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“Judging by the gooey look on your face, you don’t mind his alpha male ways even the tiniest bit,” I teased as I picked up a lamp.
“That’s because I don’t.” Her lips curved up in a smile of pure feminine satisfaction. “I really, really don’t. Especially since I shared some happy news with him this morning.”
“Happier news than that you’d officially move in with him?” She cradled her belly with one of her hands, and my eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, my gosh! Are you pregnant?”
“Shh,” she hushed me. “I’m not sure if we’re ready to tell anyone yet. It’s all so new.”
“I’m so happy for you,” I whispered back at her with a grin.
“If you give your blind date a real chance, maybe you’ll find the same kind of happiness I did.”
“You’re like a dog with a bone,” I sighed, following her when she headed for the stairs.
By the second trip down, she finally dropped the blind date topic and told me about Rand’s house on the outskirts of town and all his remodeling plans. It sounded like a great place to live, but that wasn’t too difficult compared to our apartments. Our building wasn’t awful, but it also wasn’t a place to write home about. Not that I could complain after having surfed couches at friends’ places for the past three weeks while the building had been cleaned after a small fire had done a ton of smoke damage.
We carried the last few things on our fourth trip down. When we reached the sidewalk, I looked over my shoulder to say something to Jaelyn and didn’t realize I’d stepped into the path of a messenger zooming our way on his bicycle. “Watch out,” he yelled.
My head whipped back in his direction, but I couldn’t move fast enough to get out of his way. And with some of Jaelyn’s stuff stacked up on the sidewalk next to where the moving truck was parked, there wasn’t anywhere for him to go but smack dab into me. The box of bedding I’d been carrying protected my upper body when I fell, but my legs didn’t fare as well. I felt a sharp sting of pain in my right calf and saw blood oozing from a deep cut that looked to be at least a couple of inches long.
“Shit! Sorry! You okay?” the messenger asked, barely pausing to see my distracted nod before he pedaled off.
“Oh. My gosh! I can’t believe that just happened,” Jaelyn cried, kneeling on the sidewalk next to me. “Are you okay? What am I saying? Of course, you’re not okay. You’re bleeding everywhere.”
“It isn’t as bad as it looks,” I reassured her in a weak voice.
“I shouldn’t have agreed to let you help. You guys would’ve been safer in the apartment.” Rand handed a box off to one of the movers and dropped down next to Jaelyn. “The cut is bad enough that you’re probably going to need stitches.”
“I don’t have time for a trip to the emergency room or even an urgent care.” Between the pain and frustration, I barely held back the tears welling in my eyes. “Even if I did, it’s not like I can pay for it anyway. My insurance sucks. The deductible is crazy high, so I’d be stuck paying for the whole visit.”
“There’s no way in hell you’re paying. Not when you got hurt helping us move Jaelyn’s stuff,” he growled.
“That’s very generous, but you covering the copay doesn’t help with getting it done in time for me to make it to my clinicals without being late,” I pointed out with a wince when I shifted positions and pain shot up to my leg.
Rand pulled his cell phone from his pocket and punched in a number. “I need you to come to Jaelyn’s old apartment building and stitch up a friend of hers who got hurt helping her move.” There was a brief pause while whoever answered must’ve said something. “Quit busting my balls and get your ass over here. The movers are just about done loading up, so if we’re not still here, then you’ll find her in”—I mouthed my apartment number when he looked at me—“unit 306.”
3
Tyler
When I pulled up in front of Jaelyn’s apartment building—or at least where she used to live since Rand had apparently lost his mind along with his heart and was moving her in with him permanently already—there wasn’t any sign of my boss or the movers he’d mentioned. After swinging my truck into a spot in the parking lot, I grabbed my first-aid kit and headed inside. Jogging up the steps to the third floor, I quickly found the apartment number Rand had given me when he’d called and knocked on the door.
My frustration at having my day off interrupted disappeared at the sight of the pocket Venus standing in front of me. She barely came up to my shoulder and had curves my hands ached to touch. Her long, dark hair was loose and went almost all the way to her waist. Her bright green eyes widened as they swept down my body, and I cursed myself for not changing out of my gray sweatpants. I moved my first-aid kit in front of my body, but there was no way in hell I was going to be able to hide my hard-on while I was taking care of her leg.
