Page 13 of Her Paramedic
“How many clients did you see today?” Alivia asked, doing as requested.
“Six. I only had five on the books, but a wash and haircut walked in. I had some free time, so I took them.”
They continued the conversation as Talia finished making dinner. Once they were seated with the first movie on, their conversation teetered off, and they enjoyed a comfortable silence as they ate.
The movie Alivia put in was a comedy Talia had never heard of, with actors she’d never heard of, but it was good so far. Her friend had a keen eye for choosing B and C movies with decent storylines. There had only been two so far that were major misses.
“How was the wedding?” Alivia asked as they were cleaning the kitchen together after the first movie.
Talia passed her the last dish to dry. It was the first time Alivia had asked about the wedding since she’d called Talia the morning after. She’d found out about it from a post on social media by someone they were casually acquainted with. While Talia didn’t want her sister’s big day clouded with resentment or made about someone else, she didn’t want Alivia to find out about it from someone else or a social media post, which is what happened.
She’d had every intention of calling her friend when she got home after the wedding, but she’d been so tired that she sat on her couch and didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until the call had woken her. Alivia had only asked her if the post was correct, and when Talia told her it was, all her friend said was that she would be late for work before hanging up. She knew they would talk about it at some point. She hadn’t thought it would be almost two weeks later.
“It was good. It was intimate because we planned it in such a short time.”
Alivia hummed. “Why was it planned so quickly?”
Talia paused, debating how to answer. She was sure being truthful would unintentionally hurt Alivia, regardless of whather friend said. She could read her like a book, but didn’t want to lie.
“They didn’t see a reason to wait,” she opted to reply.
“By they, you mean Axel.”
Talia made a noncommittal noise as she dried her hands. She wasn’t wrong, but she would not confirm that. She knew that coddling Alivia’s feelings on the subject was likely the wrong thing to do. It wouldn’t aid in her friend getting over whatever lingering feelings she still harbored for Axel. However, Talia also didn’t want to say anything that would hurt her and rub it in. She knew it was something Alivia would have to get over on her own, and while, in her opinion, she’d had plenty of time, everyone was different and processed things at different rates.
“Is he also the reason my invitation seemed to be lost?”
“It was a small wedding that could accommodate only a specific number, and they invited the people they were closest to.”
It wasn’t necessarily a lie, but that wasn’t why Alivia wasn’t invited, and it wasn’t Kaydence or Axel who left her off Kaydence’s list. When Alivia didn’t respond, Talia nudged her with her hip before looping their arms.
“Come on. Let’s watch the other movie you brought.”
They returned to the living room and settled on the couch; the next movie queued up to watch. It was a horror, and aside from a few odd graphic moments, the storyline and the acting were good.
It was after eleven when she walked Alivia to the door.
“You want to get lunch tomorrow?” she asked.
“I have plans tomorrow, but we can do Monday if that suits you.”
“Yeah. Monday works.”
They hugged, and Talia said, “Get home safe. Text me when you make it.” Alivia agreed, and Talia watched her get into her car and back out before closing and locking the door.
She grabbed her phone, which she’d set aside when she got home, and checked it. There was a text from Slate with his address. She was meeting him at his house since she would spend a few hours in town. She didn’t know what they were doing. He’d asked her to allow him to plan it, and Talia had no problem with that.
She replied even though it was late, and headed into her bathroom. She planned on leaving at eleven tomorrow morning. Since he worked the weekend, she didn’t want to take up too much of his day when he could be relaxing. Talia also planned to do some last-minute Christmas shopping. The holiday was around the corner, and she still had a few people to purchase for.
After her shower, she turned on her white noise machine and settled into bed.
4
Talia pulled up to Slate’s house and parked on the street. Since she would spend several hours in town, it made more sense for them to take one vehicle to whatever he had planned and leave hers parked. She grabbed her purse and coat, shrugging the latter on as she went up the walkway to the front door. She only had to wait a few seconds before it was opened.
“Hello, gorgeous,” he greeted, stepping aside to let her out of the December weather.
“Hey, Slate.”
