Tessa and Blake had hired a babysitter for the night, their first real evening out since the baby. They looked lighter than I’d ever seen them. Giddy even. Stealing glances at each other like teenagers who’d gotten away with something. Blake’s arm stayed wrapped around her waist like he still couldn’t believe she was real. After everything they’d been through, after she’d flatlined in his ER and he’d had to restart her heart with his own two hands, I understood the impulse. Some people you just need to keep touching to prove they’re still there.
Jace and Scarlett were arguing about something near the bar, but even from here, I could see the smile tugging at his mouth. The woman had accidentally handed him a revenge list about her boss. Their love story started with a career-ending mistake and somehow ended with a ring on her finger and a permanent smirk on his face.
Axel stood with Dakota, her hand resting on his chest while she laughed at something he said. Fake engagement. That’s how they’d started. A scheme that fooled everyone except, apparently, their own hearts.
And Faith. Sweet, chaotic Faith, tucked under Ryker’s arm like she belonged there. Which she did. He’d been the one thing standing between her and a life sentence. Now he was just … hers.
Then there was me.
And Harper.
A blur of chaotic fur waddled past my ankles.
Rainbow.
Faith’s dog moved through the crowd like a four-legged biohazard, her mismatched eyes scanning for her next victim. One eye tracked a waiter. The other appeared to be inspecting the ceiling. Her signature gait was in full effect: three normal steps, one accidental cha-cha, repeat. The growth on her side bobbled with each step, like a fleshy metronome.
A woman in a cocktail dress spotted Rainbow approaching and went through the five stages of grief in about two seconds. Shock. Horror. Confusion. Reluctant acceptance. And finally a grimace as she bent down to offer a tentative pat.
“Good … dog?” the woman managed, pulling her hand back like she expected it to come away sticky.
Rainbow’s tongue, slightly too long for her mouth, lolled out in pure satisfaction. She probably thought this whole party was for her. Fifty people gathered just to admire her magnificence.
Then she waddled off to traumatize her next target, her entire back half wiggling with enthusiasm.
Harper appeared at my side, wineglass in hand, her green eyes sweeping the crowd.
“Why are there two Jaces?” she asked.
I nearly choked on my drink. “Jace is an identical twin. That’s Grayson.”
“Seriously?” Her eyebrow arched. “How do you even tell them apart? Do we need name tags? Color-coded bracelets?”
“Jace’ll tell you he’s the handsomer one.”
“And those two?” She nodded toward two other men near the bar. “More Jace-adjacent people?”
“Hunter and Bryson. Jace’s other brothers. Hunter’s a prosecutor.”
“No shit. LikeLaw and Order:SVU?”
I smirked. “I’m sure that’s exactly how he sees himself.”
“So, wait.” Harper turned to face me fully, her analytical nurse brain clearly spinning. “From what I know about Jace, he inherited money from his father. Are they all …”
“Billionaires?” I finished. “Yes.”
“Well, that’s obscene.”
“Yep.”
She processed that for a moment. “There’s a new nurse I work with at Mercy Harbor.” Thank God she worked at a hospital now instead of the prison. The same hospital as Blake. “I should try to set her up with one of them.”
“The only single one is Bryson.”
“He’s handsome.”
I leveled her with a look. “You’re taken.”
