The Officer's Runaway Wife & Secret Son novel Chapter 95

The long table was crowded. Clara sat between two female interns who had just graduated, directly across from Noah.

A chair was pulled out, and Rhys squeezed in, sitting next to Noah.

"What are you drinking, man?" a young man asked enthusiastically, handing over a drink menu. "The mojitos here are solid."

Rhys didn't take the menu. "Driving. I'll pass."

The guy looked awkward. "Ah... driving is good. Safety first. Non-alcoholic then?"

"Water."

The young man's awkwardness deepened.

In a hot bar full of bikinis, alcohol, hormones, and electronic music, a grown man demanding water was a buzzkill. At least order a juice?

"Ignore him," Clara laughed, sliding her coconut water toward Rhys. "Occupational hazard. He sees people drinking and instinctively wants to pull out a breathalyzer. Even on vacation, he thinks he's on patrol."

The group laughed politely.

Sitting and drinking was boring, so someone suggested a game. Truth or Dare was too cliché, so they settled on "Ten Fingers"—a variation of "Never Have I Ever."

The rules were simple: Everyone starts with ten fingers up. Going around the circle, you state something you *have* done that you think others haven't. If someone else *has* done it, they keep a finger up (or put one down depending on house rules—here, the goal was to be the last one standing with unique experiences).

The game began.

The first round went to a bespectacled male doctor who had clearly been traumatized by recent scheduling. He dropped a bomb immediately:

"I have worked a continuous forty-eight-hour shift without sleep!"

Groans erupted around the table as fingers folded. But two people remained stoic.

Noah: The pillar of Brighton City's Pediatrics department, the expert on call 24/7.

Rhys: The Police Captain dealing with major traffic accidents, often working days on end.

For them, that level of sleep deprivation was just another Tuesday.

The two men locked eyes, their gazes crossing in the air with a faint scent of gunpowder.

A full round went by. Most people shared embarrassing work stories or funny life anecdotes, keeping the laughter flowing. Clara hadn't done many of the things mentioned, but she enjoyed listening.

Finally, Rhys came out. He looked exasperated as he used a sat-phone to call a family car to come pick her up.

She had asked him, face streaked with tears, if she had caused trouble.

He had rubbed her head and said, "Yeah, big trouble. I won't be able to focus on the rest of the training now."

That had made Clara happy again.

Noah turned his head to look at her, his gaze deep.

Next to them, a girl quietly folded a finger—she, too, had once been that foolish for love.

Rhys stared at Clara's raised hand. His fingers twitched slightly.

He remembered that incident.

Back then, he had only thought she was being childish, making a mess for him to clean up.

He had never stopped to consider what ten kilometers of mountain road actually meant for a girl like her.