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Stirling, Scotland

February

Every time we turned a corner the icy cold wind hammered into us, al buffered us Its icicle-spiked fingers pricked hter around ainst the attack

‘For the fifth and final tiainst her fiancé, Braden He’d opened his wool coat and huddled her inside it, his ar her close She wore a short, stylish jacket with a red dress that fit her like a second skin Like all of us, she earing stilettos In fact, the only thing she wore that shielded her against the Scottish winter was a scarf

Ellie and Jo were in pretty ht jackets I was only inally warhtweight tuxedo-style blazer were doing eff all to protect irlfriends were, I roup as Jo led us to ourover her shoulder at us as she led the way through the city center high street Ca her as warm as possible, and behind them Braden’s sister, Ellie, and his best friend, Ada into each other for heat too They were also engaged Very recently, in fact

I, on the other hand, did not have a fiancé to protectwind ‘It’s not far?’ I scoffed at Jo Since o, Jo and I had grown as close as sisters, so I felt it was okay to scoff at her after she’d dragged our asses out of Edinburgh withoutchoices ‘You lost the right to say “it’s not far” when you directed our cabs to Waverley train station’

Jo’s apologetic smile suddenly wilted into a frown as she stopped us at a street junction ‘Okay, I think we’re down here’

‘Are you sure?’ I asked,to chatter

‘Eh –’ Jo glanced across the street at a road sign and then pulled out her phone ‘Just a second, guys’

My friends huddled together and I stood back a little, taking them all in I realized that despite how cold I was, I didn’t truly mind I was simply content to be there with therown to them They’d accepted me so fully into their lives, partly because of Jo, but also because of Nate, Cam’s friend, and my newly adopted best friend

As I re to Adam and Ellie to direct his beautiful smile my way

I blinked, distracted by the flush of attraction I felt I’d gotten so good at ignoring the feeling, it had caught uard That was the probleot you and just happened to be the hottest man you’d ever met in real life

That flutter, that rush of unexpected feeling, sentback to the first tinoring my attraction to him …

Seven o …