“That was nothing. An hour later, we had a woman who accidentally cut off part of her finger while making dinner for her in-laws.”
My mouth drops open, and I’m totally enthralled. “You’re kidding.”
“Girl, I can’t make this stuff up. But that’s not even the best part.”
“I’m scared to ask.”
“She brought the piece she cut off in a plastic sandwich baggie. Her whole family came with her, causing a scene like you wouldn’t believe. I’m half convinced she did it so she could get away from them. Redmond made me kick them out so they could wait in the lobby. For a woman covered in a ton of blood, after they left, she looked like she was on vacation.”
“You sure you want to go into emergency medicine? Isn’t there a tamer discipline? Like a nice, quiet family practice?”
“No way. The chaos of it makes me feel alive. Plus, you get to see such a wide range of cases in the ER. No two days are the same.”
“My best friend, the badass.”
“Damn right,” she says, and we clink glasses. She glances at her watch and then grimaces. “Ugh, I have to go back already if I’m going to make it in time for rounds. Thanks again for this. I really needed it.”
We push to our feet and make our way to the counter. “Of course, I still owe you about a thousand more meals for everything you’ve done for me. I know Elizabeth probably didn’t make your weekend pleasant.”
“To say the least, but it was mostly the silent treatment.”
“Well, I appreciate it.”
“You don’t even have to ask. Speaking of Elizabeth, is she still giving you the cold shoulder?”
“Pretty sure I’m not her favorite person at the moment. Which has been true since Mom died, so I’m not surprised. No matter what I do, I can’t seem to get through to her that this was for the best. But enough about that. Let’s make plans for that movie night, okay? Maybe we can do it at my place, since I’m never allowed to go anywhere but home and school.”
“With bodyguards,” Yasmine says, twitching her eyebrows to my shadows, who are hovering in the corner of the restaurant.
“Don’t remind me.”
“One of them even looks like Kevin Costner. Think they’d let me pretend to be their Whitney Houston?”
“I think you’re delirious and should go home and sleep because singing is definitely not your strong suit,” I say with a laugh, as I pay and leave.
“It’s not fair that Reggie got all the vocal talent, and I sound like a disgruntled cat.”
“It’s really a shame he doesn’t sing more often. He could be on stage instead of toting around a badge.”
“Like he needs his ego inflated any more than it already is.” She scans her phone, then the street. “Shit, that’s my ride. I’ll text you tonight to make sure you’re still alive. Don’t believe himif he says the lights aren’t flickering. Trust your truth!” she adds over her shoulder, as she hustles to a silver sedan idling by the road.
“Whatever that means!” I shout back.
“If you don’t callyour watchdogs off, I’m going to drown them in the river,” I hiss into my phone as I stride through campus after lunch. I really don’t have time for this, and I have even less time now that I’m stuck taking back routes to all my classes, so I don’t get caught by my friends or—God forbid—some wannabe influencer skulking around to capture my humiliation for the world to see.
O’Connor’s responding chuckle is melodic in my ear, and I practically jog to keep my distance from my shadows. “You know the rules, pet. You agreed to them, remember? I have the paperwork to prove it. They’re only there to keep you safe.”
“They aren’t keeping me safe if they keep drawing attention to me. Because if I spend one more day with them hovering over me in the library while I study, I may drown myself in the Mississippi instead. And don’t call me, pet.”
“And make me a widower? You wouldn’t dare. I’m far too young to wear black all the time.”
“You already wear black all the time,” I growl.
“We can always go back to negotiations. I’m not an unreasonable person. Take the separate bedrooms clause you forced me to add off the table and think about adding children in five years instead of ten, and I’ll consider only requiring one bodyguard instead of two.”
“Like hell,” I bark, drawing the attention of the only other person sharing the sidewalk. At the ferocity in my voice, they wisely veer off in another direction.
Bren and Tadhg keep the pace even though I’m practically running and they’re in suits in the middle of the Louisiana heat. They’re barely even sweating. What the hell do they feed them in Ireland? Are they part robot? Jesus.
