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“Bridgette!” Monica laughed as she sat down. “Bridgette runs a greeting card company, and when I left Arnette Assets, I went to work with her.”

“It’s pretty cute, actually,” Sophie said as Bryce pulled out her chair for her, making her swoon internally. “They even share an office,andthey live together.”

“You don’t get sick of each other?” Bryce asked.

“We just have sex,” Bridgette replied.

Sophie waited for Monica to say something, but Monica only shrugged, not objecting to what was said even a bit.

“Make-up sex is great,” Bridgette added.

Bryce turned to Sophie when she sat down, wrapping her arm over the back of Sophie’s chair, and said, “Sophie mentioned you’ve been together for over a year?”

“Yes, a little more than a year,” Monica replied. “We just moved in together officially not that long ago.”

“That’s cool,” Bryce said.

“Have you ever lived with a girlfriend?” Bridgette asked, causing Sophie to glare at her again.

“Uh… No,” Bryce replied. “I’ve only had one serious girlfriend, though.”

“Only one? How oldareyou?”

“Babe…” Monica said.

“I’m thirty-one,” Bryce answered. “I came out later than some, probably. I was with someone for about two years, but we never did the living together thing, and I’ve dated some, but nothing serious since then.”

“Until now?” Bridgette asked.

“Bridgette, knock it off.” Sophie laughed.

“No, it’s okay,” Bryce told her. “My friends will grill you when you meetthem.” She smiled at Sophie before turning to Bridgette to respond, “Until now. Soph and I really only just met, but it doesn’t feel like that. It feels like I’ve known her forever. I know I’m going to always be discovering new things about her no matter how long we know one another, but I still know so much already.”

“That’s nice,” Monica said as she picked up her menu. “You should say things like that to me.” She turned toward Bridgette.

“Idosay things like that to you,” Bridgette replied.

Monica winked at her and asked, “Do we want wine? We can get a bottle.”

“Sounds good to me,” Sophie said. “Red.”

“Merlot,” Bryce said at the same time as her.

Sophie turned to look at her and smiled. Then, her hand moved to Bryce’s thigh, and she just rested it there, claiming Bryce as her own in the middle of this restaurant. Bryce’s arm was still over the back of her chair, doing the same to anyone who would look over at them right now.

Dinner was fun, and the wine was better than the wine they’d had last night. Bridgette actually wasn’t as annoying as Sophie thought she’d be, and she knew it was Bridgette’s way of protecting her friends, so she appreciated it. Monica was polite, as always, and when they finished eating, Monica and Bridgette hugged them both goodbye and left them to continue their night outside of the restaurant, probably sensing that the two of them were ready to be alone now.

“Oh, hold on a sec,” Bryce said when her phone rang. “It’s Kels. Can I take it real quick?”

“Yeah, of course,” she replied, taking Bryce’s free hand and walking them away from the restaurant and the crowd behind them.

“Hey, Kels. What’s up?”

While Bryce talked, Sophie tried not to listen in as they walked because she was just so happy to be walking hand in hand with a woman she was crazy about. When Monica had hugged her goodbye, she’d told Sophie that she was happy for her and that Bryce seemed great. Bridgette had even told her that Bryce was hot and that she’d done a good job. She smiled at the moment because Brycewashot. She was really, really hot and Sophie wanted to see all of her.

They’d talked about so much already, but they had yet to talk about what would happen tonight, after they got back toBryce’s hotel or Sophie’s place. They also hadn’t discussed what would happen tomorrow or the day after or whenever Bryce left to go back to Tennessee. There was so much still for them to say to one another, and that was scary because Sophie could now say that she was addicted to walking hand in hand with Bryce, and when she had to leave, it would hurt having to walk these streets alone. She knew she couldn’t ask Bryce to just move here, and she couldn’t just pack up and move to Tennessee herself, either, but she also couldn’t be without her now that she had her. It was as if she’d fallen in love last year, and now that they were finally together, she could feel how much Bryce meant to her, so thinking about having to drop her off at the airport in a few days hurt Sophie’s heart.

CHAPTER 24