Page 51 of Through the Water

Christ.

Ari mirrored a newborn calf as she traipsed into the cafeteria, arms thrust out in front of her and clutching that damned notebook. She was wearing heels at least two sizes too big and seemed dangerously close to tipping over with every wobbled step. A scowling nurse followed closely behind, gripping the gait belt around Ari’s waist like a leash.

I slowly shook my head as I eyed her ensemble, unable to look away from the gravity-defying red hair piled on top of her head in a series of elaborate loops and twists.

It was like staring at a grotesque caricature of a 1950s housewife, complete with the harvest gold apron tied at the waist of her checkered house dress.

“What in the actual hell?” Bailey snorted, before slapping a hand over his mouth.

Ari lifted her chin to scan the room, her mouth curving into a wide smile when she spotted me. The expression dimmed slightly when she realized I wasn’t alone but, instead of turning around, she lifted her hand and began staggering in our direction.

Lips, now stained a garish shade of red that hadn’t entirely remained within the lines, pursed in concentration as she shuffled the last remaining feet to the table.

“Ari,” I asked gently, carefully keeping my face blank. “What are you doing?”

She parted her lips, but there was no sound, and her heavily rouged cheeks grew darker with a blush that would have been visible in any light.

I gave her an understanding nod and slowly slid my hand across the table like she was a wild animal in need of calming, not a woman who was clearly afraid.

Not that I knew the first thing about handling either.

She hugged the notebook to her chest like a shield, ruling out any possibility of a written explanation for the costume. I pressed my lips together and swallowed, trying to ease the sudden need to fix things.

C’mon, Reed. Help her.

“Did you—”

“Want to join us? I think that’s a great idea,” Bailey interjected as he jumped to his feet. “Here, allow me to get your chair for you.”

I’d been about to ask if she needed something—in no realm had I planned on subjecting the poor woman to a man who hadn’t matured past the age of twelve.

She cast him a veiled glance and mouthed, thank you.

He waited until she was seated before extending his hand. “Ari, is it? Since Reed here is an uncultured buffoon, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Conor Bailey, but if you’re more comfortable, you can refer to me as Barnum. Get it? Like the Ringling Brothers?”

“Sit down,” I growled irritably. A hot poker of rage tore through my flesh like butter, jabbing the area behind my eyes until all I saw was red. I should have known it was beyond Bailey to keep his mouth shut.

And, I suddenly wanted to put fist-sized holes in more than just the drywall…

However, as Ari was clearly out of sorts and prone to fainting, I avoided launching myself at my teammate and pulled back to take a deep breath.

Whoa there, Reed.No need to make things worse than they already were.

Bailey held his palms up in surrender, before stretching his long legs out in front of him. “Sorry, sorry. Just trying to get to know your friend here. Although, if you’d introduced us like a proper gentleman, none of this would’ve happened.”

“Fine,” I conceded.

The side of his mouth lifted in a grin as he redirected his focus back to Ari. “So, tell me,” he said, completely poker-faced. “Is this your first circus?”

I dropped my fist to the table with a dull thud, muttering, “That’s enough.”

His smile slipped, and he jerked his chin in a stiff nod. “Okay, point taken. No need to bite my damn head off just because you’ve got your panties in a bunch.”

Perhaps my reaction was a tad on the defensive side. There was no denying Ari’s makeup made her look a bit like a clown in the circus. So, maybe she’d gotten into some psychedelic drugs before getting dressed for dinner. She was still a nice girl who’d already dealt with one asshole today—two if I was including myself.

She blew out her cheeks and scribbled something in the notebook before meeting my gaze.

You look very nice.

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