Page 126 of When You Had Me Adapting

“Maybe.”

“So, what did your mom say this time?”

I let out a groan. “She wasn’t amused that Jace and I are back together. Thinks he’s not meant to stay here. Like he’s some vagabond.” I pause and roll my eyes. “For someone who thinks I’m dramatic, she sure knows how to be.”

“Does that mean he’s officially your boyfriend?”

“We didn’t label it. We agreed we want to try again and see where it goes.”

“And do you think he’ll leave again?”

“I don’t know. Maybe, but I think if he does, we can make it work. We haven’t had a chance to talk about it. After we left lunch, we stopped by Annie’s grave. I know we need to talk about what comes next, but today was a hard day for him and he needed some space to process his mom. For now, I’m really happy.”

She nods understandingly. I glance down at my watch. “Shit, they’ll be here soon. I need to grab a quick shower. You want to order the food?”

“Thai?”

“Yeah, but the good Thai place, not the one we got last time.”

I walk outof my bedroom to find Wren, Chloe, and Gray are already here with drinks in hand.

“It’s about damn time,” Gray says when she sees me.

“It was a long day. I didn’t realize y’all were all here.” I walk over and pour myself a glass of wine from the opened bottle.

“Food will be here any minute,” Poppy says, checking the app on her phone. I sit down next to her.

“How was the hospital, Gray?” I ask. “You got done sooner than I thought you would.”

“Oh no, we came over to hear about you and Jace. I’d love to hear about Gray’s second job, but unless she can offer us something as scandalous as fucking in the bathroom at The Local, it’ll have to wait,” Wren says, smiling mischievously.

“She’s right, Lace. You owe us the dirty details of what happened.” Gray smiles over the edge of her wine glass.

There’s a knock at the door and Poppy jumps up to answer it. “Hold that thought, that’s the food.” She moves across the living room to the door and takes two bags of takeout from the delivery driver. Thanking him, she kicks the door shut with her foot and returns to where we all sit.

She sets all of the containers on the coffee table and sits crossed legged on the ground. “Okay, I’m ready, tell us what happened.”

My friends all listen intently as I detail the night at the bar and what happened after.

“I’d like to take credit for this finally happening.” Wren giggles. “If it hadn’t been for Tanner and me picking such ahotsong, you two could still be pretending like this wasn’t incredibly inevitable.”

“You’re a good friend,” I tease. “It was weird seeing you and Tanner get along so well. I thought he drove you crazy.”

“He does. It’s amazing who you’ll tolerate after some tequila.” Wren laughs. “I’m glad you’re getting some.”

“It feels like more than just sex though,” I say. “I mean don’t get me wrong, the sex is mind-blowing, and part of me hates myself when I think about all of the bad one-night stands I’ve had when I could have been having Jace, but I don’t know, it feels like?—”

“Love?” Poppy cuts me off, smirking.

“Maybe.” I feel my cheeks heat. “But that’s insane, right?”

“Not necessarily,” Chloe says. “Y’all have a past and just because you were apart for a decade doesn’t mean your history was erased.”

“Yeah, I don’t think you ever actually fell out of love with him,” Poppy says. “You were mad and hurt, but you’ve loved him since we were kids.”

Deep in my gut I know they’re right. It seems crazy, but I love Jace and I think I’ve loved him my entire life.

“So when do you see him again?” Gray asks.

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