Ride With Me (Paige and Jace) novel Chapter 231

CHAPTER 133-2

The kids were cheering, and Noah immediately ran over.

“Paige won!” Noah yelled as Derek pointed at him.

“Nobody won.” Derek said.

“Paige did.” Noah said.

“Thank you.” I said and Derek shook his head.

“This is humiliating.” Derek said.

The game continued, and somehow the adults became more competitive as the afternoon went on.

The kids scored repeatedly, because the adults kept getting distracted by arguments over whether certain plays counted.

At one point, Jace caught the ball and ran toward the end zone, but Sophia grabbed his shirt.

“You can’t run!” Sophia yelled and Jace stopped.

“Why not?” He asked.

“Because I’m holding you.” She said and he looked at me.

“Your children are ruthless.” Jace said and I laughed.

“They’re not my children.” I said.

“You’re part of the family now.” He said and the words caught me off guard as I looked at him and he smiled.

“Come on.” I said.

We continued playing until everyone was exhausted. Then Emma called from the clubhouse.

“Food is ready!” Emma yelled.

The kids immediately abandoned the game and I laughed.

“They’re fast when there’s food.” I said as Mason followed them.

“That’s because they have priorities.” Mason said.

The backyard soon filled with the smell of grilled burgers, chicken, corn, and sausages.

Everyone gathered around the tables while Mason and Derek took turns at the grill.

I helped Emma arrange plates, while Mia brought out bowls of salad and potatoes and Jace stood nearby with a drink in his hand.

“You okay?” Jace asked as I smiled.

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CHAPTER Jars

I’m great.” I said.

You sure?” He asked.

“Yeah.” I said as I looked around.

Glam

The yard was full of people. Children were laughing, adults were arguing over football, music was playing from the clubhouse, and someone had already started throwing a ball around again.

“This is nice.” I said and Jace nodded.

“It is.” He said as I leaned against him.

“I never thought I’d have this.” I said.

“What?” He asked.

“A family like this.” I said as he wrapped an arm around me.

“You do now.” He said and I smiled.

“I know.” I said.

Dinner was loud and chaotic, because everyone talked over everyone else.

Mason claimed Derek had tackled him unfairly during the game, while Derek insisted Mason had tripped over his own feet.

Emma tried to settle the argument, but she eventually started laughing too.

The kids were running between the tables, and Diesel wandered around hoping somebody would drop something and I watched him carefully.

“Don’t give him anything.” I said and Emma nodded.

“Of course.” She said.

Five minutes later, Diesel disappeared beneath the table and frowned.

“Where did he go?” I asked and Emma looked away.

“I don’t know.” She said as I narrowed my eyes.

“Emma.” I said and she smiled innocently.

“What?” She asked as I pointed beneath the table and Diesel was chewing happily on a sausage.

“Did you give him that?” I asked as Emma shook her head.

“I didn’t see anything.” She said.

“Emma.” I said.

“I saw nothing.” She said and I laughed.

Diesel finished the sausage and immediately returned to the grill as Mason laughed.

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CHAITERI

He’s going for another.” Mason said and Derek shook his head.

That dog has better instincts than half of us.” Derek said.

Diesel managed to steal another sausage before anyone could stop him, and this time Emma deliberately looked in the opposite direction so I laughed.

“You’re encouraging him.” I said.

“He’s hungry.” She said.

“He just ate two.” I said.

“He’s a growing dog.” She said.

“He’s fully grown.” I said.

“That doesn’t mean he isn’t growing emotionally.” She said and everyone laughed.

The afternoon stretched into evening, and after the children settled down, the adults remained outside talking.

I sat beside Jace while the sun began dropping behind the trees and he took my hand.

“You had fun.” He said.

“I did.” I said.

“Even after tackling Derek?” He asked.

“Especially after tackling Derek.” I said and he laughed as I looked around the yard again.

“I love this.” I said as Jace squeezed my hand.

“I know.” He said.

“I mean it.” I said.

“I know.” He said.

I rested my head against his shoulder and for once, there was no tension hanging over us.

There were no threats, no mysterious vehicles, no missing pages, and no arguments about Victor.

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