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It suddenly occurs to me that I’ve told everyone what’s happening tomorrow except for my men; fortunately for me, Rafe shouts up the stairs at that moment to say that it’s lunchtime, and that’s definitely easier than trying to find them all.
Jumping to my feet, I make my way down the stairs, meeting several of the others who also chose to write their reports up here instead of down in the communal spaces. They give me curious looks, but the lure of food clearly prevents them from asking any questions.
When we take our seats in the extension, we find the table laid out with an array of different sandwiches and snacks that we can easily pick from. It would be a nice simple lunch if it were made by anyone else, but Rafe, of course, hasn’t put simple fillings in them.
“How’s everyone getting on?” Trick asks as we load up our plates.
“I’ve got to do my final draft,” I reply, “I’ve just finished my first draft.”
“I’m almost done,” Cash replies, and one by one, they go around the table and say how far they’ve gotten. It’s clear we’re going to be doing it for a while longer yet.
I hate writing up reports.
“Rylie called me,” I announce, and everyone immediately stops talking and looks at me curiously, “we’re going to meet at our restaurant in the city tomorrow. I’ve given her a time, and Jynx is coming too.”
“That’s great. It will be nice to catch up and learn some more,” Atlas replies with a smile.
After lunch, I spend the rest of the day finishing my report. It takes me even longer than it should, and that’s simply because I’m excited about tomorrow, so I keep getting distracted, but I do finally get it done just before dinner, and then the guys distract me with movies and snuggles.
**********
Pulling up into the parking spaces, we all get out, and Jynx immediately asks me, “What’s wrong? Why are you nervous?”
“How on earth could you tell I was nervous within a minute or two of actually seeing me?” I ask.
She raises her eyebrow and gives me a look that says, seriously, you’re really asking me that right now, “Don’t try and avoid the question.”
I sigh, sticking my tongue out at her, “Not to sound super needy, but what if she doesn’t show up?”
Jynx smiles, “Then she had a job to do, and she’ll let us know when she can. Come on, let’s go sit down and order drinks. We could all do with a drink.”
“Here, here,” Peter agrees wholeheartedly.
“I could definitely do with one,” Luc adds.
“Me too,” Ace agrees, “let’s go.”
Heading inside, it's reasonably quiet but by no means empty, and I look toward our usual table to see Rylie sitting there, with relief filling her features when she sees us all walk in. She stands up and instantly pulls me into a hug.
“I thought you weren’t going to turn up,” she mutters quietly.
Stepping back, I look at her, surprised, “I thought the same. Why on earth would I not be here?”
She shrugs as we all take our seats and adds, “Well, we didn’t exactly leave on good terms the last proper time we saw each other. I said I couldn’t be involved in your world, and now look at me. I’m sorry.”
I smile softly, “I get it. Well, I want to. Alaric explained a bit, but I’d like to know what happened after he’d given you Mr R’s card. If you can explain it, of course.”
She nods, “There are some things that I can’t explain, but I will definitely explain what I can, and then I want to know how this all happened.”
“Deal,” Jynx agrees for everyone.
“Why don’t we order drinks and food first, and then we don’t have to be interrupted?” Rafe suggests.
This is one of his favourite restaurants, which is why we eat here so often. He’s not constantly saying what he’d do better or anything like that. He can’t help it; food is one of the biggest things in his life, and he wants it done right.
“Sounds good to me,” Rome grins as he flags down the waiter, and we all place our orders.
Once everything is ordered and we have our drinks in front of us, Rylie smiles, “So, Alaric told you that he gave me Mr R’s number, yeah?”
