Page 127 of P.S. I'm Still Yours

It doesn’t take her long to get me to spill my guts. I tell her all about Kane’s possessive texts during my date with Cal, and while I’m worried about her reaction to me turning down her brother, she doesn’t seem to give a shit.

I ask her if she’s mad at me halfway through the story, and she doesn’t waste a second telling me, “Are you kidding? I shipped you and my brother for, like, a total of five seconds. Meanwhile, I’ve been shipping you and Kane since we were kids.”

She gasps when I get to the good part, letting her in on what happened in the gazebo, and she throws herself backward, kicking her feet in the air for young Hadley, who would be over the moon if she were here.

I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but losing touch with Jamie Torres was definitely one of the biggest.

I never would’ve believed it if you’d told me when I first got to the beach house that I’d end up being thankful for my mom’s condo getting flooded.

It got me to reconnect with my childhood friends after a tragedy tore us apart. I can only hope that my bond with Jamie doesn’t end once summer does.

We’ve just finished all our snacks when Jamie’s phone goes off on her towel. She picks it up, checking the screen. “It’s my grandma. She’s getting a bit senile, and she won’t stop calling to wish me a happy birthday, even though it’s on Friday.”

Jamie accepts the call, pushing to her feet and distancing herself for some privacy.

I may not have been present in Jamie’s life after Gray left us, but I still remember how important her birthday is to her.

She spent every single one of her birthdays with her father growing up.

This will be her first birthday without him.

I glance at Jamie to make sure she’s out of range and pull my phone out of my pocket, selecting the group chat I created a few days ago.

The guys and I argued back and forth about what to name the group but eventually settled on “Jamie’s surprise partay!”

Thank God for Brooke and Shay having my back when the guys suggested “Jamie’s fetus eviction day!”

I type a quick message to the group and press Enter.

Hadley

Everything set for Friday?

HADLEY

“Hello? Earth to Hadley?” Drea’s voice echoes in my head as I check the website on my phone.

I should be handling this better.

Growth always happens outside of your comfort zone. I just wish I’d known “outside your comfort zone” was a place built on fears and your deepest insecurities.

“Hadley?” Drea calls again.

My head snaps up. “I’m sorry, what?”

Drea, who’s straightening her hair in front of the mirror in my room, casts a worried gaze in my direction. “Everything okay? You’ve been staring at your phone for, like, half an hour.”

“Yeah, everything’s great. Just scrolling on Instagram,” I lie.

When Drea suggested that we get ready for Jamie’s surprise party together, I thought it might help get my mind off the launch of my website.

Wishful thinking on my part because I haven’t been able to stop checking the analytics and the social media accounts I set up for my brand.

The brand’s name?

Paintoholic Hearts.

I stayed up until 3:00 a.m. last night, posting every painting I’ve completed since Kane pulled a hero moment and refilled all of my supplies.

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