Page 23
My face must give away my confusion because Augustus smiles. “Rice, as in r.i.c.e. Rest, ice, compression, and elevation.”
“Oooh. I was gonna ask if I should buy brown, white, or jasmine.”
Augustus throws his head back and laughs. It’s warm and rich and utterly wonderful. I smile in spite of my embarrassment.
“If you’ll let me, I’ve got a first aid kit in my car. I’d like to wrap your ankle.”
“Oh, I don’t want to be a bother. I can just gather my scattered items and add in a bandage to put on once I get home.”
Ember and Logan move simultaneously. “On it,” they say in unison. They start gathering the various items that flew through the air when I fell and placing them into my hand basket.
A gentle squeeze of my hand brings my attention back to Augustus. “No trouble at all.”
“You’re sure?” I ask, not wanting to be a further burden.
“Positive,” he says brightly.
“Okay. If you’re sure.”
“All set here, Count,” Ember says, pausing for a moment before turning to Logan. “Hey, why don’t you grab two more chops, and Cordelya and the Count can join us for dinner.”
The panic alarms in my mind start to blare.
New place.
Unfamiliar setting.
No planned escape routes.
No security checks.
But when Augustus squeezes my hand again, those alarms dull a fraction. “How about we get Cordelya checked out at the register and then out to my car so I can wrap her ankle first. Then we can see how she feels.”
Logan gives Augustus an odd look but nods. “I’ll grab them just in case and meet you guys at checkout.”
Ember places my basket, as well as Augustus’, in her cart and starts for the register. “Sounds perfect.”
“Shall we?” Augustus says, moving my hand to the crook of his arm.
The gesture feels incredibly old-fashioned. Charming and safe. No one has ever treated me with delicacy before.
I look up at him and can’t help but smile. “Thank you.”
He helps me to the register, where Ember insists on paying for my groceries—and Augustus’ as well—for causing my ankle sprain. Once the groceries are bagged, he grabs both of ours and helps me out to his car in the parking lot, where he helps me sit on the passenger side.
“ Text us if you’re coming,” Ember shouts across the lot.
“Will do,” Augustus replies.
Once he grabs his first aid kit from the trunk, he kneels in front of me. “I’m gonna slide off your shoe and push your pant leg up. Is that okay?”
I nod, transfixed by the gentleness of his touch. The way he constantly checks in and pays attention to my reactions, it does something to me. Something I don’t want to admit, because that's attachment, and attachment is something I avoid. Yet I can't deny the pull I feel towards him.
With my shoe and sock off and leggings pushed up, he retrieves a bandage from the kit and gently wraps my foot.
“Is that too tight?”
“No, it feels fine.”
