Page 10 of Always. Forever.

Jace takes a seat next to Bridge, so I follow, taking a seat next to him. As soon as my bum hits the seat, Jace’s arm is slung around the back of the chair. He always makes me feel safe, wanted. It’s a secure feeling I never knew I needed. I lean into Jace as much as the chair will allow me to, without hanging off my chair. I love being close to him.

The waiter walks over, and we order our drinks. I’m driving, so I keep it to water, but I ask if he can provide me with a glass and lemon slices. Water with lemon and ice is amazing. Jace thinks I’m weird for how much I love water, but if I’m not drinking alcohol, it’s water or coffee. I wouldn’t be able to go through my day without coffee, only psychos do that. Jace orders a beer and so do the other guys. Bridge orders a gin and tonic, which is her signature drink. It suits her. I always think of gin and tonic as an elegant drink, and Bridget is an elegant woman. Becky orders a wine to which Cash tells the waiter to bring the bottle.

Boh asks Becky what she does for work, but before I can hear what she says, Bridget speaks to me and Jace.

“Have you two decided on a vacation?” she asks.

Bridget goes away on vacation all the time. She is an interior designer but has a rich client, so she gets paid well for the jobs she does. They can be extremely demanding, so she has to have the patience of a saint working for them, but she can take whatever time off she wants. Well, to an extent. I remember she had one client—a senior partner for a huge law firm out in New York—and he would ring Bridget all hours of the morning. It was ridiculous, but she’s good at what she does. She is in such demand that she has to turn people away.

“No, we keep saying we are going to book, but we never do.” Jace frowns at me like it’s my fault we don’t book.

I poke him in the ribs with my mouth wide. “Don’t you dare look at me like that’s my fault, Mr. Workaholic over here.”

Jace gives me a side smile. I know he’s trying to wind me up, he never gives himself time off.

“Jace, how many times have I told you”—Bridge slaps his arm—“you need to take some time off work and take your beautiful girlfriend away.”

“Cash,” Bridge says across the table, not caring she is interrupting Cash, Boh, and Becky. His eyes slide to Bridget, softening the minute they land on her. They have always had a close relationship. Cash being the eldest, I was told by Boh, looked out for Bridge a lot. I can imagine Boh did too. Although, Boh has joked in the past about how much of a handful Bridge was growing up. It doesn’t surprise me at all.

“You need to allow your son to have some time off so he can take his girlfriend on a nice vacation.”

“Jace knows he can have whatever time off he wants. He doesn’t need to ask me.” Cash takes a sip of his beer, keeping his eyes firmly on Jace.

“I know, I know.” He sighs. “I have no excuse.” He grabs my hand. “We will book something soon, I promise you.”

I lean forward slightly and kiss his lips gently. “I’ll hold you to that,” I whisper.

We have all finished our food. I went with chicken pot pie, as I’m fussy with meat, but everyone seemed to enjoy what they had. The boys have moved around the table to talk football and work, which me and Bridge were quick to duck away from.

Becky seems like a nice girl, and we found out she met Cash at her job, a bar in the city. Not one I have heard of but there are a lot of bars in Baltimore. She explained how her and Cash were talking over the bar and he offered to walk her home at closing. She didn’t go into too much detail, but I can gather what happened next.

We continue talking, Becky asks me about how I met Jace, and I replay what happened, which had Becky laughing. Bridget loves hearing the story, it never gets old. Becky also asked what Bridget and I do for work and seemed very interested in Bridget’s interior design business.

I glance over at the boys on the other side of the table as the waiter approaches with a tray of shots. When he places the tray down, I see the salt and lemon. Tequila, the Stiles men’s favorite. I told Jace I would drive so he could have a drink for his dad’s birthday; he has been working crazy hours, so he deserves to unwind.

“Rylee,” Bridge says, snapping me out of my daydream. I move my eyes back to her.

“Yes?” I smile.

“I was just saying to Becky, we should all go out for brunch sometime. It would be nice to get to know her more.”

Bridge must be getting the same feeling I do—whatever is going on between her and Cash, it isn’t a fling. I have noticed Cash glimpsing at her a few times in the last half hour, and he’s content for once. Which is not a look Cash Stiles normally portrays.

“Sounds great, just text me a time and place and I’ll be there.” I smile at Bridge and Becky.

I peek back over to the boys. They all seem so happy. Cash is smiling a lot today, and as much as I think it’s to do with the alcohol, something tells me Becky has a lot to do with it too.

“They look so happy,” Bridge says.

“They do,” I breathe out.

Jace peers up at me in the moment and smiles. The butterflies flutter in my stomach like they always do.

“You two are the cutest,” Becky interrupts my thoughts.

I smile at her, blushing because she caught me staring.

“You look at him like he hung the moon and the stars for you.”

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