Run Before the Papers Are Signed (Nicole Quinn) by Danni Rogers novel Chapter 8

Nicole hung up quickly and forced herself to stay calm. “You probably misheard.”

Cruz squinted at her, clearly suspicious, but he didn’t push it.

Instead, he said, “You and Angela have been tense lately because of the design stuff. I’ll take you both to the amusement park tomorrow. It’ll help you relax.”

Nicole wanted to say no right away, but she stopped herself.

She remembered how she used to beg him to go to amusement parks, and he always called them childish.

If she turned him down now, it might look weird.

“Alright,” she responded softly.

The amusement park was packed with people.

Cruz stayed close to Angela, buckling her into the roller coaster, helping her onto the carousel, and even feeding her ice cream.

Nicole trailed behind like she wasn’t even there.

Then, Cruz got a call from the company and stepped aside to take it. Angela suddenly grabbed Nicole’s wrist. “Let’s try bungee jumping!”

Nicole instinctively pulled her hand back. “I’m not going.”

“Cruz said we should get along,” Angela whispered, sping closer. “Still mad about the design thing? You really hold grudges.”

23.22

People around them started staring curiously.

Nicole pursed her lips, not wanting a scene. She gave in and followed Angela onto the ride.

Click!

The safety bar came down. Angela leaned close again. “Oh, by the way, Cruz promised me a trip to the Maldives after the divorce goes through-”

Before she could finish, the ride jerked violently.

“Ah!”

As soon as the seatbelt snapped, Nicole felt her body go weightless.

She and Angela plummeted from over ten meters high.

The air roared past her ears, and Nicole shut her eyes, bracing for the worst.

But the pain never came. Instead, she landed in a warm embrace.

When she opened her eyes, Cruz’s panicked face was right there.

He held her tightly, his breathing ragged.

“You…”

She barely got the word out before Cruz quickly pulled away like he’d touched something hot.

“I grabbed the wrong person,” he muttered awkwardly, then rushed over to Angela, who lay on the ground. “Angela!”

***

23:2

At the hospital, a doctor hurried up. “She’s losing a lot of blood and needs an urgent transfusion! The blood type is RH negative. The supply is low!”

Cruz immediately looked straight at Nicole.

“You’re RH negative too.” That wasn’t a question, but a statement.

Nicole leaned on the wall, her knee still bleeding. She met Cruz’s eyes and suddenly understood what he wanted.

“Give blood,” he said, stepping in close and whispering, “If you do, I’ll take back the divorce.”

His breath brushed past her ear. It smelled cold and familiar.

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