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“Eli? No. She went home for the night.”
“Has she been around a lot?”
Bridget narrowed her gaze. “Yeah. She’s a good friend.”
“Good.” Jerica put her hands in her lap, folding them together. “I was kind of hoping to catch you alone.”
“Why?”
“Your friend scares me a little.”
“What?” Bridget could have laughed. Eli wouldn’t hurt a fly if she could avoid it. She cried every time she had to put down one of her animals, and Bridget knew the day she had to put down old Max, the pup who lived on her deck, Eli would be devastated for months. She’d never known anyone to be afraid of her.
Jerica lifted a shoulder and dropped it. “She’s very protective of you.”
“Oh.” Though Bridget was confused. She hadn’t seen any protectiveness from Eli when Jerica had been around before. In fact, it had been the exact opposite. Eli had encouraged Bridget to do more than talk to the pretty nurse. “Well, she’s not here, and I don’t expect her back.”
“Okay.” Jerica’s gaze dropped to Bridget’s dinner. “How are you doing?”
“As well as can be expected, I suppose. They just pinned up my ankle this morning, so I’m bound to be sent home soon.”
Jerica nodded. “I hope it’s not too awful a recovery.”
“I’m sure it’ll be worse to see what my cruiser looks like.” Bridget tried to make light of the situation, but she knew it hadn’t come off right. She was so bad at this flirting thing. That was why she and Eli had worked so well—they’d known each other since they were in diapers. There was no trying to impress Eli into liking her. It was kind of a requirement of being in the same class together.
“I’m betting it looks pretty squished.” Jerica’s voice was soft.
“Probably,” Bridget replied. She didn’t really want to think about it, but she still hadn’t remembered anything about the accident, and part of her hoped that seeing her vehicle would give her the jolt of reality she needed. Although it could also prove to be too much of a jolt. “I was walking with a knee scooter thing before surgery today, so maybe I’ll get back to that tomorrow.”
“I’m sure PT and OT will get you right up and going.”
Jerica’s mood was far more subdued during this visit than the previous one. Bridget tried to pinpoint it but wasn’t finding the reason why there was such a change, especially since Jerica had been the one to come visit her.
“It was nice of you to visit.” Bridget gave her an out if she wanted one. She wouldn’t want Jerica to stay there if she needed to leave.
“Oh, it’s my pleasure really.” Jerica’s cheeks tinged darker. If Bridget didn’t know any better, she’d say Jerica was blushing. It was a lovely color to add to her already dark skin. But she really wished Jerica would look up at her, make eye contact. “Hospital food hasn’t killed you yet?”
Bridget snorted. “Eli’s been sneaking me some food from home.”
“Tsk.” Jerica giggled lightly. “But I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same if I were in your situation. I eat this stuff all the time, and it’s not something I’d like to eat for every meal if I could avoid it.”
“Then why eat it at all?”
Jerica’s tongue dashed across her full lips. “I don’t often have a lot of time to eat, and sometimes it’s nice to walk down and get a fresh hot meal when I’m short on time.”
“Makes sense.”
Bridget cocked her head to the side, trying to decide what to say next. They didn’t know each other at all, and Bridget only remembered one very brief conversation with her. At least she was more with it this time and able to think better. The shock of her accident had eased, and she was a bit more settled now.
“I suppose I shouldn’t keep you.” Jerica moved to stand, but Bridget put out a hand to stop her.
“You don’t have to leave unless you want to. I’d enjoy the company, actually. It gets quiet in here by myself with nothing other than the television.”
“Eli didn’t bring you anything to do?”
Bridget shrugged slightly. “I don’t have many hobbies. I work a lot.”
“No hobbies at all?”
