Page 33 of Loving You

In fact, it’d be real shitty of me.

“When’s your birthday?” I asked, trying for something benign enough that she’d knock off the laughter and say more words.

And maybe if I got her talking about the other people in attendance, I could parse things out. It felt necessary. Some dude had shown up and winked at her, and she was pissed about that. Logic said this guy was the one who’d been on her mind and keeping her scared.

My question ceased her laughter with a lot more force than I’d expected, however, because her smile instantly dropped, and she sat up with a jolt. “My… what?”

“Your birthday. When is it?”

“Why?”

Unsure what the big deal was, I forgot about my phishing mission and tilted my head at her. “Why not?”

“Because I don’t do birthdays,” she said, and something hard and absolutely not what I’d wanted to stir in her appeared in those big, red-rimmed eyes.

“Okay, no birthdays then. You must be one of those women who’ll be twenty-nine forever, right?”

Thankfully, the teasing question and her drunken state were the perfect combo to banish whatever the fuck happened with the birthday thing, but I made a mental note to figure that out on top of everything else.

“Did everyone else have as much… fun as you did?” I asked, getting back to business.

“No. No, Ellie has to work tomorrow night—or, actually, tonight.” Her eyes widened and she giggled again. “And Kate’s still nursing, so she only sipped her margarita because she’s such a good mom, and do you know? Will came by after dinner? He brought Lea, and Kate went to nurse in the car, and theytotallymade out, because she came back all starry-eyed and blushy.”

A smile tugged at my lips as I popped a bagel into the toaster. She needed something else in her stomach before I put her to bed. “They’re good together.”

She smacked the counter. “Sogood together! And like, they reunited and Jackson’s so handsome and I want to die every time I see Lea smile and Sammy and Rachel are so cute and Willa—ugh—andohmygodiloveJakeandEllie.She is like the epitome of a blushing bride. Can you believe they’ve been in love with each other for like decades? Like, sometimes I can’t even wrap my head around what love that deep must be like because—”

She’d stopped so abruptly that I snapped my head up, then shut the fridge and grabbed a knife, eyeing her as I brought the butter to the island.

Her brow had furrowed, and she stared at her hands.

I swallowed down a hundred questions, knowing it wasn’t fair to ask them, and removed her bagel from the toaster. She was still quiet while I spread a little butter on it, then slid the plate in front of her.

She looked up, those crystalline-blue eyes a bit bloodshot and so tired looking. “Is that for me?”

The softness in her voice made something in me twist. Fuck if I didn’t want to pry every detail of the night, and her situation, out of her.

I wanted to fix it—to make it better.

I wanted to hunt down whoever had winked at her because I should be the only one winking at April Carrigan.

And that thought told me I was up too late, my reasoning was impaired, and I needed to help her in her current state as much as I could and then put myself to bed.

Alone.

“Yes, love. It’s yours. You should eat something.” For some reason it didn’t feel right to order her to eat tonight. Not when she had swung so far emotionally in all directions and had to have been overserved by a lot.

I’d be speaking to someone about that tomorrow for certain.

She gave me a shy smile and nodded, then took a giant bite.

As she chewed, her eyes shut, and she let out a short groan that hit me below the belt.Notan appropriate moment to feel my cock stir, but that sound was so full of pleasure I couldn’t avoid it.

“That good?” I gritted out, watching her chew before it became too torturous, and I had to drag my gaze away.

“Ilovebagels. I shouldn’t be eating this, but whatever. I’m so drunk and it’s going to suck so bad tomorrow, but this will help.” She took another bite and her eyes closed as she chewed, either in ecstasy or exhaustion—likely both.

“You should eat whatever you want,” I said, not sure what that comment meant, but trying to find something to think about besides the sounds she was making.

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