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Yep, it was official. Four weeks of living next door to this woman and he’d lost his damn mind.
Chapter 20
On Saturday, Rylie sat in the front seat of Dustin’s car, grumbling as she stared out the window and trees whizzed past.
“I was okay to drive, you know. I can totally work the pedals with my left foot.”
Dustin shot her an annoyed glance, which she’d gotten used to the last six days. “And I said that I did not want you pulling out your stitches again. Do not aggravate me, woman.”
Rylie huffed, her own irritation hitting Defcon Five. The day after she’d sliced her foot, she’d tried to walk down the steps of his house and pulled out a couple of stitches. Dustin had rushed her to Dr. Turner’s office in town. He’d been quick about sewing her back up, and told her to keep off it for a day or two. After that, she was good to use her crutches.
When they got back from the doctor’s office, though, Dustin had brought her a laptop and a stack of magazines and told her to stay in bed. That she could just holler if she needed something. She’d argued that she’d needed to pack up her stuff, but he’d simply shot her one of those dark scowls and left the room. He’d been hovering ever since.
“You’re being ridiculous,” she said for the hundredth time that week.
He pulled down the driveway of her new house and parked next to Luke Jessup’s truck. Marley and Luke had helped Dustin and her pack up her stuff yesterday, but it had gotten too dark to drive the boxes over.
If she was being honest, having Dustin’s undivided attention hadn’t been so bad, and Rylie had been happy to share a bed with him for one more night. They didn’t do more than talk and sleep, but she’d enjoyed the sensation of waking up in his arms and was going to miss it tonight.
Once the car was in gear, he turned in the seat and leveled her with a stern expression. “Now, I am going to carry you inside and you will sit where I put you. You will not try to get up and help; just pretend you’re the overlord and we are your serfs.”
“God, do you ever get tired of being bossy? Why did we bring my crutches if you were going to carry me around everywhere?”
“Because tomorrow you are on your own, but today, I will brook no disobedience,” he said in a very bad Sean Connery voice.
“Maybe you’re the overlord,” she grumbled.
Dustin made a sound as though he was cracking a whip before he got out of the car and came around. He knew she was perfectly capable of using her crutches, but for some reason, he seemed to like taking care of her.
Which was okay with her. For one more day, at least.
Dustin lifted her out of the car and she wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers traveling across the warm skin. A dull ache settled in her chest. They had one more week of wedding preparations and then that was it. They wouldn’t be neighbors, partners, or lovers… Would they still be friends without the close proximity?
She had her doubts and it made her grip on him tighten.
“You afraid I’m going to drop you?” he asked.
“No, I trust you.”
Dustin’s blue eyes narrowed as they reached the front door, and she wondered what he was thinking. Before she could ask, someone opened the door for them. Marley stood in the opening wearing a dirty pair of jeans, a Supernatural T-shirt, and her blond hair thrown up in a haphazard bun.
“Ready to see your new home?” Marley asked.
Dustin stepped past Marley, and Rylie’s jaw dropped.
“Surprise!”
Rylie’s gaze swung around the fully furnished living room, and into the smiling faces of all her friends. Marley and Luke. Kelly and the bridesmaids from Something Borrowed, including Wendy. Tayler and the staff at the shelter. Dustin’s brother, Charlie, stood off to the side with Kenzie.
“What… What is going on?”
“This is your housewarming party!” Marley said.
Rylie looked up at Dustin, completely overwhelmed. “Did you do this?”
He shrugged as he set her down on a soft gray couch. It was almost exactly like the one she’d picked out from the Better Homes and Gardens magazine he’d given her. Her eyes narrowed on the coffee table, and scanned the rest of the room, noting all the items that were all too familiar.
She should have been suspicious when he’d brought that stack of magazines to his room and set them on the bed. He’d told her, if she was bored, to circle what she’d put in her dream home and like an idiot, she’d gone along with it.
