The setting might have been romantic, but the conversation hadn’t been, until just now.
He broke our connection and rose. “You did the cooking. I’ll get the dishes.”
I stood as well, and did the first thing that came to mind: I hiked up the side of my shirt, exposing more than just the bandage on my ribs. “Shouldn’t we redo my bandages tonight?” It was a silly attempt to get his hands back on me, but it was the best I had.
He shook his head. “Tomorrow.” With that simple word, he declined the opportunity to touch me—our moment was over. “Wear the cap, and no scratching at the wound site,” he warned me.
“Yes, sir.”
He shooed me away and wouldn’t let me help with the dishes. He was one of the good guys.
That night, as I went to sleep, I hoped that this really would be the beginning of the rest of my life.
Chapter 19
Debbie
The next morning, I woke more refreshed than I’d been in a long time. No nightmare had woken me, so I’d managed to remain alone in bed all night. I reached out to where Luke had been yesterday morning, closed my eyes, and remembered my first sight—his face as he slept peacefully next to me, keeping me safe from my nighttime demons. This morning, I missed that sight.
I closed my eyes and replayed our shower together in my head. Wondering what could have been had roiled my thoughts and wound me tighter and tighter. What if I hadn’t asked about the scars? What would have happened if I’d been able to soap his legs the way he’d done mine? How high would I have gone?
How exciting would it have been? I remembered the shower scene in the last romance novel I’d finished. The pages had left me panting.
In a very short time, I’d gone from not even knowing his name, to being nervous taking off my shirt so he could bandage me up, to being naked in the shower with him and almost jumping him.
Staying with him for just a day had jumbled my emotions. How was I supposed to act around a man who’d already seen me naked, already had his hands soaping my body, already shared my bed—though not in the biblical sense, yet we hadn’t even held hands or kissed. No, that wasn’t right. He’d placed his hand over mine as we talked at the table, and that simple gesture had rendered me speechless. Everything was backward and confusing the hell out of me.
Luke had joked that if I bumped into him again, he might not let me go. Did that mean he was attracted to me? Or was it just a joke? He’d had his hands on me in the shower, but hadn’t tried to cop a feel. What kind of guy doesn’t do that if he’s interested? None that I’d ever known.
I rolled out of bed, and after dressing, I brushed my hair out, replaced the cap, and found Luke in the kitchen.
Those dimples came out as soon as he saw me. “How’d you sleep?”
“Much better.” I touched the cap. “Except I want to ditch this.”
He offered me a mug. “Coffee. I don’t know how you take it, though.”
I accepted the hot mug. “Just sugar.”
He pointed. “Sugar’s on the table. Leave the cap for another day or two. It’ll keep you from scratching it and opening up the cut.”
I put my cup down on the table. “Does the glue really work?”
“I wouldn’t use it if it didn’t. How’s the arm this morning?”
I showed him I could partially raise my arm. “Better.”
“Today you want to keep moving it a little bit, just trying to extend the range of motion,” he said. “Nothing heavy, but push a little bit against the pain in all directions to keep it from freezing up.”
“I will,” I answered. After sweetening my coffee, I got tingles just thinking about my next question. “Can I shower again this morning?” Really what I wanted to ask was, Could we shower together again if I don’t ask any more stupid questions?
“No,” he said firmly. “Tomorrow. We gotta keep it dry for another day. We shouldn’t have tempted fate yesterday.”
Did he mean we’d tempted fate with the water on the cut or the naked physical proximity? I voted for the latter and wanted a do-over.
“I have to go into work this morning,” I told him.
A shocked look overtook him. “What?”
“I called my boss, and she’ll let me work at the Fairfax store.”
“No. You should rest.” He didn’t make it sound like a request.
I straightened up to his challenge. “I need money, and that means working.”
“Not today.”
“What? You don’t think I can or should support myself?”
“I didn’t say that. Just wait until tomorrow.”
I sipped my coffee before responding. “Thank you for your concern, but I start today.”
He huffed. “Is your arm good enough to drive?”
“Sure,” I said with more conviction than I felt. My arm was still pretty sore, but if I was careful, driving with one arm worked.
He walked toward the hallway. “Burrito is in the microwave for you,” he said as he left.
“Thank you,” I called after him.
When he returned, the scowl on his face hadn’t improved. He slapped a key on the table “To the door,” he explained. “And promise you’ll keep the cap on all day.”
“Sure,” I shot back. “Any other demands?” By the time the microwave dinged, I was alone again. I heard the door to the garage slam closed. Apparently, Mr. Grumpy didn’t like to lose an argument.
It wasn’t his place to tell me when I could go back to work.
I pushed through the glass doors of the original Mama’s Minimart in Fairfax.
Annie turned as the door buzzer announced my arrival. “What are you doing here?” she asked, eyes wide.
“How was DC?” I shot back, deflecting her question.
“Don’t ask… I thought you left.” It was Monday, one of her normal days to work the Fairfax store.
I hadn’t thought to call her yesterday to explain things. “Change of plans.” I nodded to the customers by the hot dog counter. “I’ll explain later.”
“Whatever.” The word was nonchalant, but her demeanor gave her away. She was itching to know what had changed, and she would interrogate me as soon as the store was empty.
Mama Garcetti came out from her office in the back, just as the customers made their way up to the register. “You know I require my girls to wear a bra on duty,” she said, too loudly for my taste.
I felt the stare of the guy at the register. “I’m sorry,” I started.
“And no caps or hats either,” she added.
I shifted toward her and lowered my voice. “My doctor’s orders.” I slid the knit cap off. “It’s to protect the cut I got on my head. It’s just for a day or two.” I tilted my head forward so she could see the wound.
“Oh, you poor thing. I had no idea.”
I tapped the bandaged area on my side lightly. “And I have another one here. That’s why I can’t wear…” I caught the guy at the register still staring at me and didn’t finish the sentence.