Page 75 of Fragile Heart

“I bet someone would make a bat themed one just to drive the point home,” I offer, finally taking a bite of my salad. Laughter and good company are perfect for feeling like yourself again.

Emily rejoins the group, holding out a plastic bag filled with ice wrapped in a dish towel. “Here, sorry it took them a bit to hunt down a small enough bag.”

I press the impromptu ice pack against the new tattoo and groan as some of the throbbing fades.

“You feeling up to it?” Melissa asks.

“Up to what?” Emily asks.

Olivia says, “Melissa was wanting to swing by the Artisan booths over on Third.”

Emily raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything.

“Sure, that sounds fun,” I say.

We drop into a comfortable silence and finish the rest of the meal. Before the other girls can offer, I hand my card to the waiter.

Emily narrows her eyes but doesn’t protest.

We’re about a block away from the large market when Emily sighs.

“What the hell is happening between you and my brother?” she asks. Olivia and Melissa both look at her with wide eyes. “And why am I the last one that seems to know?”

“Nothing is happening,” I grouse.

Nothing besides two hotter-than-sin kisses that have left me more desperate than I can remember ever being before—even with being touch starved only a month ago.

Emily crosses her arms as Olivia holds the door to the market open. It’s in a large, uninspiring warehouse, the outside painted a bland gray-brown that blends with the rustic buildings that surround it. The inside, though, is anything but ordinary. Large swaths of vendors’ spaces line the outer walls, each decorated and furnished independently. In the center is a large desk with several checkout lines with groups of seating clustered around it. The layout manages to not impede the large walkways that allow for getting to the stalls tucked along the back corners.

“Wow,” I murmur.

Olivia laughs. “Come on, that Boutique is stall fifteen.”

As she leads us around the large space that manages to feel both warm and cozy, Emily says, “Let’s start with why he’s always so on edge around you. I’ve never seen him like that. Not even with Kayla.”

Olivia and Melissa split away from us, walking deeper into the small pop-up shop full of baby clothes and linens and wooden toys. I press my hand against the new tattoo to keep from picking at it.

“Ethan and I…”

Crap, did we date? Or would most people classify it as a summer fling?

We didn’t really go on dates—not the fancy ones that end up all over social media but really aren’t any more impressive orintimate than a night in with a movie. We mostly spent hours together on the ranch while he tended the cattle and worked on his farrier training.

“We were athingwhen I lived here that summer between freshman and sophomore year. When I went back to school, he broke it off.”

I say the words as fast as I can, in one quick rush, and then cross my arms in preparation for her anger at being left out of the information.

She doesn’t immediately say anything. When I risk a glance, her gaze is contemplative. She runs a hand through her hair.

“All right. That’s honestly what I expected.” Her voice is lighter than I expect. “I get the feeling that you didn’t really want it to end?”

When I shrug, she sighs.

“I was nineteen,” I say. My voice wobbles more than I’d like. It’s been a damn decade. “My mom was in rehab for what would be her final time, and I had no place that felt like mine. For that summer? It felt like I belonged here. Belonged with him.”

Emily rests her head against mine in silent support.

“I’m assuming Mel and Liv knew?”

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