Page 95 of The Forever Rule

“I’m not going to say stay, have to pick up an order, however, I’m just here to razzle my brother.”

“Have fun,” the manager said. I didn’t bother standing up, but Blakely smiled over at him, and I did my best not to feel jealous. I didn’t know why the hell I would.

“We were going to come to you after we ate. It’s a nice place.”

“Yeah, Dad started it up, but the manager knows what they’re doing and has good food. I’m sure that Flynn takes care of it. You know him.

“I do.” I frowned, gesturing toward Blakely. “Iactually don’t know if you’ve met or not. Which is probably an oversight.”

“We haven’t,” Hudson said as he held out his hand, the rough calluses there evident underneath the overhead lighting.

Blakely smiled. “Hi, I’m Blakely.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Hudson said, and I raised a brow.

“Oh, really?”

“You know the group chats, they get interesting. At least the group chats without you,” he teased, and I settled back, watching my brother flirt with the woman I was currently sleeping with. And yet, there was nothing serious about it, and though a little bit of jealousy nagged at me, I ignored it. Because Hudson was laughing. He had indeed taken a seat, and joined us for lunch, ignoring the fact that I had just wanted to be with Blakely, but then again, I wanted to be with my brother too. He didn’t come down enough. He didn’t smile enough.

But he was smiling now.

“Okay, I’m going to need to hear all of the childhood stories. Ms. Patty already said she’d tell some. But I’m sure you have some.”

Hudson smiled again, and this time, it truly reached his eyes, startling me. “Oh, I’ve got stories.”

“And I’ll go get the check,” I said, as Blakely laughed.

“This town is just so interesting. I love the fact that you guys have this whole history here, and downtown in Denver.”

“That’s us Cages, shrouded in history,” Hudson said,and Blakely and I both noticed the tone. But she didn’t say anything, instead went into a story about the time she tried to ski in Vail, and nearly broke her wrist.

“Aston here’s a great skier, and we do have all access to the resort.”

“Thankfully, it is not time for skiing, and I will never be on little blades, little pieces of wood like that again.”

“Maybe snowboarding?” I teased.

“God no. That’s just asking me for a broken nose or something.”

“You know Aston could teach you. It’s just pizza and French fries like they teach you in ski school,” Hudson said.

“We can go down the bunny hills,” I said, laughter spilling out.

She glared between us. “I thought Hudson and I were supposed to gang up on you,” she said pointedly, and I shrugged.

“We’re brothers. We can’t help it. But I can teach you to ski if you want.”

“Let’s not take that up as a challenge. I like my bones where they are.”

“Well, a woman who knows what she wants, I like that.” Hudson turned to me. “Your house is all aired out for you. And I put some groceries in the fridge, though I know you’re going to be eating in town often.”

“Thanks for that, Hudson. You didn’t have to do that.”

“I don’t mind. Needed something to do when I’m trying to ignore work.”

I knew Blakely had questions about what Hudson did, but she didn’t ask. Instead, my brother’s gaze went distant, and he said his goodbyes abruptly before leaving.

“Did I do something?” Blakely asked, as I put money down for the check, and we headed out of the restaurant.

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