Page 37 of Love and Memories

Travis lowered his fork. He’d been so distracted by Hadley’s planning that he forgot. “Sorry.”

They bowed their heads and Beau said the blessing. He even added in a prayer for Bella, which Travis appreciated. He wasn’tthe only one praying for her, and for some reason no one was trying to set Beau up with the new woman in town.

As soon as the prayer was over, Hadley clapped her hands. “Well, I have to run. Enjoy your dead pig.”

She made a mad dash for the door, but Gage wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him.

“You’re not getting away without a kiss,” Gage whispered.

Beau choked on his food and fell into a coughing fit.

“It’s nice that you’re in love, but could you do it somewhere else?” Travis asked.

“I’m leaving, and you’ll all be sad when I’m gone,” Hadley said as she wrapped her arms around Gage’s neck and pulled him in for a big kiss.

Ugh. Love was so complicated. On the one hand, it was nice to see his friends happy and starting families. On the other, he wanted to stab his eyes out with a rusty butter knife.

Hadley rushed out with a hand waving above her head. “Bye, babes!”

Gage sat down at the table with a smile on his face.

“Dude, you scare me,” Beau said.

“Look the other way,” Gage said without lifting his attention from his plate.

Beau turned to Travis and pointed his fork at him. “You, don’t let Hadley pressure you into doing things you don’t want to do.”

Travis tilted his head. Beau was his age, but he had an air of confidence that made people listen to him. “Thanks, Dad.”

Beau turned back to the food in front of him. “Hadley is scary. Make your own calls about Bella.”

“Thanks for that. I like her. She’s great, but she doesn’t even know who she is.”

“So how canyouknow who she is?” Gage supplied.

“Exactly.”

At least, that made sense to someone other than just him, so it was the excuse of the day. He’d think of a new one tomorrow.

Gage gestured with his hand while he finished chewing. “You need to decide for yourself if you’re ready to get back out there and put your heart on the line again.”

Travis tapped his fork against the paper plate. “When did you become a romantic?”

Gage shrugged. “When Hadley started reading all those sappy romance novels. She likes to tell me about them, and I just like hearing her talk about the things she loves. Sorry she’s trying to set you up, but she just really likes seeing people in love.”

Travis shared a look with Beau before turning back to Gage. “Seriously, who are you?”

Gage huffed and picked up his empty plate. “Shut up and wait till you get a girlfriend.”

For all the bad Travis had experienced in relationships, Gage and Hadley were showing him the side he didn’t know existed. Those two had each other’s backs one hundred percent.

Anything less than that kind of care and commitment wouldn’t be worth the trouble. It made it easy to know who he didn’t want to spend his time with.

Then there was Bella. Hedidwant to be with her. He liked spending time with her and talking. He wanted to get to know her and make new memories together.

Shoot. He liked her. He liked her a lot, and it didn’t matter that he didn’t want to be ready. Feelings were already sparking, and he was powerless to stop them.

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