Page 38 of All Her Broken Pieces

“I think you’re fucking beautiful, Bridget. Just like this. But more importantly, you have a beautiful soul. You don’t take shit from people. You know what you want and who you are, and you don’t apologize for going after what you want. I want to be around that kind of energy. I’m proud to be seen with you. If people don’t understand our friendship, fuck ’em.”

“Fuck ’em,” I repeat with a hollow laugh. “I wish I had your ability to not care about what others think.”

“I’ll get it out of you,” he promises. “But if you’re worried, you can wait out here, and I’ll grab what we need from the restaurant.”

I let out a deep breath. What will it hurt? This is the lowest-risk scenario, right? Anyone in there already knows me as a customer and thinks of him as part of the family. If anyone would accept this friendship, it’d be the people in that restaurant. “It’s fine, I’ll go. Maybe don’t hold my hand. I don’t want to give anyone the wrong idea.”

“Friends can hold hands.”

“Do you and Alyx?”

He rolls his eyes. “I suppose you have a point there.”

He opens the door for me as we approach the entrance. The aroma of garlic and cheese hits me as we cross the threshold and Mina greets us at the hostess stand.

“Pickle! We weren’t expecting you today,” Mina exclaims.

“I just need to grab a few things from the kitchen if you don’t mind.”

“Help yourself!” Dre calls out from near the bar as she joins us, planting a kiss on Mina’s cheek. “The prodigal son has returned. How’s the patient?” she asks, turning her attention on me. Seeing the embarrassment on my cheeks, she continues, “Ethan never asks for time off. He said he was helping a friend recover from surgery.” Relief washes over me as I realize that he hasn’t told them everything.

“I’m good, thanks. Just wiped out,” I say through a tight smile, forcing my face to look polite. I’m too tired to fake pleasantries with people right now, despite how kind Mina and Dre are.

“If you need anything, let us know. Or Ethan. He’s always a huge help to us here. He’s a good person to have in your corner.” Dre winks at me before kissing Mina’s cheek again and loudly whispering “Behave” in her ear.

“Uh, we’re standing right here, can you not?” Ethan says to Mina as Dre retreats to the kitchen.

“Oh, that wasn’t flirting. It was a warning for her,” Dre explains, pointing at Mina as she walks backward toward the kitchen.

Mina crosses her arms over her chest and raises her chin to Ethan. “I warned you what would happen if you didn’t...” Her eyes cut to me and then back to Ethan. A silent conversation passing between them before Ethan pulls my body flush into his side, dropping a kiss on my head.

“Satisfied?” he says through gritted teeth. A hint of a smile and desperation in his eyes. I wonder what that’s about.

“That’ll do for now, Pickle.” She smiles before grabbing a rag from under the hostess stand and stalking to the bar to wipe it down.

“What was that about,Pickle?” I ask as I look up at Ethan still plastered against my side.

“Later,” he promises as his hand tips my chin up.

____________

Once we get back to the apartment, my cell vibrates in my pocket. “It’s Dr. Francis’s office,” I explain as I excuse myself, walking toward my room.

“Hi, Bridget. This is Dr. Francis’s nurse calling to check in on you and see how you’re doing.”

“I’m fine,” I grumble.

“That’s good to hear. We got a call at the office yesterday morning. Your boyfriend was concerned. He said you experienced some vomiting the night you came home.”

“That’s correct. That I vomited, not the other part. He’s not my boyfriend.” I continue down the hall, walking into my room and pulling the door closed behind me, not wanting Ethan to hear my conversation.

Choosing to ignore my awkwardness, the nurse continues, “How are your incision sites healing? Any redness or swelling?”

“Nope, they look good. Will I be able to shower soon?”

“You should wait at least seventy-two hours, so maybe tomorrow evening. Have you been able to pass gas and have a bowel movement?”

“Um, yeah, I’ve been able to pass gas,” I start, thinking about the handful of times I left Ethan alone in a room to sneak off to my bathroom. “But I haven’t had the urge to do more than that.”

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