Page 47 of Never Forget
I set the bottle in my cart and met his eyes for the first time.
"I'm not interested in catching up, Bryce."
His smile didn't falter.
"Fair enough." He raised his hands, gracious in defeat. "But if you change your mind." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a card, holding it out to me. "My door's always open."
I didn't take it.
Bryce set it on the edge of my cart anyway, still smiling.
"It really is good to see you, Jamie. I mean that."
He touched my arm like he had every right.
It made me flinch, and for a second, I saw Bryce’s eyes narrow slightly.
"Sorry that took so long, Babe.” A hand landed on my shoulder. I breathed for the first time since Bryce said my name. Sam's voice was easy and warm. “They moved the salsa again."
Bryce's expression shifted. "Sam Reeves." He broke into a grin. "I didn't realize you two were together. Weren't you just with Amber a few weeks ago?"
"We broke up."
Bryce's grin widened. "Damn, Reeves. That was fast." He laughed like he was paying Sam a compliment. "Never pegged you for a player. But hey, good for you, man. Good for you."
He stepped back. "I'll let you get back to your shopping." His eyes found mine again and held a beat too long. "Jamie. Think about that coffee."
I watched him go. My hands were steady now, but my chest was tight.
"You didn't have to do that."
"Yeah, I did." Sam was still watching Bryce's back until he disappeared into another aisle. "Guys like that don't understand 'no.' But they do understand 'taken.'" He turned to me. "And Mark's not here."
Babe.He'd called me–
“Babe?”
“I mean it worked, didn’t it?” He shrugged.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head, but I couldn't help the smile that tugged at my mouth.
"Haven't seen you roll your eyes at me in a while," Sam said. "I'll count that as a win."
"Shut up."
Sam laughed. "So what did he want anyway?"
"Nothing." I picked up the card from my cart.Bryce Montgomery for Solicitor. Accountability. Fiscal Responsibility."Just catching up."
Sam didn't push, but I could feel him watching me.
We paid and walked to his truck. I dropped the card in the trash can by the exit.
Neither of us mentioned Bryce, but Sam kept glancing at me on the drive to Megan and Danny's.
The meeting lasted two hours.
Three days had passed since Sam showed up on my doorstep and said he was in. Since then, I'd been in journalist mode, pulling everything I could find through public records; staffing numbers, incident reports, response times, mutual aid requests. Sam filled in what the documents couldn't show me—how decisions actually got made, what the culture was like on the ground, where the pressure points were.
