Page 36 of Ruled Out

Zach rolls his eyes from beside me. “We’re getting married this summer. But we’re thinking of doing it abroad. Maybe in the Caribbean.” He pauses and eyes his best friend and former captain carefully. “Just me, Luna, Aster, and an officiant.”

I swear I can hear the audible gasp come from Jon’s mouth. “So, no one else there? Like, no one? Not even your family or Luna’s mom?”

Zach shakes his head. “Luna’s mom is too busy with her new husband, and my parents won’t mind as long as we’re happy. We want to do it on a beach since that’s where everything sort of happened between us.”

“Well, I think it’s really sweet. When Luna told me and Kate, we both thought it was a great idea. At the end of the day, a marriage is about the couple, not the glamour.”

Jon sets his glass down, practically choking on his beer, and I take the opportunity to watch Mia walk back to her booth with a tray of drinks.

“So, let me get this straight.” He looks at his wife. “You knew about this, Angel?” He then shoots daggers at Zach and then at Jensen. “Let me guess … you knew about it too?”

“Yep.” Jensen pops theP. “Not long though. Maybe a week or two.”

“Fuck off!” Jon announces, hurt on his face, his head whipping to Zach. “Oh, you are so not being for real right now.”

Zach narrows his eyes at Jensen as Felicity fights to hold back laughter. “Always a fucking troublemaker. No, Jon, he hasn’t known for two weeks. A couple of days, tops.”

Jon sits back in the booth, which clears a direct path to my view of Mia. Although I really fucking wish he hadn’t when I see the way Leo has his arm wrapped around her. He kisses the top of her head as he looks down at a black photo frame in his hand.

Fuck, is that the Space Needle picture? Why the fuck would she give that to him?

“Make sure you grind down on the other side too; it keeps the wear even.”

My eyes flick back to Jensen as he points at my clenched jaw.

“I’m fine,” I bite out.

He looks over his shoulder and then back at me, a twisted smile pulling at his lips. “Yeah, you look relaxed, almost happy to see that dude all over your girl. I’d be fine with it too.”

“She isn’t my girl,” I say, my molars meeting again.

“She is,” he replies.

“Maybe we can have this argument another time, yeah?” I side-eye the rest of the table, all deep in conversation and trying to console Jon.

Jensen folds his arms over his chest and leans back in his seat. “It’s called manifestation, buddy. Manifest that she’ll be yours, and she will be. When she’s ready.”

I lean forward and shake my head at him. “And like I told you, this isn’t the same thing as you and Kate.” The sentence comes out confident, but I know deep down that shit isn’t true.

He says nothing, simply taking another sip of his beer.

“What?” I say to him, frustration seeping into my tone.

“Didn’t say anything, Jessie.”

“Might as well. You’ve never held back before,” I chide.

He chuckles low and points his finger at me, shaking it slowly. “It’s like I once said to Kate. Your body doesn’t lie to me, even if your mouth does.”

He then motions behind him toward Mia’s table, and I close my eyes in added frustration.

“Invite her to come help babysit June and Will tomorrow night. They’re a handful these days, and you could probably use an extra pair of hands.”

My jaw goes from clenched to slack. “Are you serious?”

He quirks a brow. “Deadly. Tell her I roped you into it, even though we both know you’re obsessed with my babies, and that you need an extra pair of hands and thought she might like it. It’s a chance to talk to her without fear of being caught by someone.” He puffs out a humored breath. “And fuck knows do you need to talk. Or maybe even fuck … actually, no. Not in my house or around my children.”

My brows shoot to my hairline. “You really are unbelievable—you know that?”

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