Page 30 of Switch

“You want a drink?” I ask, heading to the kitchen.

“Soda’s fine,” she says, setting her purse on the counter.

I take my cut off and put it on the back of a chair at the dining room table. Then I grab a can from the fridge, popping it open before handing it to her. Oreo scratches at the door and I quicklylet her in before we settle on the couch, Oreo hopping up to claim her usual spot next to me, her head resting heavily on my lap.

“She really loves you,” Bella says, watching as I scratch behind Oreo’s ears.

“She’s good company,” I reply, letting my fingers trail along Oreo’s neck.

Bella takes a sip of her soda, leaning back. “So, do you like what you do?”

“Most days,” I say, glancing at her. “What about you?”

Her face lights up, and she nods. “I do. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do, you know? Nursing’s hard sometimes, but it’s rewarding. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

I nod, taking that in. “You close with your family?”

She smiles softly, setting her soda on the coffee table. “Yeah. My sisters and I are tight. We kind of had to be after my parents died.”

The words hit harder than I expected, and I pause. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

She shrugs, her smile turning bittersweet. “It was a long time ago. I was seventeen, and my older sister, Brooke, was only twenty. She got custody of us—me and Brianna. She had no idea what she was doing, but somehow she made it work. Thank God for our parents’ life insurance. It covered the house and got us through school.”

“That’s a lot to deal with,” I say, meaning it.

“It was,” she admits, her voice quiet. “But we got through it. And now… I don’t know. I think it made us stronger.”

I nod, running my hand over Oreo’s back. “My mom died when I was little. It’s always just been me and my dad.”

Bella’s eyes soften, and she tilts her head slightly. “What’s he like?”

“He’s a good guy. Electrician in the union. Worked his ass off to make sure I had what I needed. We’re close, but… you know, he worries. Especially about the club.”

She studies me for a second before asking, “What about the club?”

I hesitate, giving her a small, wry smile. “I’m the treasurer, so I handle the books for Perdition and the club. It’s not just about numbers, though. There’s… other stuff.”

“Other stuff?” she prompts, raising an eyebrow.

I smirk. “Let’s just say it’s not your average nine-to-five.”

She laughs, shaking her head. “How long have you been with them?”

I run a hand over my head, thinking back. “Shit, I joined when I was twenty-three. I’m thirty-eight now. So, fifteen years, give or take.”

“That’s a long time,” she says, her voice thoughtful.

“Yeah,” I reply, nodding. “It is.”

The room falls into a comfortable silence, the kind that doesn’t need filling. Bella leans back against the couch, her gaze soft as she watches Oreo snore quietly.

For the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. And I don’t want this night to end.

Oreo stirs, her head lifting lazily before she climbs off the couch, stretching her long legs before flopping onto the rug. The room feels quieter without her snoring. I glance over at Bella, still sitting on the other side of the couch, her hands resting in her lap, fidgeting slightly with the hem of her sweater.

I pat the spot next to me, keeping my tone casual. “Come here.”

Her lips part slightly as she looks at me, her teeth grazing her bottom lip. She hesitates for a second, then scoots closer. She’s nervous—I can see it in the way her hands grip the edge of thecushion and hear it in the slight hitch of her breath. But she’s here, and that tells me all I need to know.

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