We all spin to look at Sammi, who has a small, but very smug, smile on her face.
Bram barks out a laugh. ‘Why?God, I’m scared to ask.’
‘Because,’ she says slowly, like she’s explaining something to a roomful of children, ‘I’m a lawyer, so I know better than you lot how often things from your past can come back to bite you.’ Her eyes dart to mine. ‘No pun intended.’
I don’t dare reply. I feel like I’ll be in trouble if I do. Instead I nod, which feels like a safe bet.
‘And so,’ she continues, holding up her phone triumphantly, ‘I keep as much data as I can for seven years, like financial records. For me and for all of you, too.’
Honestly, that seems kind of insane, but I don’t say that. What I do say is, ‘Sam, you’re a lifesaver!’ And from the way she smiles at me that was definitely the right call.
Sammi sends the contact details to Florence, who forwards them on to Cam, who promises to get right on it. That’s all we can do, for now.
Well, except for the very important business of celebrating my birthday.
‘Come on,’ Elias says, hopping to his feet like he’s read my mind. ‘The others will be two drinks deep at this rate.’ He heads for the bar and we all follow him.
But Bram hangs back.
‘You could have told me,’ he says quietly as we walk together, and I feel a stab of guilt pierce my chest. There’s genuine hurt in his voice, and it was never my intention to hurt him. I owe him everything.
‘I know.’
He studies me for a moment or two before his features soften, eyes flicking to Florence, who’s looking back for me from the door. ‘But I’m glad you had someone there.’
She smiles at me, and an enormous, irrepressible grin takes over my face before I remember Bram’s there and I try to temper it. ‘I know I wasn’t supposed to be dating. You said?—’
‘I said you shouldn’t jump into a relationship with just anyone,’ he interrupts, gently. He cocks his head to the side, sweeping his hair out of his eyes. ‘But Florence isn’t just anyone, is she?’
‘No,’ I say through the catch in my throat. ‘She isn’t.’
His face changes then, and a flicker of something like relief, or perhaps pride, crosses his features for a moment until he clears his throat and pats an inked hand firmly on my shoulder.
‘Come on, halfling,’ he says, mouth tugging into a grin. ‘Let’s go celebrate your birthday.’
ChapterTwenty-Three
FLORENCE
It’s a few days after Quinn’s party when it happens.
I’m trying to sneak a nap in the break room again when Cam bursts in. He takes one look at my fleece cocoon and bursts out laughing.
‘Florence, it’s almost July,’ he says, plopping himself down on the sofa opposite me.
I screw up my face at him. ‘Tell that to the air conditioning.’ I’ve never been good at retaining warmth. I’m cold blooded, like a lizard.
He looks at the thermostat on the wall, then back at me. ‘It’s twenty-one degrees, just like always.’
I harrumph. ‘Fine, maybe I’m just hungry.’
Without missing a beat, Cam fishes two vials of blood out of his pocket and offers them over to me. I swear this man has blood on him every hour of the day.
‘You misleading thyroid patients again?’ I ask, downing one of the vials and almost immediately feeling a little brighter.
Cam just grins. ‘Nah. One of the trainees misread the request form and drew two unnecessary samples. I happened to be in the right place at the right time. And now you are, too.’
The second sample hits the spot. It’s only a tiny amount of blood, but it’ll be enough to perk me up for the rest of my shift, like a vampire espresso. When I look back at Cam, I’m awake enough to note that he’s still sitting opposite me, looking at me expectantly.