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I let out a long breath. “She wanted me to. She always told me not to forget where I came from.”

“I like her even more.” Jade smiled. “You know, I did get to meet her in a way.”

“How so?”

“Through the girls. I see a lot of you in them, don’t get me wrong. But I also see someone else. That must be Alice.”

“Yeah. She was something.”

The last thing I wanted to do was push things with Jade. She’d taken everything to do with Alice in stride, but I couldn’t bear a fight with her.

“Is it time for me to pay?”

She rolled her eyes. “Put your money away. I don’t need to be paid for everything.”

“I’d love to spoil you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She waved her hand before she finally stilled. Her eyes went distant and she was lost in thought again.

“Did you ever think about being more with her?” Jade asked.

I immediately shook my head and set down the candle. “I’m not answering that question.”

“I’m the one asking it. I’m prepared for it to be an answer I don’t like.”

“Still a no.”

“Gabriel, I’m not a jealous asshole. I’m mature now,” Jade said. “Plus, we handled last night just fine.”

“I still feel like an idiot,” I said with a sigh. “But you handled it well.”

“You also did. We both took a minute instead of blowing up. You know what that is?”

“Being tired?”

“Growth. We’ve grown.”

I’d been so worried about her that I’d not even thought about it, but she was right. We had grown. Jade was still the spitfire I’d always love, but last night was different.

A lot was.

“So have some faith in me,” she said. “And answer the question.”

I sighed. “There was one moment where I considered it.”

“When?”

“Five years ago.”

“And why didn’t you?”

“Because she wouldn’t measure up, so it wasn’t fair to her. No one would.”

Jade’s cheeks colored. “I bet your other exes weren’t happy to hear that.”

“There . . . weren’t other exes.”

Jade froze. “I’m sorry, what?”