Here's to Forever Read Free Page A

mitt.
    “Oh,” she says. I can hear the worry leave her voice. “Rae, did you burn things again? Dad isn’t a good cook either, but he doesn’t burn things.”
    I swear Rae’s word vomit has rubbed off on everyone around her because what Joey just said was exactly something Rae would say.
    I snicker. “Always looking out for your old man. I appreciate it, kiddo.”
    “Hudson!” Rae scolds. She turns to Joey and says, “I may have baked your cookies for a few minutes too long. But your dad is going to make some more. Right, dear?”
    Raising a brow at Rae, I challenge, “I don’t know. Am I?”
    I swear I can hear her roll her eyes at me. “You’re right. I’m a terrible cook and I burn everything. Happy?”
    “Finally! She admits it!”
    She looks to Joey for help. “You just gonna let him be mean to me?”
    Joey shrugs. “I know you said us girls were supposed to stick together when it came to dad being right, but…” she pauses, drawing the word out dramatically. “You do burn a lot of things.”
    “BURN! Just like your cookies!”
    The look on Rae’s face says I’m definitely in trouble for that little outburst.
    Totally worth being in the doghouse.

Hudson

    “You dragged me out on my one day off to go to the fucking mall? Dick move, Hudson.”
    “Shut up, you baby. I only invited you because Tucker isn’t here,” I tell my unhappy companion, and second best friend, Gaige.
    “Gee. I feel so welcomed.”
    “Well if you weren’t such a tool…”
    “Hey! I’m the asshole, not a tool. Don’t be mean.”
    I shoot him a look. “Really? You’re okay with being called an asshole but not a tool?”
    “Asshole just sounds so much more affectionate.”
    “You’re so weird,” I mutter. “Now, come on, asshole. We have several stores to look at.”
    Unusual for him, Gaige doesn’t shut up as I navigate through the crowded mall. I forgot it was back-to-school season. The place is crawling with rambunctious teens. They’re amusing and obnoxious all at the same time. I dread the day Joey turns into a teenager.
    A teenager? Damn. That’s only five years away. I’ll be thirty by that point and probably feel about forty with the way my life has been on the fast-track since she was born.
    But, if all goes as planned, I’ll at least be settled down with the love of my life, a great house, thriving business, and Joey. Not exactly how I pictured some of my prime bachelor days but somehow exactly what I’ve always wanted.
    “What are we getting here, anyway? It’s not anyone’s birthday, so I know you’re not getting a gift. And you don’t love me enough to randomly buy me presents, so that must mean you’re…” He trails off as I steer us closer to the first jewelry store on my list.
    When I realize he’s not following me anymore, I stop my pursuit of shiny objects. I spin around to find Gaige frozen, his mouth hanging open in the middle of the packed shopping center. Suppressing a sigh, I walk back toward him.
    “What.”
    “No fucking way,” he says, shocked. “You’re gonna propose.”
    I shift uncomfortably at the way he says it. He sounds awed. And his stare is starting to make me feel weird too. He’s looking at me like I’m that damn three-headed dog from Harry Potter or some shit. I don’t know whether that’s good or bad. Not that I should base whether or not I’m going to propose on what Gaige thinks, but he’s been in my life for a long damn time. I value his opinion above all others’. Well, except Tuck’s and Rae’s.
    A grin transforms his naturally neutral expression to one of pure joy. “I’m so fucking happy for you, dude.”
    Blowing out a relieved breath, I say, “Thanks. That means a lot. But don’t fucking tell anyone, okay? I haven’t even told Tucker yet.”
    “You mean I’m the first to know?” Hand to God, the smile on his face resembles that of a kid’s after they’ve just received the best gift ever.
    “Calm yourself, dude. I don’t like