On Dublin Street(31)

Although pale, I noted her trembling had stopped. “Better. I haven’t eaten today. I just felt faint.”


“What about the headaches?”


She smiled reassuringly. “Honestly, I haven’t been eating enough because of my PhD. I’m feeling the pressure and I’m stressing out. I’ll take better care.”


“Here you go.” The clerk held out two of the heavy shopper bags.


I muttered thanks and handed one to Hannah, while taking the other one.


“Let me.” Ellie reached for Hannah’s bag.


“Oh no, you don’t.” I took her elbow. “We’re getting some food into you.”


Ellie tried to argue that she’d eat later at her mom’s Sunday dinner—a dinner I had thankfully managed to talk my way out of, telling Ellie I really wanted to get a few hours of work in—but I convinced her to at least grab a snack at this cute little bistro around the corner. Hannah walked beside us with Ellie’s hand on her back, guiding her through the crowds on Princes Street since she’d decided to start reading one of her books right away. I didn’t know how anyone could do that—reading while walking? It gave me travel sickness.


We were chatting about the upcoming Festival when I saw Braden. We’d seen each other at the bar on Friday when he, Ellie, Adam, Jenna, Ed and a few of Braden’s colleagues had decided to stop by Club 39 for a drink. We hadn’t really talked much and his attitude towards me had definitely veered into the friend zone.


I didn’t know if the feeling I got when he did that bothered me. But I did know I was feeling something when I saw him with her.


Braden was walking towards us, easily spotted in the crowd because of his height… and, well, his hotness. He was wearing dark blue jeans, black boots, and a dark grey long-sleeved thermal Henley that showcased his sculpted, broad-shouldered scrumptiousness.


In his hand was another hand.


It belonged to a woman I hadn’t ever seen before.


“Braden,” Ellie murmured and Hannah’s head popped up from her book, her whole face lighting up when she saw him.


“Braden!” she called out and his head jerked around from smiling down at his companion to follow the voice. His smile widened when he saw Hannah.


As we approached each other, I suddenly wished I was anywhere but where I was. The little kick I got in my gut when I saw him with someone else was not fun. In fact, that kick was quite possibly the worst joke that had been played on me in a while.


I also wasn’t keen on the carefully polite expression on his face when he saw I was with Ellie and Hannah.


I glanced up at Ellie as we came to a stop only to find her glaring daggers at the woman with Braden. Bewildered and frankly astonished, I couldn’t help but hiss her name in question.


She looked down at me, her jaw clenched. “I’ll tell you later.”


“Hannah.” Braden hugged her into his side and nodded at her bags. “Been spending your gift card?”


“Yeah. I got loads of books. Thanks again,” she added shyly.


“You’re welcome, sweetheart.” He let her go and turned to us. “Els, you’re looking pale. You okay?”


She was still glowering at him and I wanted to know what the hell I was missing. “I was feeling a bit faint. I haven’t eaten.”


“I’m taking her to get some food.” I thought I should mention that, so he didn’t think we were dragging her around when she wasn’t feeling well.


“Good,” he murmured, catching my eye. “Jocelyn, this is Vicky.”


Vicky and I looked at one another, our smiles polite. She reminded me a lot of Holly: tall, blonde, pretty and as natural as freaking Barbie. Still, she was hot.


Braden definitely had a type and I was not it. No wonder he’d stopped flirting with me. His sexual radar must have been wonky when we first met, but clearly it had been restored to order.


“Hello, Vicky,” Ellie purred unhappily.


I couldn’t help it—my eyebrows hit my hairline before I could stop them. Ellie sounded practically predatory.


I was impressed.


And definitely curious.


Braden shot his sister a quelling look. “I had my dinner meeting last night and Vicky was at the next table. We decided to catch up. Thought we’d grab some breakfast.”


In other words, Vicky was at the next table and they’d hooked up. I shrugged off the unfamiliar uneasiness that came over me. My chest felt a little sore and I was feeling a little queasy. Maybe Ellie wasn’t food-deprived— maybe we’d both eaten something bad yesterday.


“Nice to see you again, Ellie,” Vicky replied sweetly. She seemed nice enough.


“Hmm.” Ellie blatantly brushed her off, rolling her eyes and then skewering them into Braden. “Are you coming to dinner this afternoon?”


I watched the muscle in his jaw flex. He definitely wasn’t amused by his sister’s attitude. “Of course.” His eyes travelled back to me. “I’ll see you both there.”


“Joss can’t make it. She has stuff to do.”