Page 12 of Rival Hearts

Ember gave Jett a hug. “I’m going to go to the bathroom,” Ember said. “You should get a drink. I know how much you love champagne.”

“Oh, yes,” Jett said, “especially when I don’t have to pay for it.”

Ember laughed and left. Jett headed straight for the bar. However, before she even got there, someone took a step backwards and lightly bumped into Jett’s chest.

“Oh shit.” The person turned around and Jett saw that it was Dr. Riley Parker. Riley was immaculate in a button down open neck dress shirt that covered her tattoos. Her usual messy ponytail was a sleek low bun tonight.

She looked up at Jett and smiled. Jett was still somewhat sceptical of her, but the smile looked genuine. Maybe she was more chill away from work.

“Sorry about that,” Riley said. She looked down at her shirt and frowned when she noticed the slight spill of champagne on her light blue shirt.

Jett couldn’t help noticing the sparkling green of her eyes.

“I can look for some napkins,” Jett offered.

Riley shook her head and waved her hand in the air dismissively. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “It’ll dry. Are you going to get a drink?”

“Yeah,” Jett said.

“Perfect,” Riley said before she emptied her champagne glass in one gulp and raised the glass. “I need a new drink anyway. I’ll go with you.”

Jett’s opinion of Riley Parker had definitely improved from their last meeting, but she hadn’t expected Dr. Parker to be so friendly. Maybe she’d had too much alcohol. Jett didn’t know.

“You look really nice tonight,” Riley said, eyeing Jett with her intense green eyes as she stood at the bar, waiting for the bartender to pour more glasses of champagne.

“Thanks,” Jett said, and figured she should return the compliment. “Uh, you do too.”

Riley flashed her a smile, and Jett stood there for a moment questioning her life. Jett supposed it made sense. She had only seen Riley when she was working, and Jett knew that she was different inside of work and outside of it. That must have been it. This might be a hospital fundraiser, but Jett must be getting a glimpse into Riley’s outside of work demeanor, and she couldn’t deny that as strange as it felt, she was enjoying the other woman’s company. She decided to just accept it and go with the flow.

“You know,” Riley said once the two women finally got their drinks, “I don’t think we’ve properly introduced ourselves. I know that your name’s Jett. I’m Riley. Technically, Dr. Riley Parker if you want to be fancy.” Riley said with a slight laugh.

“Well I’m Jett Thompson, Firefighter Paramedic Jett Thompson,” Jett said, “and it’s nice to properly meet you, even though we seem to only see one another in this hospital.”

Riley laughed. “Yeah,” she said, “but at least this time there’s no compound fractures to worry about.”

Jett sure nodded at that one. “Oh yeah,” she said, “I definitely prefer this setting.” Jett took a sip of her champagne and sighed.

“That good?” Riley asked.

Jett nodded. “I love champagne,” she said, “but it’s kind of expensive so I rarely drink it.”

Riley looked Jett up and down with her intense gaze, causing Jett to fight a blush as she felt Riley’s eyes on her body.

Is she checking me out?

“You know,” Riley said, swirling her glass, “I have a nice bottle of champagne at home. Maybe you could come over sometime and share it with me.”

She is hitting on me. For sure!

Jett blanked at that. Did Dr. Riley Parker really just ask Jett to come home with her one day? What on Earth was happening? Jett couldn’t deny that Riley was super hot, especially tonight, all masculine charm, but it had been so long since someone was so forward with her. Honestly, it was usually Jett who flirted with other women in the hopes of taking them home.

It was unusual and a little uncomfortable for her, but Jett couldn’t deny the heat that she felt at the thought. She also wondered what Riley’s home was like. A person’s home told a lot about them, and Jett wondered what Riley’s space said about her.

Jett didn’t get the chance to stutter through a response before Ember found the two.

“There you are, peanut,” Ember said, “I see you’ve found the champagne.”

Jett saw Riley snicker off at the side about her nickname and so Jett turned to Riley and pointed to her. “Don’t say anything,” she said, but Riley just laughed.

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