Page 12 of Forever After All

"You're a douchebag," I hiss at him. I cannot bring myself to be fully pissed off at him and it shows.

"Hey. She wanted a story, so I had to give her one." He shrugs, acting like he didn't just give my entire office some coffee break gossip fuel.

"You're paying for lunch after that." I poke him in the ribs, and he flinches.

"I was going to pay for lunch anyway. So the joke is on you.” He laughs as we begin walking.

As soon as I get back to the office, Brenna will be vibrating in her seat, demanding information. I can trust Brenna, I know I can. So I don't mind telling her about the wedding night, because it’s probably hilarious from an outsider's point of view. We all love hearing stories of other people embarrassing themselves. Lucky for her, this is quite the story.

Chapter 7

Carter

Iwas in the area,my ass.

More like making excuses to take Alice to lunch. Giving Brenna something to talk about made it even sweeter.

Gossiping with the girls at the Calder Marketing office wasn't really at the top of my list of things to do today, but I sometimes like to surprise myself.

"Sooo…where are you taking me? It better be somewhere expensive after the stunt you just pulled." The way she holds herself at work makes her look far more serious than I know her to be, so it adds an air of comedy to the situation.

"How long do you have?" I ask, giving her a side-eye and trying not to stare at her annoyed face as she walks next to me.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I can take as long as I like, but I don't want to take the piss either, so you can pick where you like."

"Okay. Italian? Coffee? Seafood?" I stop when she makes a face at seafood.

"Don't make me vomit," Alice retorts as her brows furrow and the corners of her mouth turn down as she shakes her head.

"No seafood. Got it." I nod.

"Whoever thought that eating the bugs of the sea was a good idea, did us all a disservice." She pokes her tongue out to mimic vomiting, and I can't help but laugh at her description as her nose wrinkles.

"The bugs of the sea? I like it."

Alice is unwittingly hilarious. She doesn't try to be, it’s just effortless. I don't think we've ever had a conversation that hasn't ended with me laughing—whether it's intentional or not. The more time I spend with her, the longer I want to spend with her. She is good to be around, even if you're having a crappy day and would rather not see or talk to anyone. Alice is one of the few people who makes it easy to be yourself, which is rare. This woman couldn't give any less shits that I used to play in the NHL, which is quite honestly a breath of fresh air. You can never be sure what people are trying to get from you when they get to know you, trust is hard to come by, but not with Alice.

"On second thought, you're not picking. I am. You can't be trusted. To be honest, though, I could really just use some coffee and the biggest slice of pie we can find."

"Not seafood pie, then?"

Alice rolls her eyes at me. "No. Cherry. With the biggestvat of coffee known to man. Seafood pie. What a fucking abomination."

"I know just the place then. It's the best pie you'll find around here."

Luckily for me, I know the best fucking pie place in the whole vicinity. I didn't really have a plan when I asked Alice to lunch, and I didn't think I'd spend my afternoon wowing a woman with pie, yet here we are.

It is finally my time to shine.

Pie As You Feel is usually packed between ten and two, but if we’re lucky, there might be a free spot inside. If not, we can always get takeout and find somewhere quiet to eat.

"Pie As You Feel. Good pun," Alice looks up at the sign above the doorway and grins before turning to face me. "I hear people talk about this place all the time, but I've never been."

"Yep. I'm telling youthis, right here,is the best pie you'll ever taste." I make the chef's kiss seal of approval with my hand.

"That's a bold claim, my friend." She side-eyes me in response.

"Trust me. You. Will. Love it. They also donate most of their profits to local charities and feed the homeless every single day."