Page 96 of The Forever Rule

“No, that’s just Hudson.”

“That’s not ominous at all.”

“We Cages have baggage, some of us more than others.” I shrugged like it meant nothing, but maybe it meant everything.

“I’m glad you brought me here though, it’s beautiful.”

“I’ll show you around more.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Do you want to see my house first? Or a little bit more of the town?”

She was so beautiful, and it took me a moment just to breathe it in. I had to be careful though, and I couldn’t let it get too serious. As long as we kept things calm and casual, there would be no broken hearts when it ended.

“Show me around. And tell me one embarrassing story from your childhood.”

I sighed. “As long as you do the same.”

“I just told you about the skiing.”

“Oh, no, you told me and Hudson that story, and it wasn’t part of our deal yet. So, I’m going to need another story.”

I took her hand in mine, as I said hello to a few other residents, and we made our way down Main Street.

“You go first,” she said quickly, and I sighed, but couldn’t help the smile spreading on my face.

“Okay, I think I can come up with something.”

After all, the Cages had their secrets, but a slightly embarrassing story from my childhood wasn’t one of them. Thankfully.

Chapter Thirteen

BLAKELY

Dear Diary,

I’m not quite a small-town girl…but I could get used to this. To him.

With Aston’sarm around my waist, we walked down the block toward the other businesses.

“A few of these are new, like I said, so I don’t know exactly where everything is.”

I looked up at him, knowing that he would make sure that I didn’t run into poles or trip over a curb. That was odd to think that I trusted him so completely, but maybe again, I was trusting whatever this was in our relationship to begin with. Because if this went wrong, it was going to damage so many things, and yet it was hard for me to even contemplate that, since I was doing my best not to thinkabout it at all.

“Maybe we should have gone to the welcome center and picked up one of those maps.”

He leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose as we turned the corner.

“Maybe. Although I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a map from the welcome center.”

“I’m sure that one of you Cages has the town all drawn up somewhere. Complete with a color-coded guide.”

I looked up at the closest store and froze, my jaw dropping, and Aston groaned.

“Really? Who named this one?” I asked as I looked at the adorable coffee shop, complete with the beautifully scripted sign of the name of the place.

“I have no idea. It’s apparently changed hands since I’ve last been here.”

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