Stand Close 2 (Stand Close New Adult Romance Series) by Sabrina Lacey Page A

and the boys, blocking my view to make sure I’m listening. “Of course you have me. And chosen family is sometimes better, frankly. But I’ve got a huge family. Cousins, my mom and dad, four brothers and sisters, my aunts and uncles. Shit, even my great-grandmother is still alive!” She smiles and takes my hand. “But you, Ruefus? You’ve just got me, and that’s not enough. Besides, blood is different.” She looks over to the boys. Alec rises. He lays his sunglasses on a table, walks to the pool with his eyes on me. Neither of us smiles at each other. He walks to the edge and dives in. Jenna sighs and glances back to me. “Maybe you should make sure you really love him, and that he loves you, too, before you throw family away for the guy. He might not be worth it.”
    Looking away from her and her words, I blink away frustration. Crumbling up the gift bag in my hands, I start to walk away. “Come with me to get some food?”
    “Of course! And hey,” she puts her arm around my shoulder as we walk past the guys. “Whatever you decide to do, I’m here for you.”
    I smile, touched. “Thank God for you.”
    “I’m pretty amazing,” she grins and releases me.
    As we go back inside Aguas de Ibiza, I whisper, “Tell me not to look back to see if he’s watching.”
    “Don’t look back to see if he’s watching.”
    “Man, this is hard!”
    “Don’t do it. Keep walking. Get the door. Good girl, Ruefus. Well played.”
    “What would I do without you?”
    It’s like a magnet has released me as soon as we’re inside. I exhale deeply, letting go of my need to go to him. As my best friend and I walk toward the restaurant, she hands me her water bottle so she can dig around her purse for her lip balm. “You’d probably kill Jack, that’s what you’d do. You guys scare me.”
    Fueled by the reminder, I explode. “Did you know he gave us that little rinky-dink room on purpose?! They all got the most amazing suites. Can you believe that?!”
    Glancing to me while applying the balm, she frowns. “I like our room. It’s really nice.”
    “Not nice enough.” Picking up the pace of my steps, I leave Jenna behind as I race to the hostess desk of the restaurant. A petite Spanish girl with a low, tight ponytail and perfect eyebrows looks up at me and smiles. “Hi. I’m starving. What’s the best table you’ve got?”
    Recognition lights her eyes. “Oh! Miss Stone. Yes. This way.” She turns to the beige room and passes the dessert table. I look around and see large modern columns surrounded by square, taupe-colored four tops. She’s bringing us to one of those, the menus already primed to be laid down.
    “No! I want the best table. Understand? I don’t care that it’s just the two of us. I want one of those.” I point to round tables set close to the bright windows, meant for five or more people. The hostess hastily lifts the menus and nods, apologetically leading us to where we have every right to be. Pleased with myself, I glance back to Jenna to share in the victory, and see her looking at me oddly. “What?”
    Regarding me silently for a moment, she says “Nothing.”
    “Jenna, if you’d have seen Alec’s room, you would want the best, too.”
    She slides into her chair and takes the menu. “Thank you,” she smiles to the hostess. I open up the menu and look at it, disturbed by Jenna’s judgmental expression. It worsens as the hostess walks away. “You didn’t thank her, Rue.”
    Blinking, I look up. “Oh. Well, you did. So that’s enough, isn’t it?”
    I focus on the menu again, not interested in what she’s thinking about me. But that’s not really true… deep down, I can feel it. I felt it even before it was reflected in her eyes. I’m changing. And the truth is, I want to change. I want to show Jack that I fit into his world. It would have been my world, too, had Max talked my mother into it. Or if he’d left his wife.
    I should feel bad for Connie Stone, but every time her