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“Ringing in your ears?”
She gives a gentle shake of her head, but stops with a grimace. “I did earlier, but it’s not so bad.”
“Headache?”
“Yeah.” Her eyes flicker back to mine after each answer. Does it bother her that I hear her weaknesses? “Throbs a little,” she admits.
“Do you remember what happened?”
“Mm. Aaron Scanlon is getting a divorce and he’s unhappy about it. He technically didn’t mean to hit me.”
“Still charging him,” I growl. “Accidental or not, you don’t get to knock someone the fuck out and get away with it.”
Luc’s eyes flicker to me. “Did you see what happened?”
“Yeah. Dude was drunk and sloppy. Looked like she was telling him to move along, he turned a little fast. Looked like he was just trying to get her hands off him. Instead he clocked her.”
Libby nods. “That’s what happened. X sent me here to get him out, since everyone else is busy. Show my badge, move him along. Tink stopped serving him hours ago, but I think he’s taking more than alcohol. He’s way too sloppy still.”
“Ah, well, I’m sure your cop friend will take care of it,” Luc replies. “I can’t do much about your face; you’re gonna look like Rocky for a while.”
Scowling, Libby brings her fingers up to prod at her lip. “It hurts like a bitch.”
He chuckles. “Gonna hurt way more tomorrow. But it should ease the day after that. Go home and sleep it off, take some aspirin before bed.”
“I was already in my pyjamas before this,” she huffs. “I was down for the night.”
“And then you changed your mind and decided to party.” Luc pats her knee and grins. “That’ll teach you. Once someone is in their jammies, they stay in their jammies. Except, of course, when your nurse gets home.”
“You’re such a pig.” Lib shoves him back when he laughs and closes up the bag he brought along. “Kari’s brother know you speak about her that way?”
“Fuck no, and if you tell him, I’ll rip those strips off your face and take the tiny hairs with them. Don’t be a snitch, Tate. It’s ugly.”
It does my heart good to see her chuckle at his jokes. To see her smile, even if it stops again when the split begins to open. It makes me happy that she’s sitting up on her own and doesn’t need to be rushed to the hospital.
I suspect she’s perfectly fine to go home alone tonight, but I won’t tell her that. I’m sticking to her like Velcro, because I’m not ready to let go.
Mydatewith Sophia was a total bust, and though that should enrage me, I find I don’t particularly care. She stands in front of Jay in a way that speaks to my soul. She’s not holding him back, but comforting him, and the fact that he needs comfort helps me see them as… well… vulnerable.
Not in the way that I see his jugular and I’m ready to strike, but in the way that humanizes him. Maybe he’s the bad guy in my story, but maybe he’s not. No matter who he is, I still have Libby sitting right in front of me, bringing me comfort by her presence, the way Sophia brings comfort to the other Bishop.
It takes only a minute or two for Luc and Mitchell to collect all of their shit and leave the room, and without a word, but with a small nod, Sophia takes Jay’s hand and pulls him away too. He watches me with narrowed eyes that speak of betrayal more than rage. How dare someone try to seduce his woman? How dare someone try to break a family?
“Why were you on a date with Sophia?”
I glance up as Libby holds a fresh ice pack to her cheek. She rests both feet on my lap, her elbows on her knees. It’s like history circling around and repeating itself.
I could be eleven all over again. Maybe I could restart what began back then.
Catching sight of a silver rod in the pencil tin in the left corner of the desk, I chuckle and reach out for the letter opener. The universe is fucking with us.
“It wasn’t a date. It was a business meeting.”
Libby’s eyes scour my face as she gives a slow nod. “Okay. Why was Soph at a business meeting in her underwear and stripper heels?”
I force a smile and shrug. “She likes wearing those shoes?”
“Nope.” Libby drops her feet and turns to slide off the desk. “Nobody likes wearing those shoes. I’m leaving.”
