Page 164

"I've always wanted to go, you know that," I mutter, bringing my cup to my lips.

"Yeah, sure. The otters are adorable. But it's also like zero degrees there and dark as hell."

I sit up straighter, barely tasting my triple. "So you think it's a bad idea?"

Bridget pauses before taking another sip—either to buy herself time or because it's been four seconds since her last one. She swallows. "I didn't say that. I think it's pretty badass, honestly."

"But you wouldn't do it."

Her eyes narrow slightly. "I mean, that's hard to answer. It's not what I do, so no—I probably wouldn't leave my new wife and go work in the Arctic for the next three months. But that's a dream of yours. And you love the travel nursing thing."

I nod, thinking.

"Plus, that's the kind of shit you're supposed to do before you settle down," she continues. "Take advantage of the time you have while you're single—travel. Explore. See the damn otters."

I almost don't say my next thought, but I can’t stop myself. "Well, Jace and I are gonna try to stay together."

She chokes on her current mouthful, fumbling her plastic cup as she sets it on the marble. "Run that back."

"Oh, so Mabel tells you about Alaska but not about Jace?"

Bridget grabs a napkin from the dispenser beside her and dabs at her mouth. "Well…" She wipes at the condensation on the side of her cup. "To be honest, it was a quick conversation. Zuri and I were… busy."

My face scrunches. "While you were on the phone?"

"You know how Mabel is. She would've just kept calling. So I gave her like ten seconds then pretended the call dropped and shot her a text saying I had spotty service at the farm. I only caught the Alaska thing."

I inhale deeply then sigh as I take a long drink, savoring the burn of the warm liquid as it slides down my throat.

"So, wait…" Bridget says, sitting forward on her stool. "You and Jace are together again?"

I shrug, my eyes glued to the plastic black lid of my cup. "Yeah… it sort of just happened."

I peer over to find her doing a shitty job at smothering a smile. "I'm sure it did."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She swings her legs over and perches her shoes on the rungs of my stool. "I told you—you never moved on."

I stare at her blankly, blinking as I try to come up with any response but the truth.

I don't.

"You were right."

Bridge sucks her teeth, smiling. "Knew it," she brags. "So what are you gonna do now?"

The question makes that knot in my stomach pull even tighter than it's been all day. "I—um. I'm not sure."

Bridget's eyes double in size as she drops her forehead into her hands.

"What?" I ask, eager for her answer. Her advice. For literally any opinion on what she thinks I should do.

She drags her hands down her face then looks at me grinning. "You're giving me whiplash here, Nor. One second you're borderline miserable about being back this close to Mage, and the next you're so happy you're not sure you want to leave."

I open my mouth, then close it again, staring down into the coffee through the hole in the lid I wish I could crawl into. "It's complicated," I mutter.

Bridget lifts one brow. "With your history? I'd assume so."