Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 217988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1090(@200wpm)___ 872(@250wpm)___ 727(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1090(@200wpm)___ 872(@250wpm)___ 727(@300wpm)
“It’s all good. You’re fine Maybe we should go somewhere more comfortable so you can sit down.” His voice was coming out a bit strange and his eyes were watering, but mostly he was worried about her.
“Yes. Yes.” She walked down the passage and he frowned as he realized she was still limping. He reached down and picked up the object that had slipped from her pocket.
Yep, it was a stun gun. Leaving it on the side table in the foyer, he walked into the living room to find her sitting on a sofa, her elbows resting on her thighs as she leaned forward with her head down.
“I can’t believe I nearly went to jail. Are you sure the money wasn’t stolen?” She looked up at him. Then her eyes widened, and she got to her feet. “Oh, shitballs! I forgot about your nose. Here, let me get you some ice. My gosh, I can’t believe I did that. I’m not usually that clumsy. I’m generally very graceful, like a ballerina.”
As she spoke, she tripped over something and nearly landed on her knees. He tried to reach for her, but she waved a hand at him. “I’m good. Nothing to see here. Graceful like a ballerina. Graceful like a ballerina.”
Did she think that if she said it enough it might come true?
When she limped back to him, he frowned. She grabbed his chin, tilting his head back. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I did that. I’m never this klutzy.” She put the ice pack over his nose. “What if I’ve broken your nose? That looks painful.”
“I don’t think it’s broken. It’s already stopped bleeding.” He was more worried about her. Removing the ice pack, he gestured to her foot.
“Can I see your foot? Did you hurt it?”
“My foot? Oh yeah, I twisted it. But it’s fine.”
“You’re limping. I think that means it’s not fine. Please, sit down and let me look.”
“I should get you a cloth so you can clean your hands. Oh no, I think you got blood on your T-shirt. Why don’t you take it off and I’ll see if I can spot-clean it?”
She tugged at the bottom of his T-shirt. He grabbed it, pulling it back down.
“Uh, Autumn.”
“Just take it off, man!” she said with a puff of air. She glared up at him. Then down at where she had hold of his T-shirt. Then she stepped back, letting go. “Oh shit. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to attack you like that.” She was bright red and looking at everything but him. “I just . . . I was worried about your T-shirt getting stained. I wasn’t trying to get your clothes off. Promise.”
“Autumn, it’s okay.”
She sat on the sofa. “Is it?” Her hands shook as she covered her face. “Jeez Louise, could anything else go wrong today?”
“What else has happened?” he asked calmly, taking a seat on the coffee table in front of her.
“Besides my bathroom flooding, twisting my ankle, you seeing my hard nipples, making a fool of myself, nearly ending up in jail, breaking your nose, and trying to strip off your T-shirt in the living room? Oh, nothing.”
“Well, when you put it like that, it does sound pretty bad.”
“Pretty bad? It’s a disaster.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“I broke your nose!” she wailed.
“My nose is fine.” Sore as hell, but he was fairly certain it wasn’t broken. “And everything else is fixable. You were only concerned about cleaning my T-shirt. You didn’t make a fool of yourself or nearly end up in jail. Now, as for the bathroom, I’m sure we can fix it. The thing I’m most concerned about, though, is your foot.”
“My foot?”
“Yes. May I look at it please?”
“Oh, it’s fine.” She waved a hand in the air. “Nothing to be concerned about. But you should keep that ice pack on your nose. It looks like it could bruise.” She got to her feet. “Let me go get a cloth for you to clean your hands.”
“Autumn. Sit.” He forced some firmness into his voice. He hoped he did it right. He wasn’t a dominant guy, but he spent a lot of time around them. Usually, he was happy in the background, letting someone else take charge and make the decisions.
But that laidback, easy-going guy wasn’t what Autumn needed right now. She required some firmness to get her to sit still and let him take care of her.
To his shock, she immediately sat.
Okay, he must have done that right. Either that or she was even less dominant than he was.
Hmm. Something to think about.
Well, it would be if he was going to see her again. Which was probably never going to happen after what had happened today. He felt rather sad about that.
He held out his hand. “Let me see your foot.”