Page 79 of Tall, Dark, & Ginger

Stewart gently smacks Kit’s arm, whispering, “Babe.”

Jerryn looks like he wants to be sick. “Me and Bane?”

“Uh, yeah. I don’t get it.”

“Bane doesn’t see me like that,” Jerryn says. “We’re not compatible in that area.”

“Have you tried?” Indy asks, more gently than Kit did.

Jerryn shakes his head. “No, but we know each other very well. Trust me, I’m not the one for Bane.”

“I’ve never been so confused,” Ridley says. “If you two aren’t right for each other, who is?”

“It’s not obvious stuff,” Jerryn says, looking very uncomfortable.

Oakley reaches over and pats his shoulder. “It’s okay, man. You don’t have to tell us. We just care ’cause we’re your friends.”

“I know.”

Bane returns with what seems to be a better disposition. “You should totally see Alec,” he says, sitting in his chair again. “Closure is good, and if it’s not closure, then maybe it’s a second chance.”

“Don’t want a second chance,” Jerryn mutters under his breath, but I’m not sure Bane heard it over the crunching of the ice in his mouth.

They’re big boys. I guess they’ll figure it out. Maybe whatever Jerryn thinks is a problem really is and they both know it.

“We should probably get going soon if we want to find parking,” Lowen says. “You sure you guys don’t want to come?”

“We’re sure,” Ridley says. “Come back hungry.”

“Oh, we will,” Kit says, patting his belly.

We watch the guys filter out of the dining room, carrying dishes back to the kitchen. I turn sideways in my chair to face Ridley.

“We have a few hours before we need to start prepping anything for tonight. Any ideas on how we should spend it?”

“I got a few.”

“Me too.”

“Come on.” He takes my hand, leading me upstairs to our room.

I took the plunge, moving my clothes and minimal possessions over, and since then we’ve made the place our own, creating a soft haven away from our hectic lives.

When I step into the living room, my breath catches. On the coffee table is a bouquet of flowers and a small rectangular box.

“What is this?”

Ridley squeezes my shoulders. “Let’s go find out.”

On shaky legs, I walk over and sit down. Ridley joins me, picking up the box and handing it to me.

“Before you open it, I just want to say that you deserve anything your heart wants, and if it’s in my power, I plan to be the guy to give it to you.”

I lift the lid off the box and a smile tugs at my lips. “Rid.”

Inside the box, lying on blue silk is a tiny section of a white picket fence. Scrawled across it are our names, written the way you would carve them into a tree trunk.

“Our white picket fence might look different than you thought it would, but I think it’s a good one. I don’t know where the future will take us, but I know it’s gonna be together.”

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