Page 60

I knew.

And with that, she quietly slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

It left me with the love of my life and my daughter. My family. My world. The beauty and color I’d been missing.

Chapter 25

COLETTE

The conversation around me was mere jumbled, indecipherable words. Faint music bumped in the background as a cue ball clacked against another one on a pool table. This once-a-month adult get-together was anything but the distraction and relief I’d been looking forward to.

He’d been gone the moment Azelie and I woke up this morning, and a passing glance was all that was shared between us as he returned from a morning run, then I headed into town to drop Azelie off at Macy’s and meet my parents at the restaurant.

All day, all we’d had were shared glances. He’d been at his parents’ restaurant, while I was at mine, and then boom, evening came, and I left for James’s before Ford ever came home.

The only thing, or I guess person, that consumed my thoughts was—

“Ford Thibodeaux?” Sylvia gasped beside me, jarring me back to the present moment.

Huh?

Following her widened gaze, came the very man I couldn’t stop thinking about trudging down the stairs across the room. He’d cleaned up rather nicely. His hair was neatly combed, and he’d ditched his hat. The navy-blue T-shirt sat perfectly against his body as if tailored at every seam to form to his frame. It highlighted his broad shoulders and brought out the vibrant colors of his tattoos, as if begging me to wander over there and dance my fingers across his skin.

Jeans that were just the right size hung low on his hips, and I immediately clenched my legs together. Damn… Well, this was an issue.

Turk grinned and turned away from the pool table, carrying the stick over to greet Ford as I leaned back against the wall between a couple of girls. Several others raced over to say hi to him while whispers danced around the crowd.

“I heard he was back in town.” Margie whistled quietly beside me. “Damn. He got hot.”

“Right? I saw him at his parents’ restaurant the other day, and I did a total awkward double take. Some men age like milk, but not him,” Lyla added and took a quick sip of her beer.

“Okay, but he was kinda weird during high school, you know? Never dated anyone,” Sylvie whispered.

I pulled my brows together and tore my gaze away from Ford. “You’re saying the only reason he was ‘weird’ in high school was because he never had a girlfriend?” I asked.

Sylvie shrugged her shoulders. “I mean, other than hanging out with Turk, he also kinda floated from friend group to friend group, so yeah. I guess I amsaying that.”

“So, did that make me a weird kid in high school too? I never dated anyone,” I asked with a raised brow.

The three girls shook their heads but continued to stare at Ford.

“No, you at least had us as a steady group of friends. Wait,” Margie stated and brought her gaze to me. “Is this a LeBlanc defending a Thibodeaux, I hear?”

Pinching my lips together, I stuffed my hands into my pockets and shrugged.

“But what about your rivalry or whatever shit your two families have?” She narrowed her eyes and took a step toward me. Sylvie and Lyla both tipped their heads and nodded in agreement.

“A rivalry that I think is stupid and petty,” I mumbled and glanced back at Ford.

He gave a crooked but tight smile to someone and then shifted through the crowd. His progression was slow as he attempted to weave through a jumble of people, all vying for his attention.

Lyla gasped. “Oh, my goodness, you think he’s good-looking too.”

I tore my gaze away from Ford. “And what are we? Back in high school? Because this sounds a lot like teenage gossip.”

Margie clicked her tongue as Sylvie giggled. “That’s not a denial,” Lyla pressed with raised brows.

She wasn’t wrong, though. Maybe it was time to finally admit that I had feelings for Ford. Not to myself because I’d already done that, but admit it to others too. What good had come from the petty ass feud between our families anyway? Absolutely nothing. In fact, being closer andtogether, despite the weird ass arguments and passive aggressive shit going on, things were finally…a little more peaceful.