Page 22 of Erik's Redemption
“I am. I specialize in motorcycles.”
“I’m guessing you have one or two of your own?”
“Three. I rode my favorite here tonight.”
Wasn’t a surprise. The man fit the biker stereotype. “Have you always been into bikes?”
“Yeah, it was a passion of my uncle’s that kind of rubbed off.”
“Hannah!”
She glanced up just before Brigid flung herself into her arms. The impact almost had Hannah falling back. She only avoided it thanks to Owen’s quick hand on her shoulder, keeping her steady.
Brigid laid her head on Hannah’s chest. “I love you, Han.”
Hannah chuckled while Henry pulled Owen out to the dance floor. She rubbed her friend’s back. “I think maybe you’ve had a couple too many to drink, Brig.”
Brigid shook her head as she straightened and took the stool on the other side of the table. “Nope! I’m just getting started.”
Hannah pushed her glass of water across the table. “Drink.”
Brigid did but scrunched her nose the second the liquid hit her tongue. “Argh. It’s water.”
“Yeah. And you need to take another sip. Or better yet, finish the whole glass.”
Brigid sighed, tipping back the glass and drinking before dropping her head into her hands.
Hannah frowned. “Hey. Are you okay?”
Without moving her hands, she shook her head. “No. I think I fucked up. Or I’m gonna fuck up. Maybe I’m in the middle of the fuckup, I don’t know.”
Something twisted inside Hannah. “That doesn’t make any sense, Brigid.”
“If you knew, it would.”
“Okay, so tell me what you did, or are doing, or are about to do, and we can work out how to fix it.”
Brigid was the most spontaneous person Hannah knew. Once, she’d woken up and decided she needed a vacation,so she’d closed her store for the week and driven down to California.
“The last month and a half has been so hard.”
Hannah’s heart suddenly felt unbearably heavy, and she reached out and stroked her hair. “I know. I’m so sorry, honey.”
Brigid finally lifted her head, and there was a shimmer of tears in her eyes. “I’ve had this pain in my chest, right here.” She pressed a hand over her heart. “Sometimes it hurts so bad that it feels like someone has dug their fingers inside me and is tearing my heart in two.”
Hannah rose to her feet and moved around the small table to pull her friend into her arms. “You’ll be okay,” she whispered. “We’ll get through this together.”
God, she wanted to go back and murder James for doing this to Brigid. For accepting the woman’s love for years, then suddenly stomping on her heart.
Brigid wrapped her arms around Hannah and cried, the tears wetting her chest. She wanted to cry along with her. Christ, it hurt seeing her in so much pain. Every part of her just wanted to fix things, but the only thing that fixed heartache was time.
She needed to do better for Brigid. Check in on her more. Help her to heal in any way she could.
She wasn’t sure how long she held her friend, but it was only the ringing of her phone that finally had Brigid pulling away.
“You go take it,” she said quietly, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
Hannah shook her head. “No. I’m not leaving you.”
