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I bit the corner of my lip and shrugged my shoulders.
That’s when Tarryn explained, “Lily is dating Jagger, who is probably one of Jesse’s closest friends. Liv is with Brixton, Avalon is dating Damon, Mallory and Nixon are together, and I’m married to Royce.”
“Jesse told me about you when I gave him no other option but to tell me who was suddenly occupying so much of his time and keeping him in such a pleasant mood,” Avalon revealed. “Then, Liv and I decided to call the rest of the girls up, so we could come and meet you.”
Mallory said, “You’re one of us now.”
I had about a million things I wanted to say at that moment, but I couldn’t. I was too busy trying not to burst into tears.
Friends?
Were these women going to be my friends?
In an effort not to break down and to give myself a second to get it together, I asked, “What can I get you all to drink?”
“None of us are really big drinkers, so whatever you want to mark the occasion,” Tarryn answered.
There was no hesitation when I stated, “A round of spritzers coming up before I clock out.”
After I made the drinks, I noted the time, told Cam I was off, completed a couple of my end of shift duties, and joined the girls on the other side of the bar. The next thing I knew, we were raising our glasses together as Lily said, “To new friends.”
We all took a sip before Avalon suggested, “Why don’t we go grab a table, so we can talk?”
With that, the girls and I made our way to an empty table and sat down. Excitement moved through me.
“So, how do you like being back here?” Mallory asked.
My brows pulled together. “In Steel Ridge?”
She nodded.
My immediate thought was to panic and assume the worst, but nothing that any of these women had done indicated to me that they were being motivated by any ill intent. I needed to let go of that fear and allow myself to have this. “It’s great, actually. Better than I expected.”
“And things are obviously going well with Jesse,” Avalon noted.
I couldn’t stop the smile from forming on my face as heat hit my cheeks. “They are.”
“I’ve never seen him looking so happy before,” she shared. “He’s like a completely different person, and I mean that in the best way possible.”
“Jagger said the same thing,” Lily added.
More warmth moved through me. Had things really improved that much in Jesse’s life since I’d been back? Granted, there were a couple of days of tension in the beginning, and we’d had a tense moment or two, but it had really been wonderful between the two of us. I knew what I felt happening between us, but it meant so much to hear that others were noticing the change in him.
“I’m really glad to hear that. So, which team are the two of you on at Harper Security Ops?” I asked, my attention on Liv and Avalon.
“We’re not working in any one individual unit,” Liv shared.
“Oh?”
“I work in the surveillance room as the data security analyst,” she revealed. “Essentially, I make sure there are no breaches or vulnerabilities in any of the software we’re using, and I use my skills on a computer whenever the guys have something that might require a higher level of programming or decoding.”
“Wow. That’s really cool,” I marveled. Shifting my gaze to Avalon, I questioned her. “Do you do the same thing as Liv?”
She shook her head. “Goodness, no. I have no idea what half of the stuff she looks at means. I’m the receptionist.”
I smiled at her and felt pure happiness move through me. This was what it was all about. “Thank you for coming in today and hanging with me. This really means the world, and I’m so glad that Jesse has such wonderful friends.”
“We’re your friend, too, Sawyer,” Mallory insisted.
