering ahead of him. It’s evolved into a sort of game— to order for myself before he can, but today I’m really struggling to choose.

“Do I need to order for you?” he asks, amusement clear in his tone when he glances up at me with a smirk on his stupid, pouty lips.

I huff out an exasperated breath and roll my eyes.

“I am not a child. I can choose my own food like a big girl,” I say, but even I can hear the pout in my voice.

“Mhm. So, what are you getting then?”

Looking directly at him, I try to think of an option and express it quickly, so he won’t be able to tell that I’m having difficulty coming up with the right choice. I find myself grinning in triumph when I spot two options that I’ve been wanting to try. “I’ll have either the honey and buffalo waffle fries or the honey garlic curly fries.”

I feel smug as I answer him, dropping my menu to the tabletop and clasping my hands together on top of it. And, in the process, I picked something out for myself. A win is a win.

“Actually, you know what? I’ll get both,” I add, tilting my head to the side and smiling.

Forde chuckles and gives me a lopsided grin of his own that makes those dimples of his peek out. Those dimples always draw my eye when they come out of hiding. I wanna dip my finger in one to see just how deep they are.

He raises his hands in surrender right as Charity, one of the other servers that works when Linda isn’t around, comes over for our orders. His right hand smacks her notepad, and it goes flying out of her hands, landing on the floor two booths over. A deep sigh of exasperation escapes her as I let out a snort, causing Forde to look at her with wide eyes filled with apologies. He quickly gets up and grabs the notepad for her, and we both give her our orders so she can escape.

Linda probably would have laughed and cuffed Forde upside the head, but Charity is a bit more withdrawn and subdued. She doesn’t talk much, and her demeanor is that of an introvert. She isn’t particularly bothered by Forde, but he always tries to engage with her, and she always seems to have something occupying her mind. Like it’s weighing on her, especially when she’s at work. Sometimes I find myself wondering what has her so tied up in knots, but I don’t want to ask.

Things have slowly gotten a little better for me as the days move on. The grief is there, but not as suffocating as it was at first. It gets a little easier to breathe every day, especially with Forde’s help and the grief support meetings I’ve been going to. Sometimes with Link. And Jilly and I have been spending more time together, which helps even more.

It’s gotten easier to be around Link as well. It still hurts, but the more I’m around him and talk to him, the more I can separate him from Lake.

They’re so different in so many ways.

Link works in IT and loves what he does. Lake hated technology, always complaining about how complicated it’s all become. Lake was the life of every party, but Link is quieter, more content to hang out at home with his pack than to go out where there’s too many people and so much noise you can’t hear yourself think.

Not that Lake partied all the time or anything, but he lovedJinxand the liveliness of it, which is why it was such a perfect fit for him.

There are other things I’ve learned that set them apart as well. From music tastes to movie genres and even books. Link, I’ve found out, likes to read. Lake hated reading.

It’s so interesting to see someone that looks identical to the person I’ve loved for over a decade, but to know they’re so different from each other that the only thing that could make you confuse them for each other is their looks.

Forde casts a glance in my direction with his captivating violet eyes shining with amusement. There’s a starburst surrounding his iris that makes his eyes look even more ethereal than I noticed in the beginning. I asked him once about the color, and he said it’s genetic, like his hair. Apparently, nearly everyone in his family was born with shocking white hair and eyes that turn violet by their second birthday for as long as anyone can remember. He says they’ve never really looked into the why of it all. Either way, those features make his beauty even more otherworldly.

I’ve never said a man was beautiful before. Handsome? Absolutely. But Forde is remarkably breathtaking, effortlessly beautiful.

So beautiful that it makes it impossible to comprehend him being unbonded. I know he must have had the omegas at his AOA all over him when he was younger. Hell, probably a good bit of alphas as well. And before that, he probably had all the girls and boys in high school chasing after him.

“Poor Charity. She always looks like she’s in pain when she sees it’s you in her section,” I tell him with a laugh, taking a sip of my water.

He gasps in mock outrage. “She does not! Charity loves my boisterous personality. She’s just having a bad day today. We should bring her some flowers next time. Brighten her day.”

He puffs his chest out and sticks out his jaw, but when I laugh, his body relaxes and then he’s smiling. I’m positive he was one hundred percent serious about us bringing Charity flowers, though.

Beautiful and thoughtful? Panty killer combination for anyone— alpha, beta, or omega. I choose to ignore the tiny surge of jealousy that rouses at the thought of him pursuing anyone.

“How have the group meetings been going with Link? I was thinking about going to one eventually, maybe seeing what all the fuss is about, but I don’t know. I don’t think it’s really needed as much these days.”

I puff up my cheeks and blow out a breath.

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