One Past Midnight by Jessica Shirvington Read Free Book Online Page A

when Denise came back from her break.
    â€œEthan!” she said, looking delighted. “What are you doing here?”
    Drug guy shrugged, sending me a sly look. “Being interrogated.”
    Denise looked at me, the wad of scripts in one hand, phone barely balancing in my other, and smiled. “It’s okay, Sabine. Ethan works at the hospital. They have weekly prescriptions, but usually not till Monday.” She turned to Ethan, closing the distance in a few steps. “I haven’t seen you around in a while. How are you?” She squeezed his arm tenderly.
    â€œAmazing.” His voice dripped with sarcasm.
    Denise just nodded as if he wasn’t being a total jerk and took the scripts from my hand. “I’ll take care of them, Sabine.”
    I shot a look at Ethan, who now seemed to be enjoying himself, just as Mom emerged from her pigeonhole office and called out, “Sabine, can you do the dry-cleaning and coffee run?”
    â€œYeah, ‘cause I can really carry all that,” I answered. But Mom had already closed the door, forgetting my broken wrist. End-of-month accounts can do that.
    Denise looked up from typing prescription details into the computer. “Ethan, why don’t you give Sabine a hand? You don’t mind, do you? I’ll get these processed while you’re out.”
    Ethan frowned, looking annoyed that I’d suddenly become his problem.
    My jaw clicked to the side in anger. I picked up my note-book, intending to stuff it in my backpack, but instead I accidentally knocked the bag off the opposite side of the counter with my cast. The unzipped backpack and all its contents—including my notebook—landed right at Ethan’s feet.
    â€œShit!” I exclaimed as Ethan bent down to pick up my things. I scrambled to get around the counter, but by the time I got to him he was already straightening up, my backback in one hand, my open notebook in the other.
    He passed the bag over, face blank.
    â€œThanks,” I said, putting out my other hand for the notebook. I was sure he must have seen the list, and I wanted to kick myself for using a black marker.
    He handed it over calmly. I shoved it back in my bag while he bent down again to pick up something from under the counter. My heart pounded in my ears. It was a box of pills.
    He looked at me curiously. “Yours?”
    At least I’d had enough foresight to put the pills in a generic white box. He couldn’t know what they were—if he asked, I’d shut him down by saying they were for period pain. But the fact that there was no label or prescription sticker had him looking over the box suspiciously.
    I snatched it from his hand and quickly shoved it in my bag. “Thanks,” I mumbled.
    Now
who looked like the drug dealer?
    â€œNot a problem.” He raised an eyebrow, and I was againstruck by how dark his eyes were. A deep ocean blue. My gaze traveled down to his mouth and somehow became stuck there. I stared at the arc of his full bottom lip just as his teeth slid smoothly over it as if he were contemplating some-thing important. He cleared his throat and I blushed, caught mid-gawk. “We should get going then.” He gestured toward the door.
    â€œOh no. You don’t have to . . . I’ll make two trips. It’s fine.” Then, finding some backbone, I narrowed my eyes and added firmly, “Really.”
    He shrugged and half-smiled, enjoying my discomfort. “I’ve got nothing better to do.”
    Oh, the flattery.
    â€œWhatever,” I said. If he wanted to play help-the-invalid, that was his issue. And I did
not
stare at his ass after I took off my white coat and followed him out of the store. It was more of a fleeting glance.

If Ethan had been frosty to me in the drugstore, he was positively arctic after we left. I let him suffer the awkward silence I had no intention of fixing. It was clear he didn’t want to be doing this any more than