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“I did. I took one of the carts and raced through the square.”

“Jade.” The laugh finally escaped him and he rubbed his eyebrow. “That’s ridiculous.”

“It was so fun. I wanna do it again.”

“Not in front of the girls.”

“Definitely in front of the girls.”

We were sitting close. Gabriel was fully turned toward me, and I was only a few inches from his chest.

This bar wasn’t the loudest it had ever been, but we were acting like it was. Any time I couldn’t hear him, I would get closer and stay there.

He did the same thing.

I wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or the company, but everything felt warm and fuzzy in a way I hadn’t felt in years.

This reminded me of the day I threw caution to the wind and kissed him back when we were teenagers. It also reminded me of when we would find a single corner of the cafeteria and tell each other every part of our days.

It was healing something within me, telling Gabriel all I’d been up to.

Both of us had been through a few beers by now and neither showed signs of slowing down. Gabriel had checked his phone a few times, but Atticus seemed to be handling the girls well.

With nothing to stop us, we barreled forward.

“You know, you’re gonna have to show me that cove sometime.” I poked him in the chest. “I haven’t forgotten about this area I’ve not found.”

“Whenever you want to see it, I’ll show it to you.”

“Tomorrow?”

“You’re wanting to spend that much time with me?”

“We’re just catching up.” I shrugged. “We’ve got a lot of years to make up for.”

Gabriel looked down, and I realized I was still touching him. The logical thing to do would be to pull away.

Instead, I pressed my hand flat.

He always hid a surprising amount of strength, but the years had been good to him. I knew what his shoulder was like, but there were new muscles I hadn’t felt before.

“What are you doing?” he murmured.

“No idea, but I missed this.” My voice was soft, and he got closer to hear me. Now I was centimeters away from him, and I leaned in to press my lips against his cheek.

His whole body stiffened.

“Jade,” he said.

“Just let me. I missed you.”

“I have a feeling we’ll both regret this if we keep it up.”

“I’ve had a lot of those.” I angled his face to where he was looking at me. “What’s one more?”

Gabriel opened his mouth and then shut it. I took the chance to lean in fully. I only got the faintest breath of a kiss before he was pulling away.

His strong hand grabbed onto my wrist, and I was so sure he would drag me home. With a tug, I was out of my chair and moved.