Page 134 of Ruled Out

Side-eyeing her husband, she points over to the table where I assume they were sitting. “I’d found out a couple of days before, and I was convinced when I told you, you’d run for the hills.”

Jensen brings his lips to Kate’s cheek again, and this time, he runs a hand across her stomach. “And what actually happened, Princess?”

Although she tries hard to hide it, it’s obvious she’s flustered. Turning to him, she smiles coyly. “The opposite happened.”

He runs his hand over her stomach one more time as the noise in the restaurant cranks up, and I can barely hear what they’re saying, but I swear he mouths,Just let me know when.

Mia comes to sit beside me, and I lean across and kiss her on the side of her neck.

She looks around at everyone, taking in the huge table we always book when we come here. “You have a lot of friends, Jessie.”

Tonight, there are even more of us.

Jack takes the remaining seat next to his mom. He pulls off his college team cap and shakes out his brown hair before grabbing a menu. “Did we order yet?” he asks as conversationscontinue around the table. “After that practice, I’m going for one of everything.”

When I catch sight of Zach palming Luna’s stomach, a flush of something that feels like permanence shoots through me.

Family.

I turn back to Mia, who’s scanning the menu. “Yeah, I guess I do have a lot of friends.” Underneath the table, I rest my hand on Mia’s upper right thigh. “They’re your friends now too, Sweetheart.”

I’m busy gazing at my girlfriend as she chooses her entrée when Kate picks up her empty wineglass and stands, tapping her fork against it lightly.

“Okay, okay. I know we all came here to eat, but first, Luna has a special announcement.”

In response, Luna’s cheeks turn the color of her hair as she glares at Kate and then looks around the restaurant to check who’s watching.

She takes a sip of water, clearing her throat. “So … I found the one!”

Zach brings his fiancée in for a kiss. “Tell me, what is it like?”

“It’s big and white,” Jack interjects, earning an eye roll from Felicity. “She can’t reveal that, bro,” he finishes.

“Jack’s right; I can’t give you any details about my dress. It’s bad luck.” Luna agrees.

“Just know this, Zachary: you are going to lose your shit,” Kate confirms, crunching on a breadstick.

“Congrats, Luna,” I say, raising my soda. “Only three months to go now, right?”

“One hundred days exactly,” Jon chimes in. “I assume everyone has their flights booked?”

Mia’s head whips up as she looks at me and mouths,Flights?

Squeezing her thigh again under the table, I lean down until my lips touch the shell of her ear. “I booked them last week.”

As she closes her menu, she turns her head slightly, and I watch the way the delicate skin on her neck pebbles at my proximity. “Them?”

“Yeah. It’s only a few days. You can get some time off work, can’t you? College is finished for summer break.”

I feel her shift under my touch. “I can. I just didn’t want to assume I was invited.”

The temptation to tell her that she isn’t just invited, that she’s actually a bridesmaid alongside Felicity and Kate, is strong. Instead, I keep that secret to myself and give Luna the honor of asking her when she’s ready.

“You’re definitely invited, Sweetheart.”

“Okay,” she replies. “How was therapy?”

While the girls were with Luna for a dress fitting, we had a morning skate, and then I had my fourth session on a new course with the team psych, Ashley. In reality, over the years, I’ve had way more sessions with her, but we agreed that with the new course I’d be taking, we’d take things right back to the beginning. Opening up to her has been as hard as I expected it to be.

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