Jace's POV
The hotel restaurant smelled like burnt coffee and syrup, half the team already crowded around two pushed-together tables by the window when Ariana and I came down. Ryan spotted us first, waving us over with a fork still in his hand.
"There they are." He grinned, scooting over to make room. "The lovebirds finally surface."
"Morning to you too," I said, pulling out a chair for Ariana before dropping into the one next to it.
Mike glanced up from his plate, giving me a small nod, the kind that told me he'd noticed I looked more tired than usual but wasn't going to say anything about it in front of everyone.
Ariana reached for the menu, clearly hoping to disappear into deciding between pancakes and eggs, but Ryan wasn't done.
"So real talk," he said, leaning forward on his elb
