Page 26 of Always. Forever.

“Typical, always the way,” she huffs as she walks out.

I stare at the flowers and see a note tucked in the top of the bouquet. I pick it out andRy Bearis handwritten on the front. I open the envelope and look at the front of the card. It’s two bears cuddling with a big heart-shaped balloon behind them. I smile as I open the card.

To my Ry Bear,

Life didn’t make sense before you. You gave it a reason.

I didn’t know what love meant before you. You gave it a meaning.

My life was in darkness before you came. You gave it light.

When I was weak, you gave me strength.

When I thought I couldn’t be loved. You gave me you.

You don’t realize how much of a shining star you are in people’s lives, Ry.

It’s us. Jace and Rylee. Always. Forever.

I’m sobbing by the time I finish reading the note.How can he be so perfect?I know why he did this today, he wanted to remind me I always have him, no matter what. He wanted to make me smile on a day I should be sad. I read the note again and cry more. I cry out of happiness that I found someone like Jace in such a random way, and how he just came into my life without a care in the world and told me he would be seeing me again. I cry for my mom, it’s things like this she would scream and squeal down the phone at.

Jace is everything she could ever want for me. She wanted to see me get married to someone that truly worshipped the ground I walk on, and she wanted me to give her grandbabies she could dote on. I always said I wasn’t sure on having a baby, but she knew Jace would be the father of my children. She loved him so much, and she got to see me happy, but her dream was to see me walking down the aisle. Although none of that has happened yet, Jace and I have talked about it a lot and it is something that will be in our future. I hope she’s looking down at this now and can see how happy he makes me and how special he is.

I grab my phone off my desk and open up Jace’s conversation on WhatsApp.

Me: You have me crying happy tears. When did I get so lucky? Thank you so much. I love you, Jace. Always. Forever.

I would normally ring him, but I know he has an important meeting today, so I don’t want to interrupt him.

As I have a lot to finish for this year-end, I will be in the office a lot, so I will keep the flowers here, but I take a picture of them and send them to Toni. She always jokes around that me and Jace make her sick with our love for each other, but we all know she is only joking. She was so happy for me when I started seeing Jace. They get along like brother and sister, and I know they love each other.

I place the flowers on my side table. They’re beautiful in my office, and he knows how much I love tulips, especially when they have been dip-dyed in multiple colors. They are so pretty. I return to my laptop. I best get started on this work before heading to lunch with Rach.

Chapter Twelve

Afewhourslater,Rach walks straight into my office. She’s standing there with her bag and coat on, ready for our lunch.

“You ready?”

“Give me two secs, let me just finish this email.” Rach walks over to the flowers. I read over my email quickly before sending and then close my laptop down and grab my coat and bag.

Rach has a huge smile on her face. “Are these from Jace?”

“Nope, they’re from his dad.”

Her face drops. “What? Why would Cash be sending you flowers?”

I burst out laughing. “Of course they’re from Jace. Who else would they be from?” I roll my eyes.

“I was about to say, you best not be playing away with my Jace’s daddy now, Ry.” I look at her with an are-you-serious face. She laughs it off while we head toward the door. As well as Toni and Jace having an amazing bond, Rach and Jace also do. They are as good as best friends, and annoyingly, she always takes his side if I’m in a mood. She says, “Stop being mean to my Jace,” and, of course, Jace laps it up. I love the bond he has with two of my closest friends, though, it makes life easier. There would be nothing worse than the friends you love the most not getting on with one of the other people you love the most. I’m lucky because everyone gets on well. Rach and Ton hit it off when I brought Rach out with me on our nights out after working here for a while. Three’s a crowd was never a problem for us!

Chimes is only around the corner, so instead of grabbing a taxi, we take a walk.

“You don’t understand how much I need this drink.” Steam flows out of her mouth to show how cold it is.

“That bad, huh?” I ask.

“You have no idea,” she huffs.

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