Page 109 of Knot Made to Break: Part Two

“Holy shit,” I said, grinning as I met her halfway. “Look at you. You’re practically glowing. Are you pregnant or just well-fucked?”

Kit blushed wildly, laughing and pulling me into a hug. “Hi, Jules. I missed you too.”

“I’m serious,” I muttered into her hair. “No offense, but you used to look like the poster child for emotional damage, and now you’re out here giving main character energy, smelling extra, like cake and sugar and chocolate. You did bring me sweets, right?”

Used to my usual flavor of sass by now, she rolled with the feistiness, pulled back, and held out the box in her hand like she had been waiting on me to ask for the goods. But I ignored it entirely and zeroed in on the ring.

“Oh myGod.” That signature pink worked into Kit’s face again as she shifted the box and held out her hand so I could get a better look. “That’s not a ring. That’s arock.”

“I know,” she said, all soft and smug and in love.

Ok fine, Kit wasn’t smug about anything, but shewasdeliriously happy.

The kind of happy that was hard not to want for yourself.

“All four of them got you rings?”

She nodded. “They all wanted to propose. It was the sweetest thing.”

“Wow. I’m impressed. Also, slightly annoyed. My brothers are setting the barunreasonablyhigh.”

She snorted. “You’re just mad you can’t tease them for being emotionally constipated anymore.”

“Exactly.” I grinned, loving how well Kit knew me already. “Ruins all my best material.”

We dropped into a pair of chairs by the window, the ones with the good lighting and halfway decent upholstery. I tookthe box of baked goods with a gold logo imprinted on the top. Opening it, I swallowed down a moan at how good the mixture of danishes, croissants, cupcakes, and cookies smelled. The scent of lemon frosting hit me hard, and I beelined for the cupcake, taking a humongous bite.

“This is from your place, right?” I asked around a mouthful.

“Fresh this morning.”

I held up my hand. “If I propose, don’t read too much into it. It’s the cupcake talking.”

Kit rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide her smile. She did that often now. Smile. The tension in her shoulders was gone, a kind of relaxed contentment that only came when life stopped punching you in the throat for five minutes. She looked so damn at peace it almost made my chest ache.

Almost.

“Where’s Adeline?” she questioned.

I stiffened, just a little. Barely enough to notice. But Kit noticed. She always did.

I sighed. “She’s not here. She’s been… busy.”

“There’s definitely more to that story.” Her gaze was curious but also understanding. She wouldn’t pry, even if she wanted to.

That was the best thing about my new sister-in-law. She understood boundaries. Just like everything else about her, she was gentle. She set people at ease. Made people want to open up to her. It was a gift. One I didn’t possess.

Apparently, I hesitated too long. Kit reached for me, squeezing my hand in solidarity. “Jules?”

I stared into the box of treats like it held the answers to all my problems. They did say you should eat desserts when you’re stressed, right? I mean, “stressed” was just “desserts” spelled backward, after all.

“It’s… complicated.”

Tilting her head, she studied me like I was some kind of code she wanted to crack. “You okay?”

“Define okay.” I took another bite of cupcake, then licked the frosting off my lips. “I matched.”

Her eyes widened. “Youwhat?”

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