Page 101 of Breakaway Daddies

“Didn’t stop me.” He grins, then turns back to Bruno. “Vodka still sucks.”

Jinx turns back to me, shaking her head fondly. “I’ve learned to pick my battles. Let them burn each other down. I’ll step in before there’s actual blood.”

I watch her as she speaks, how her voice softens just a bit when she looks at the guys, like maybe she’s not just putting up with us. Like maybe we’reherchaos.

Her mess. Her people.

“You’re the voice of reason in this group, huh?” I ask.

She shrugs, eyes flicking up to mine. “Someone’s gotta keep you all from getting arrested.”

I smirk. “And that someone’s you?”

“Clearly.”

There’s a beat, and I can feel it hanging between us. That almost-something. That maybe-something.

I want to reach across and take her hand, but I don’t. Not yet.

Instead, I say, “I’m glad you came tonight.”

Her gaze lingers on mine longer than usual. “Me too.”

And just like that, the weight in my chest lifts a little.

Across the table, Bruno slams his hand down dramatically. “Final verdict: vodka is the superior pre-fight drink. You can’t throw a good punch on bourbon.”

“Who’s fighting?” Jinx asks, sipping from her weird green drink with a curled straw.

“Me and Thomas,” Bruno says, dead serious. “In the parking lot after dessert. Loser pays the bill.”

“You’rebothpaying the bill,” I say flatly.

Jinx leans in toward me again, voice low. “See what I mean? I can’t take them anywhere.”

I nod solemnly. “I see that now.”

“But…” she adds, almost like an afterthought, “I kinda like it. Us. This.”

My heart stutters a little. Not in a panicked way. More like something’s locking into place.

“Well,” I say, leaning just a bit closer, “here’s hoping we survive the rest of our first date.”

She grins, and for the first time in what feels like forever, it’s not a mask or a shield. It’s just… Jinx.

And it’s everything.

I watch her watching us. Not in that guarded, distant way she used to, like she was calculating escape routes. This is different. She’s present, grounded. Withus.

So I ask, softly, leaning in like it’s just the two of us at this table even though it’s definitely not, “What changed your mind about staying?”

She tilts her head, and before she answers, she leans in and kisses me—soft and quick, but enough to leave my brain spinning like I just took a punch straight to the soul.

Her hand brushes my jaw as she pulls back, and damn if I don’t want to chase her mouth right back to mine.

“I missed you guys,” she says, simple as that. “It just took me a while to realize that’s what I was feeling.”

That lands somewhere deep in my chest. Becausesame.

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