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“It might be worth losing my bike just to get this kind of attention from you.” He chuckled then winced.
There was a sharp knock at the door and a woman in scrubs with a lab coat covering them entered the room. She put out her hand and Michelle shook it. “I heard you were here, Dr. Ross. I’m Dr. Lassiter. We don’t see heart surgeons down here much.” She turned her attention to Ty. “In fact, this is more of the OR staff than we’ve seen in years. Busy morning for us. Dr. Smith, you’ll be away from work for a couple of days. You’ll also need help at home. Do you have anyone who can see about you?”
“I’ll take care of him,” Michelle said with conviction.
Ty’s brows rose.
Even she was surprised by her lack of thought where that offer was concerned.
“Great. Then I’ll get the paperwork started so you can take him home,” Dr. Lassiter said in a pleased voice, and left.
Home! Ty would be staying at her house. Their last meeting had ended with her squalling all over him and now she was going to have him living with her. If she hadn’t already been having trouble with her emotions where he was concerned, she certainly would now.
But he needed her help and she couldn’t refuse. When she’d opened her mouth to say she’d care for him she’d jumped in at the deep end.
“Having second thoughts, are you?”
She met Ty’s look.
“I can see it written all over your face.”
He was starting to make her angry. Always thinking he could read her mind. She’d managed her feelings and had been getting along just fine until this handsome hunk of a man had come roaring into town.
She straightened her back and gave him a direct look. “No, I was just thinking about what I needed to do to make you comfortable. I don’t have guests often.”
“I’d bet you haven’t had a sleepover in a long time.”
“You make this sound like a slumber party.”
His eyes grew darker. “Slumbering with you has its appeal.”
“Yeah, you look like you went five rounds with a car and you’re out. I don’t think you’ll be chasing me around the condo. If I had to guess, sleeping is all you’ll be doing for a day or so.”
“That cut to the quick.” He sequenced his face as if he were hurt.
“You do have some luck. It’s Friday evening and we’re both off this weekend.”
His eyes turned serious. “I’d hate you to spend your days off seeing to me.”
“Who else is going to?”
“I’ll be all right by myself.”
The ER doctor entered just in time to hear his remark.
“If you don’t have someone with you then I’ll admit you. You have a possible concussion. Someone has to be with you for at least the first twenty-four hours.”
“Whoa, I don’t do hospitals,” Ty said.
“What? You work in a hospital.” Michelle couldn’t believe the distress she heard in his voice.
“But I’m not a patient.”
Michelle looked at Dr. Lassiter and they both said at the same time, “Men.”
“Don’t worry. He’s going home with me,” Michelle told the other woman.
“Good. Here’s his release form and instructions. You’ll need to stay with him. The pain med is going to make him sleepy but you need to wake him up every couple of hours. Make him talk to you.”
“Hello. I’m right here,” Ty said, as if he were a little boy trying to get his mother’s attention so he could lick the cake beaters.
“You’re not going to remember any of this so Dr. Ross needs to know,” the ER doctor told him calmly. To Michelle she said, “I think you’ll have your hands full.”
Michelle was afraid of that.
* * *
Less than an hour later Michelle watched closely as Ty climbed the three steps as she opened the door to her condo.
“Wow, I never expected all this color. Like your office. This is the hidden Michelle.” He looked at her. “I like it.”
Michelle was sure she turned pink. His reaction pleased her. “You can admire or analyze my home later. Right now I need to get you to bed.”
“Great. You say that when I’m so sore and drugged up I can’t act on it.”
“Come on, funny guy. I’ll show you where you can stay.”
She directed him down the hall to the spare room, which she’d decorated in lively colors and avant-garde paintings. “The bath is through there.” She pointed to a smaller door to the right. “I’ll let you get settled then be back to check on you. Holler if you need anything.” She gathered the decorative pillows off the bed and placed them in a chair, before pulling the covers back.
Ty looked at her. “Really, Michelle, thanks for doing this. Hopefully I’ll be out of your hair by tomorrow.”
“Someone has to take care of you.”
He chuckled. “That’s my Michelle, the woman with the warm heart.”
“I’m not your woman.”
He headed toward the bathroom. “Maybe not yet.”
* * *
Ty woke with a start. He shifted in bed and groaned. Every muscle ached and it seemed that every inch of his skin hurt. He looked around, trying to remember where he was. The room was dim but he could make out the teal shade of the wall and the splashes of color of the pictures on it. Michelle’s.
He vaguely remembered crawling between cool sheets and closing his eyes. He pushed the cover back and winced. He would have liked to have been invited over to Michelle’s but he wouldn’t have gone to this extreme to gain an invitation. The slide across the pavement had done a number on him. At least he’d been wearing his helmet or it would have been worse. He kicked to get unbound from the bed sheets. Despite the pain medicine he’d taken, he’d still tossed and turned. He’d appreciate some painkillers right now.
He focused on a painting of a beach scene in yellow, blue and red. Michelle’s place had not just surprised him, it had been a shock. As conservative as she appeared on the outside, her home, along with her office, was filled with color. Here the furniture leaned toward ultra-modern, chrome and glass tables mixed with wooden chairs painted blue. Who would have thought Michelle was a closet color fiend? Her traditional conservative suits in pale colors hid a woman with flair.
Rolling his head to the side, his eyes widened when he saw Michelle sitting in a cushioned chair next to the bed. She was asleep.
Her hair was loose and a lock fell across one eye. She wore knit pants and a sweatshirt with striped socks on her feet. Her clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.
He’d not thought about her good looks in a number of days. Trying to keep up with her sharp wit had occupied his mind. Her house just added one more personality trait for him to contemplate. The wom
an was an interesting combination of contradictions. He never knew what he would get next.
Moving his neck to work out some of the soreness, he looked around further and found the bedside clock. It was four in the morning.
“Michelle,” he said hoarsely. The pain medicine had made his mouth dry. He cleared his throat and called her name again with more strength.
Her eyes opened with alarm and she jerked upwards.
“You need to go bed or you’re going to be in worse shape than me from sitting in that chair.”
Michelle looked at the clock. “It’s time for your medicine. I’ll get it.”
She didn’t wait for him to object before she stood and headed out of the room.
He watched her stride away. She had such an amazingly sexy walk. His eyelids drifted downwards.
* * *
A gentle but warm hand resting on his shoulder shook him.
Michelle’s face was close enough that she had to have been studying his face before she’d woken him. Ty’s blood heated and flowed to a part of him that had nothing to do with the accident and everything to do with being so close to Michelle.
Her hand move to touch his forehead.
“Ty, you need to sit up and take your medicine. You’re running a low-grade fever.”
“My head hurts.”
“I’m not surprised. I bet you hit it hard when you fell.”
He put his hands out on either side of his hips to push himself into a sitting position. He let out a grunt and Michelle rushed to put an arm around his waist.
He sure wished he felt well enough to really appreciate her touch.
“Let me help.”
Between the two of them they managed to get him into enough of a sitting position that he could swallow the meds with the water without it running down his face.
When Michelle didn’t say anything or move away, he looked at her. Her gaze was focused on his lap. The covers had slipped down during their efforts to get him into the correct position. And had dropped indecently low. His privates remained covered but it was clear he was nude.
“You don’t have any clothes on.” The words were a small squeak for Michelle.
“Don’t wear them to bed.”
Michelle’s creamy skin had turned a charming pink and her gaze remained at his waist. Under such scrutiny and obvious fascination, his manhood began to show its appreciation. He reached down and pulled the covers up above his waist.
