Aaric: She was nervous to meet us. That’s normal.
Cruz: You’re just anxious because you’re tired, Q.
I shook my head. If Quentin read something off, we needed to find out what it was.
Jude: I’ll look into it. You can get away from the big bad blue light, Q.
Cruz sent a line of ghost emojis, and Q responded with the middle finger emoji before I locked my phone screen and set it down.
Across from me on the couch, Owen was working on his laptop with his headphones on. He said the roaring of the plane gave him a headache. So I had to wave my hand at him to get his attention.
Finally, he noticed me and pulled back his headphones. “What’s up?”
“I need our PI to do a deep dive on Jada Baker.”
Owen looked surprised. “Bryce’s fiancée? We already did a background check, and?—”
I shook my head. “We need to know everything there is to know about her. And I need it now. Before it’s too late.”
He nodded. “On it.”
44.Bryce
Jada: Want to get lunch with me today?
Bryce: I’d love to. I’ll make a reservation. Somewhere without seafood.
Jada: *praise hands*
Ever since Igot the text on Wednesday morning, I’d been looking forward to it. It was a busy week, and I wasn’t scheduled to see Jada until Thursday after work when we’d be going to meet the wedding planner for a rapid-fire planning session. Then I’d get the whole weekend with her in Cottonwood Falls so she could meet my family.
But that didn’t feel like enough. I thought about her more than I’d ever thought of another human. It was strange, looking at her name on my phone and thinking of things I could say to start a new conversation. To get one of her sassy texts or scrolling online stores for something to buy for the sweet little girl on her way.
Maya bumped my meetings so I could go to lunch with Jada, and I was grinning when I saw her come into the parking garage. I pushed off the running town car and went to her, wrappingher in a hug. Her chest pressed against mine, her hands hooked behind my waist. It felt like home.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at me. “That’s a warm greeting.”
Smiling myself, I tilted my head and brought my lips to hers. “I’ve missed you,” I murmured between kisses.
“It’s been two days,” she giggled.
“Two days too long.” I slid my tongue along the seam of her lips, and she moaned slightly, letting me in. Tasting her had to be my favorite part of the day so far.
Her tongue swept against mine, and her fingers curled under my blazer, tugging at my dress shirt. If we were anywhere else, if Gen wasn’t waiting for us in the car, I would have said to hell with lunch and bent her over here until she cried out my name.
Now that I had a taste of her pussy, heard the way she moaned in pleasure, I knew it would never be enough.
She broke the kiss, gasping for air. “We’ll never make it to lunch at this rate.”
I smiled. “Is that a problem?” I kissed her neck, savoring the feel of her skin under my lips.
Laughing, she said, “Only when my stomach growling wakes up the babies in the nursery.”
Kissing her one last time, I linked my fingers with hers and said, “Let’s get you some food.”
We rode in the back seat of the car to one of my favorite lunch spots nearby and sat at a table, talking about our weeks so far. She showed me a picture of Glamma in front of the boutique named for her. I told her about Aaric buying a “self-care” gift for his friend, not realizing that it was a pack full of sex toys.
She laughed so hard her eyes started to water.
