Page 79 of Family Bonds- Garrett & Justine

“Should we leave soon?” she asked.

“Let me just get my shoes on and we can go,” he said.

“I didn’t even notice that you weren’t wearing shoes,” she said, winking.

“You might not, but everyone else would and they’d think I’d lost my mind.”

Which half his colleagues had already thought when he said he was transferring to the island for the year.

But they also knew what he went through.

Maybe there was a part of him that ran too and it’d be nice to go back in there tonight and prove to everyone he was fine.

They left shortly after and it took almost forty minutes to get a few miles, which he’d expected on a Friday night in downtown Boston.

He handed his key fob over to the valet, knowing his car would be parked a few blocks over.

He put his hand on Justine’s lower back, then slid it down to thread their fingers together and walk in that way.

Maybe it was juvenile, but he didn’t care. It was how he felt.

He pulled the door open for her, as her other hand was holding her clutch which was green in color to go with some of the colors in the pattern on her dress.

“Garrett.”

He turned his head and saw his mother and father off to the side talking to several people when they’d made their way toward the ballroom. “Hi, Mom.”

“Don’t you two look stunning together? Justine, you’re just a vision.”

“Thank you, Selena,” she said. “You look beautiful.”

His mother laughed. “I rarely have a chance to dress up. It’s a nice feeling to know you’re looking your best. You two are going to have a lot of eyes on you.”

He saw Justine’s smile drop. “Not in a bad way,” he said.

“Is it because you normally come alone?” she asked.

“I have come with a date before and come alone,” he said. “It’s what I said before.”

She had to know how her looks just stood out, but he wouldn’t point that out anymore.

“Why don’t we find our table,” his mother said. She leaned in closer to his ear. “Your father is giving me the look to pull him away.”

He smirked. His father hated these events but knew he had to attend too.

“Dad,” he said. “Do you want to find our table so I can introduce Justine around?”

“Garrett,” Dr. Simonson said to him. He was on the board of directors. “It’s good to see you looking well.”

“Thank you,” he said. “Justine Keller, this is Dr. Stefan Simonson. Stefan, Justine is a pharmacist at the hospital. She’s covering on the island currently.”

“Nice to meet you,” Stefan said to Justine. “How do you like it there? It’s so hard to find people to stay.”

“It’s a beautiful location. Since I’m new to Boston, I’m learning all sorts of things.”

“Maybe you and Garrett will decide to both stay and make it a bit easier with the openings there.”

“My brother is waving us over,” his father said, interrupting quickly.

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