If the Sun Never Sets - Ana Huang Page 0,96

she looked across Gino’s and locked eyes with Blake, who was getting another round of drinks with the guys. He winked at her, and her breath quickened.

They’d been having nonstop sex the past few weeks (because what else are you supposed to do on your honeymoon?) but he still had the ability to turn her inside out with one look.

Farrah and Blake got married a month ago, on a beautiful rooftop garden in New York City. Her mom wanted them to tie the knot in California; his mom wanted to do it in Austin, but they’d stayed in the city that reunited them and that they now called home.

The wedding had been a small, intimate affair, planned to perfection by her maid of honor. As expected from an Olivia Tang-coordinated event, the ceremony went off without a hitch. Even the weather cooperated with clear skies and sunny weather, so they didn’t have to draw on one of Olivia’s five backup plans.

Everyone they loved had attended: their families, closest friends, colleagues (including Justin, whom Blake had threatened to yank off the guest list after Justin cheated at poker during guys’ night), and members of their Shanghai group whom Farrah hadn’t seen in years.

She’d invited Leo, Luke, and Nardo on a whim, despite not being close with them anymore, and had been pleasantly surprised when they RSVP’d yes. She was even more surprised they’d agreed to come on this trip.

Blake and Farrah had been getting ready to return home from their honeymoon in the Maldives and Sri Lanka when Kris messaged saying she had a present for them and they “may as well stay in Asia because they were going to Shanghai, bitches.” She’d emailed them two first-class tickets to China; when they arrived, a driver whisked them to Kris’s penthouse near the Bund, where they found their old group of study abroad friends waiting for them.

Kris. Courtney. Olivia. Sammy. Leo. Nardo. Luke. They were all there.

It was a long-overdue reunion, Kris said, and fitting since Blake and Farrah’s story started in FEA. They were a family, and even if you went years without seeing some members, family was family.

Farrah would’ve teased her friend for her shocking sentimentality had nostalgia not overwhelmed her.

Surrounded by her old friends, in the city that started it all, made everything that happened in Shanghai real and not just a fantasy so beautiful she’d willed it into memory.

The guys returned with beers, fries, and two mojito fishbowl cocktails the size of small aquariums.

Blake slid into the seat next to Farrah and draped an arm over her shoulder; she snuggled into his side and grinned as her friends fought over the fries.

“I bought the fries. I get first dibs.” Luke dove into the basket and shoved a handful in his mouth.

“Ugh.” Kris crinkled her nose. “They’re for sharing, you Neanderthal. Now that you’ve contaminated the basket, we have to get a new order.”

“Cry me a river,” Luke said through a mouthful of deep-fried potato. “You’re rich. You can afford it.”

“I love how you work for a university and still have no class.”

“I love how you have millions in the bank and still no way to remove that stick from your ass.”

“That’s it. You’re disinvited from my wedding,” Kris fumed.

“Fine by me. I’ll save money on airfare, hotels, and a wedding gift.”

“Children.” Courtney slammed her hands on the table, her mouth twitching with suppressed laughter. “I swear, it’s like we’re in college again.”

“If we’re going to do throwbacks, might as well do it all the way.” Sammy grinned. “Never Have I Ever?”

Courtney’s face shone with excitement. “Best idea of the night. You always were my favorite.”

Beside her, Olivia rolled her eyes.

“I’m offended,” Leo drawled, not sounding offended at all. He and Courtney had ended their fling long before study abroad was over, and the years had placed a comfortable, if somewhat distant, camaraderie between them.

The brunette released a sheepish shrug. “Sorry, Leo. You were a great kisser, though.”

“I know.”

Everyone laughed.

Blake whispered in Farrah’s ear, “Not as good as me.” His arm tightened possessively around her shoulder, and she stifled a laugh.

No doubt Blake remembered her fleeting crush on Leo at the beginning of FEA. Even though they were married, and it had been years, Blake still eyed the other man with suspicion.

“No one is as good as you.” Farrah patted him on the knee.

“Damn right.” Blake preened with male satisfaction.

“We should play a different game than Never Have I Ever.” Nardo adjusted his glasses. “Something more intellectually stimulating.”

Sammy clapped