I grab a sandwich from the counter and take a seat across the square table from Garrett and Dean.
揌ey. Sorry you had to wait for me.?
揘o worries,?my brother answers. 揟he chocolate pudding here kicks ass. I remember it from when Charlotte was born梞ade the wait worth it.?
I take a bite of my sandwich. I eat sandwiches a lot these days梩hey抮e quick, filling, generally healthy, and require little cleanup梑asically the ideal meal for a single guy.
揝o what抯 up? Why did you guys want to meet for lunch??
揇oes something have to be up? Can抰 I just want to visit my older brother??Garret asks. 揥e had a few days off this week.?
揋otta love those unused snow days,?Dean adds, his blue eyes scanning from the door of the cafeteria, across the room, then back again.
揙-kay . . .?I look back and forth between them, because something seems off.
Shady.
Before I can push the issue, Dean抯 attention darts to the doorway.
揌ey, look, there抯 Violet.?
I turn around in my chair. We worked on two of the car accident cases together, but this is the first time I抳e actually looked at her.
Vi stands in the doorway, her eyes drifting around the crowded room behind a pair of sexy as hell, black-rimmed librarian glasses she doesn抰 often wear at work.
She抯 also wearing the bunny scrubs today梔ark blue and dotted with little white rabbit faces. Scrubs look good on Violet梬hich is a feat in and of itself梑ut those scrubs are something else entirely.
They remind me of pajamas.
And that makes me think about what Vi wears to bed. Lacy, sheer lingerie or barely there cotton ensembles that are as translucent as a wet T-shirt on spring break. And that makes me imagine Violet in bed, wearing nothing at all. Laid out bare, with that long dark hair spilling over the pillow and those bedroom eyes beckoning.
And that pretty picture almost always turns me on.
I haven抰 had a public erection since I was a teenager, but if I let myself contemplate Vi in those Peter Cottontail scrubs long enough梩hat抣l do the fucking job.
揌ow do you know Violet??I ask Dean, still watching as she navigates the food line.
揝he抯 in Lainey抯 sewing circle.?
揕ainey has a sewing circle??
I thought sewing circles were for rocking-chair-sitting, gray-haired ladies in the 1800s.
Dean lifts a shoulder. 揑f it involves making something awesome out of absolutely nothing, Lainey does it. It抯 like witchcraft. Hot, modern-day witchcraft.?
He cups his hands around his mouth and calls across the room. 揌ey, Vi!?
When she doesn抰 hear him over the thunderous chatter of the cafeteria, he presses two fingers to his lips and whistles梞aking Violet jump before her attention shifts our way.
Dean waves her in. 揥e have an open seat here梒ome sit with us.?
For a quick second, Violet抯 gaze vacillates warily from me to Garrett, but she quickly flashes a bright smile and takes a step toward us.
And then she trips.
Over nothing but air.
Momentary panic stabs me in the chest, but she recovers! Catching herself in a half turn around an occupied chair, lifting her tray over the head of the person sitting in it, while still managing to keep a single thing from spilling, with an agility that抯 goddamn impressive. Especially for her.
揌ey, guys,?she says when she reaches us unscathed, sliding into the open chair beside me. 揟hanks梩his place is a madhouse today.?
Vi takes a drink of her iced tea and makes small talk with Dean about the upcoming wedding.
揑 can抰 wait to see how the table linens look,?Violet says.
揧ou抮e going to Dean and Lainey抯 wedding??I ask.
揧eah.?
揌ey,?Dean says, leaning forward. 揑 just got an idea, just this second sitting here. The seating arrangements have been driving Lainey a little cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. Some of the tables have an odd number of chairs and she likes even numbers, you know??
I抳e met Lainey Burrows . . . she抯 almost as laid-back as Brayden. There抯 no way she suddenly has a rabid obsession with symmetry.
But Violet nods, like that抯 a totally normal thing to say.
揜ight. I mean, who doesn抰？？
揈xactly,?Dean continues. 揝o, since you抮e coming solo to the wedding, Vi, and Connor here isn抰 bringing a date either梬ould it be okay if we sat you two together??
And my brother and Dean抯 need to visit me here at the hospital suddenly becomes so clear.
For a few seconds, Violet says nothing.
And I don抰 say anything because I抦 too busy waiting to see what she抯 going to say.
揂h . . . yeah, sure,?she eventually stammers out, the way people do when they抮e not sure. 揅onnor and I know each other梚t抣l be fun. It抯 not like I抣l knock the candle centerpieces over and set the table on fire.?She barks out a harsh laugh, then adds under her breath, 揌opefully.?
My brother抯 lounging back in his chair, balancing on the two rear legs梐 habit my mother tried and failed to break him of. But now he leans forward, bringing the front two legs to the floor with a decisive smack.
揑 have an even better idea. Since you guys are already sitting together梬hy don抰 you just go to the wedding together??
揋ood thinking, D,?Dean says smoothly. 揟hat is a better idea.?
揅onnor, you could pick Violet up. I mean, that抯 one less car in the parking lot and it抯 going to be packed, right, Dean??
Dean nods. 揂nd it would help reduce the carbon footprint of the wedding.?
揥e all have to do our part,?Garrett tells us solemnly, like he抯 been possessed by Al Gore.
Violet抯 eyes dart back and forth between my brother and his best friend條ike she抯 the deer and they抮e the headlights. Her voice is breathy and high-pitched as she tries, 揑 . . . uh . . . well . . . ?
In order to be good at my job梐nd I抦 very, very good at my job桰 sometimes need to assess a patient抯 status based on body language alone. If they抮e in pain, and if so, how much pain. They can抰 always tell me, so I have to read it on their faces.
Violet is unguarded, charmingly honest. Everything she feels is always right there on the surface.
At the moment her expression is awash in hesitation梥wirling with uncertainty, doubt. Not because she seems particularly opposed to Garrett抯 suggestion . . . but because she doesn抰 know if I am.
And not knowing if a guy is willing to take you out after it抯 already been suggested in front of him comes with a hefty heaping of awkward. Ask anyone who抯 ever been set up by their no-longer-gives-a-shit grandma or their meddling Aunt Jean.
Embarrassment spreads across Violet抯 face like strawberry jam, painting her pretty cheeks a shameful pink.
And that really doesn抰 work for me.
Because Violet is awesome and beautiful梐nd she doesn抰 deserve to be embarrassed about anything. Ever.
So I sack up.
揑 think it抯 a great idea.?
She turns my way sharply, lips parted in shock and awe.
揧ou do??
When my eyes meet hers, it抯 like the air particles slow down around us. Insulating us from the cling and clang of the cafeteria, and it抯 just us in this quiet, secluded moment together.
揧eah, I do.?
I can sense Garrett and Dean watching us with rapt attention from across the table.
揑 would love to give you a ride, Violet.?
And the moment is broken.
Dean snorts, his shoulders jerking. My brother coughs, smothering a laugh.
Because they just can抰 help themselves. They抮e surrounded by adolescents all day, so at least half their brains still function at a teenage boy level.