If the Sun Never Sets - Ana Huang Page 0,97

his friend on the back. “Dude. We’re in a bar. Chill out.”

“Exactly. Besides, should and want are different things.” Courtney’s tone brooked no opposition. “I’ll start. Never have I ever pierced anything below my neck.”

Nardo sighed.

The group stayed at Gino’s until last call. It was a long, decadent night, and it made Farrah feel nineteen again—young, wild, and free. Only better, because this time she knew how the story ended, and it was better than she could’ve hoped for.

Blake ducked into the restroom before they left, and Farrah waited for him outside, trying to piece together what, exactly, was going on between Olivia and Sammy, who stood on opposite ends of the sidewalk. They hadn’t exchanged one word all night, but the glances they threw each other could’ve burned the city down.

Farrah wondered how the sweetest couple in FEA devolved into this weird, do-they-hate-each-other-or-love-each-other dynamic.

It was going to be interesting to see how things played out, now that Olivia was moving to California to get her MBA at Stanford.

Farrah was going to miss having her best friend in the same city, but she supposed that was selfish. She had, after all, moved into Blake’s apartment after their engagement, leaving Olivia with a subletter in their Chelsea apartment.

“Hey.” Leo ambled over with his signature relaxed grin. “Settled into married life yet?”

“It’s only been a month, but I have no complaints so far.” She smiled at her old friend. “Thanks for coming. You didn’t have to.”

“Trust me, I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.” Leo raked a hand through his curly dark hair. “Actually, there’s something I want to give you. Another wedding present, though nowhere near as extravagant as a weeklong trip to Shanghai.”

“It’s okay. I think Kris has the market cornered on extravagant gifts.” Curiosity pricked at Farrah. She had not expected a second present from Leo, of all people.

Leo pulled a thick, bound stack of papers from his weathered brown messenger bag. “It’s the first draft of my next novel. Written under a pen name.” He flashed an abashed smile. “The story has been in my head for a while, but I lacked the will to finish it until I received your wedding invite a few months ago. I wanted you to read it first.”

Farrah’s brow furrowed. “Why me?”

“Read it,” Leo said simply.

The next day, Farrah curled up in a seat by the window and read the manuscript from front to back, until the sun sank beneath the horizon and moonlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the tear-stained pages of a story about a girl and a boy who fell in love, in a city long ago and far away.

Blake liked his friends. They were great.

But after a week of their nonstop company, he was sick of them. He wanted alone time with his wife. He wanted to kiss her without other people interrupting, and he wanted to make her scream at night without having to deal with seven sets of knowing eyes and shit-eating grins the next morning.

Kris really needed to soundproof her rooms.

So on their last day in China, Blake moved their shit from Kris’s penthouse to a suite at Z Hotels Shanghai. He had downright wicked ideas for what he and Farrah could do in that massive hotel bed, but first, they needed to complete their nostalgia walk.

Farrah had insisted on visiting all their old date spots—Moller Villa (that hadn’t been an official date, but they’d had their first dinner alone together there), the M50 art district (again, not a real date, but close enough), the ice-skating rink they went to on Valentine’s Day—and Blake indulged her. At first, he did it because Farrah wanted to, but as the day wore on, he found himself enjoying the walk down memory lane. It reminded him of how far they’d come.

They ended their night at the Bund. Five years later and the Shanghai skyline was still a fucking beauty. Ageless, timeless, and so dazzling it hurt to look at it.

Blake remembered staring at the spires rising above the city when he was twenty-two and feeling so tiny, so insignificant. Now, when he looked at the sprawl of glittering buildings across the river, he felt like he was on top of the world.

He had a booming business, amazing friends and family, and the woman of his dreams in his arms. He had everything he needed.

“It’s like we never left.” Farrah sighed, lacing her fingers with his as they continued their leisurely stroll along the waterfront. “God, I missed