Read Online EMBER - Part Two (The EMBER Series Book 2) by Deborah Bladon - Free Book Online
Authors: Deborah Bladon
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her into the ER room they'd taken me into. She had sobbed uncontrollably while she'd clung to my father. I'll never forget that moment and it's one of the few reasons why I want her to come visit me. I know that she needs to see me more often.
"It was really hard for her." I turn back towards the box. "It would have been too much for her if I…"
"Don't say it." I hear a rustle behind me before her arms circle my shoulders. "It would have been too much for all of us. You scared the shit out of me, Bridge. It devastated Vanessa. We need you so much."
I clasp both my hands over hers. "When she's done with the seminar, you'll both come over for dinner, okay?"
"It's a date. I'll go now so you can get back to work."
I laugh as I turn to embrace her. This is the start of my new beginning and there's one person I can't wait to see.
Chapter 18
"I feel like I haven't seen you in a week." I wrinkle my nose realizing how pathetic that sounds. It's only been four days since he left my apartment after seeing his picture on my phone.
He flicks open the napkin in front of him and places it across his lap before he scoops one of the warm pieces of bread from the basket the waiter just dropped off. "I had to cover someone's shift. I didn't have to but I owed him one."
I could tell by the weariness in his voice last night when he called me to say goodnight that he was exhausted. I know that he loves his job but I see the toll the physical demands take on him. He's sitting in front of me now, in a crowded bistro, less than a block from my new apartment, with a growth of beard on his face, and a tired look in his eyes.
"You're a good guy."
"I'm a good guy?" he repeats back with a wide grin. "I'm not a great lover? I'm not the sexiest man you've ever known?"
I try to hide the small smile that is tugging at the edge of my lips by taking a bite of the bread.
"That's the game you're going to play with me?" He lifts the bread in his hand in the air before tipping his chin towards me. "I actually like that you think I'm a good guy."
I cover my hand with my mouth while I chew and swallow. "I bet everyone who knows you thinks you're a good guy."
The playfulness that is there in his eyes disappears with the next blink he takes. He bites into the bread again as his gaze floats over the interior of the bistro. I know immediately where his mind has darted off to, so I pull it back in.
"I'm going to start on two new portraits tomorrow."
When he looks at me again I see a calm softness in the lines of his brow. "Who are they of?"
"Both of them are women," I begin before I lean back to let the waiter place a small garden salad in front of me. I wait until he gives Dane his before I continue. "One is the wife of a man I met a week ago and the other is a really beautiful woman I know."
"She can't possibly be more beautiful than you." He stabs his fork into a piece of tomato before scooping it into his mouth.
My mouth curves. "She's gorgeous. She has dark hair, bright green eyes. She should have been a model."
He licks a wayward drop of salad dressing from his bottom lip. "What does she do?"
I know that I promised Harper I wouldn't tell anyone about her portrait, but this is Dane and there's no harm in sharing some masked details with him. "I met her when I went for physical therapy."
"It's your therapist?" He munches on a leaf of lettuce. "Her name is Harper, right?"
The only way out of this is to avoid the direct questions completely so I do. "The other woman is older. I mean she's older than we are. She's been married to the same man for thirty years."
"What's she like?"
I've only spoken to Tex's wife, Leanna, once on the phone but the energy that flowed through her voice is witness to the fact that she's a bundle of positivity. "I haven't met her in person yet, but I talked to her on the phone. I think she'll be fun to work with."
We eat in silence, both watching the other. When he finally pushes his plate aside, he clears
"It was really hard for her." I turn back towards the box. "It would have been too much for her if I…"
"Don't say it." I hear a rustle behind me before her arms circle my shoulders. "It would have been too much for all of us. You scared the shit out of me, Bridge. It devastated Vanessa. We need you so much."
I clasp both my hands over hers. "When she's done with the seminar, you'll both come over for dinner, okay?"
"It's a date. I'll go now so you can get back to work."
I laugh as I turn to embrace her. This is the start of my new beginning and there's one person I can't wait to see.
Chapter 18
"I feel like I haven't seen you in a week." I wrinkle my nose realizing how pathetic that sounds. It's only been four days since he left my apartment after seeing his picture on my phone.
He flicks open the napkin in front of him and places it across his lap before he scoops one of the warm pieces of bread from the basket the waiter just dropped off. "I had to cover someone's shift. I didn't have to but I owed him one."
I could tell by the weariness in his voice last night when he called me to say goodnight that he was exhausted. I know that he loves his job but I see the toll the physical demands take on him. He's sitting in front of me now, in a crowded bistro, less than a block from my new apartment, with a growth of beard on his face, and a tired look in his eyes.
"You're a good guy."
"I'm a good guy?" he repeats back with a wide grin. "I'm not a great lover? I'm not the sexiest man you've ever known?"
I try to hide the small smile that is tugging at the edge of my lips by taking a bite of the bread.
"That's the game you're going to play with me?" He lifts the bread in his hand in the air before tipping his chin towards me. "I actually like that you think I'm a good guy."
I cover my hand with my mouth while I chew and swallow. "I bet everyone who knows you thinks you're a good guy."
The playfulness that is there in his eyes disappears with the next blink he takes. He bites into the bread again as his gaze floats over the interior of the bistro. I know immediately where his mind has darted off to, so I pull it back in.
"I'm going to start on two new portraits tomorrow."
When he looks at me again I see a calm softness in the lines of his brow. "Who are they of?"
"Both of them are women," I begin before I lean back to let the waiter place a small garden salad in front of me. I wait until he gives Dane his before I continue. "One is the wife of a man I met a week ago and the other is a really beautiful woman I know."
"She can't possibly be more beautiful than you." He stabs his fork into a piece of tomato before scooping it into his mouth.
My mouth curves. "She's gorgeous. She has dark hair, bright green eyes. She should have been a model."
He licks a wayward drop of salad dressing from his bottom lip. "What does she do?"
I know that I promised Harper I wouldn't tell anyone about her portrait, but this is Dane and there's no harm in sharing some masked details with him. "I met her when I went for physical therapy."
"It's your therapist?" He munches on a leaf of lettuce. "Her name is Harper, right?"
The only way out of this is to avoid the direct questions completely so I do. "The other woman is older. I mean she's older than we are. She's been married to the same man for thirty years."
"What's she like?"
I've only spoken to Tex's wife, Leanna, once on the phone but the energy that flowed through her voice is witness to the fact that she's a bundle of positivity. "I haven't met her in person yet, but I talked to her on the phone. I think she'll be fun to work with."
We eat in silence, both watching the other. When he finally pushes his plate aside, he clears
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