Page 85 of Bridesmaid for Hire
What would I tell Gary?
His family?
Would we have to fly his body back to America?
Would we do a Viking funeral here? I know Gary mentioned it once during a dinner party. Brody said it would be badass.
My stomach rolls with nausea as I stare down at his unmoving form.
Are they going to have to suck the venom out?
Do they have antivenom with them?
They must…
God, I can’t believe this happened.
“Is he okay?” I ask, my worry starting to skyrocket now as Haisley puts her arm around my shoulder and the rest of the group closes in.
The man might annoy me, and we bicker more than a married couple, but the thought of losing Brody makes me feel like I’d actually be losing a precious part of my life.
And if that isn’t a scary realization, I don’t know what is.
Both Liko and Nakoa sit back on their heels, wiping their foreheads, as if they’re giving up.
“What’s going on?” Haisley asks.
Liko glances up at Nakoa who then looks back at him, both with confused expressions on their faces.
“Oh God,” I say, hand to my chest, worry driving up my spine. “Is he…is he going to die?”
Liko scratches his head and then gently places some gauze over the blood, soaking it. He dabs a few times before lifting the gauze andrevealing a straight cut along his calf. “He wasn’t bitten,” Liko says. “It’s a scratch from…a branch.”
“What?” I ask as I squat down closer now.
Liko points to the scratch. “See, it’s a straight line. If he was bitten, he would have two distinct bite marks right here, but”—he smooths the gauze over his calf again—“this is just a scratch…from a plant.”
My hand clamps over my mouth as I let out a snort.
Dear God, he passed out over a scratch.
Tongue out and everything.
If he thought the puking was bad, wait until he gets a load of this.
“Is everything okay?” Reginald asks, moving in close with his walking stick.
Brody stirs and they flip him back over, dirt from the path smeared across his face as he slowly opens his eyes.
He blinks a few times and then says, “I’m…I’m alive?”
Do not laugh, Maggie.
Show compassion.
Be the empathetic lover you should be in this moment.
Swallowing my enjoyment. I take Brody’s hand in mine and squeeze it tightly. “My darling, you’re alive.”
