I thought of Hunter Bailey, in and out of the office, and all of the nonsense that came with him. “I’ve been seeing enough of it lately,” I said.
“I heard your firm was representing Hunter Bailey,” Thiago said, turning to face us. “I worked with him when he was just a production assistant.” He sneered. “He was an asshole back then.”
I rolled my eyes. “He’s only gotten worse,” I said. “He’s super polite to the staff at the firm, but everything we have documented about him is just... atrocious. The only thing he seeminglyhasn’tdone is what he’s being accused of.”
“So, you believe that he didn’t defraud the production company?”
I wasn’t sure what I could share, so I just shrugged. “There’s not a lot of evidence to support it right now,” I said. I glanced at Tinsley. “How’s the new PR firm coming?”
Tinsley grinned. “A ton of my clients from before followed me,” she said, “and I’ve signed another half-dozen contracts.” She put a hand on my arm. “We miss you, though. If you ever want to come back, I could offer you a part-time position.” She said it coaxingly, but I knew she was kidding.
“Between being a paralegal and a law student,” I said, “I don’t have any time as it is.”
A hand came down on my shoulder. “Quit trying to snake our best paralegal back to public relations,” Jake said. I tipped my head back, like I normally would, for a kiss, but I caught myself halfway through the motion.
When I glanced back at Tinsley, there was a calculated look on her face. “Can I ask a dumb question?” she asked.
Shit. I knew what was coming. Tinsley was always observant by nature. “Are you... dating Jake?” she asked.
Jake’s hand tensed on my shoulder, and I looked up, the question clear on my face. He smiled at me, endlessly fond, and I reached up and squeezed his hand. “Yeah,” I said. “Yeah, we’re together.”
Tinsley’s eyes flicked between us. “You’rewillinglydating him, right? This isn’t some power imbalance bullshit, right?”
Jake made an affronted noise. “You know me better than that, Tins,” he said.
She gave him a dark look. “I hope so. For your sake.”
I touched her arm. “There’s no power imbalance,” I said. “I met Jake at the wedding, and we... spent some time together.” I dropped my gaze to my hands, and Tinsley laughed, even as Ryan muttered something likeewunder his breath. “What I’m saying is that our relationship started before I went to work for the firm.”
“It would still cause you problems if you got caught, though,” Thiago pointed out.
I shrugged. “You know what that’s like,” I said, “working in the industry that you do, married in the arrangement that you are.” I looked up at Jake. “Please, kiss me.”
He smiled and leaned down to brush his mouth against mine. “Hi, baby,” he said, greeting me properly this time.
“Hi, handsome,” I said.
* * *
Hours later,Adrianne and her crew turned up for dinner, and my stomach swooped at just howbeautifulshe was. I had met her a handful of times because of Ryan, but it never got easier to see her in person. She just had a face made for the silver screen.
Adrianne ran a hand over Tinsley’s baby bump. “I miss being pregnant,” she said.
One of her men, the blonde one named Foster, wrapped an arm around her waist. “Say the word, Princess,” he said. “You know we’re up for it.”
The taller man, Callan, came through the door wearing a toddler strapped to his chest. “Might be good for this one to have a sibling,” he said, pressing a kiss to the girl’s hair. She was a miniature of her mother.
Adrianne’s smile was wide and happy. “We’ll talk about it later,” she said.
“Yes, we will,” her final man, a big man I knew to be Ethan, said.
They were even more open about their relationship than Tinsley and her men. They hadn’t had a wedding in the same way, although I knew they all wore rings, but they were so... comfortable with themselves. She went back and forth between her men, sweet and flirty and loving, and I found myself watching her, envious of what they’d built.
“What’s on your mind, baby?” Jake asked. He could read my emotions better than anyone else, outside of Thomas and Zach.
“Is it wrong that I’m jealous?” I asked him, glancing at Adrianne. “They’re so comfortable with things. I feel like we’re not quite in the same place, even as much as I love you all.”
He kissed my cheek. “We’renotin the same place as them,” he said. “They’ve been together for over a year. We’re just starting out. Give us time, baby.”