Page 56 of That First Moment

“Sibling . . . and Spouse Night?” I repeated, “So since I’m not a sibling or a spouse . . .”

Jamie began shaking her head vigorously, her hair flapping on her shoulders. “Oh no you don’t. You’re coming. Harrison comes.”

“Yes, but I’m a sibling.” Harrison raised a single finger, Jamie shot him a glare.

“My boyfriend may not be my spouse . . .”

“Yet,” I mumbled. Jamie didn't hear, or rather she pretended not to hear.

“. . . . but he’s coming.”

“And where are we going?” I ask, my fingers touching Jamie’s shoulder.

She sat up straight to my touch, chin in the air and eyes closed. “You’ll see,” She responded.

“So many secrets.” I tilted my head. “I thought we agreed I could choose the bar after skiing?”

“It’s more fun that way, plus this isn’t the ski trip.” Jamie scrunched her nose and popped another fry in her mouth.

“Trust us, Dax, you’ll have a blast. Just make sure Jamie sticks to one glass of wine.” Will chuckled.

“One Mango-rita you mean,” I correct him, my eyes never leaving the beautiful woman next to me.

Health secret or not, she was all I saw.

Chapter Twenty-Two

-Jamie-

“Thank God it stopped snowing!” I exclaimed as we left the cabin hours later.

“Well, when you decide stilettos are the shoe of choice in the middle of February . . . yea, I would be happy it stopped snowing too,” Elliot joked, his eyes on me the entire time.

He had waited patiently for me to get ready for the night out. Sibling and Spouse Night was my second favorite activity, and I was more pumped to have someone to go with this year. I had even dressed for the occasion. My white high heels, that I never got to wear, a black short skirt, and a cream, long-sleeve, boat neck top. I even curled my hair and did my makeup. I felt gorgeous and, even though he was joking about my shoe choice, I could tell Elliot liked what he saw. Elliot dressed up too—as much as he could at least.He wore a black, button-up shirt complete with his jeans and a pair of nice black boots.

Even the winter coats didn't throw off the feeling of . . . looking . . . good.

Elliot parked on Main Street, across from The Cabin Bar, paid the parking meter, and reached for my hand as we made our way to the entrance. Everyone was already there, holding out their arms as Elliot and I came up.

“Why didn’t you park on the China Bridge!?” Holden asked as we got closer.

“What,” Elliot defended, “And miss the thrill of parallel parking on Main Street? Nah. I want to gain the full Main Street experience.”

We gathered in the entrance of the bar, gave our name for the reservation, and were led to our table. The lighting was dim, and the scene was perfect. We came here every year and it never got old. We always picked a night where there was a live band or karaoke, and tonight seemed like a karaoke night. Jillian always tried to get me on stage, maybe after a few drinks . . . no . . . maybe afteronedrink I would have the courage to go up.

The seven of us sat and ordered our first round of drinks. Once the Mango-rita was in front of me, Elliot raised a single eyebrow, bringing his beer to his lips.

“This is my only drink, I promise.”

“I didn’t mind taking care of a drunk Jamie, but you may need to call Madeline before to make sure she’s ready to play Clue,” he joked.

I pinched my brow, narrowed my eyes and gave him a tight smile. Two could play in this game. “Oh no, tonight I’ll call Ophelia. She and Clay would play Clue on FaceTime with me.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Harrison asked us, leaning across the table.

“Jamie got drunk the other night and tried to play a board game with people in a different state.”

I brought the salted rim to my lips and licked. “I still say it would have worked.”

---