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She got to her feet—or rather one foot and balanced herself with the arm of the sofa. “I can take care of myself. This isn’t the first time I sprained my ankle.”
Ezio frowned. “You’re accident-prone?”
She could almost see the wheels turning in his head. If he could prove she got hurt on purpose or often, he wouldn’t be liable. She rolled her eyes and started for the door, wincing in agony.
Romy swooped in and grabbed her arm. Just like his brother previously, he held on and wouldn’t let her free until she reached the secretary’s desk and gathered her things. In the parking garage, Sonya paused in surprise at seeing the chauffeur holding the door open to a sweet ride she couldn’t identify but she was sure it cost a pretty penny.
She looked at Romy. “Is this how you always treat your injured employees?”
He reddened, which surprised her. The anger he displayed in the office seemed to have evaporated. Maybe guilt ate him up. “Not unless there’s a question of whether myself or one of my brothers was the cause.”
She gasped. “Should you admit that?”
He reddened a little more. “My word against yours.”
She glanced at the chauffeur as he shut the door behind them. He was within earshot of their conversation. Loyal employees didn’t count, she supposed.
Once they were in the car, Sonya sat back and shut her eyes. She breathed through her mouth, mentally adjusting to the pain. Someone had given her pain meds, but over the counter stuff meant nothing. A muscle-relaxer would be great with a cup of hot tea. She checked the time, and as if on cue, her belly rumbled. The morning was gone already, and it was time for lunch. Had she blacked out? It was like she’d gone through a wormhole, and time sped up.
“Why have you gotten injured so often?” Romy asked, eyeing her. “Now that you mention it, you did seem unsteady on your feet. Is clumsiness the reason?”
She laughed. This Romy was nothing like the madman from this morning. He was a little awkward and didn’t have the finesse and the charm of his brother Cason or the overbearing presence of his other brother, judging from the few minutes she had been around him. If she hadn’t seen the beast who blew into the office, she might have agreed that Romy was the nice one. Why was he putting on a different face now?
“I’m kind of a tomboy,” she said. “I love sports, and I play them every chance I get. Right now—or rather not too long ago—I was on three soccer teams.”
His eyebrows rose. “Interesting.”
She wasn’t sure how to take that one word, but it didn’t matter much. The word “girly” had never defined her. She hated dressing up and was so opposite to her sister it wasn’t funny. Regardless, she liked who she was and lived her life the way she wanted. At least she did before Arron. Now her entire world revolved around him, and he was all that mattered.
“You learned Italian as a hobby?”
She looked out the window.
He started to speak again, but her cell phone rang. She checked the display and found that the babysitter was calling. No way could she ignore it, but the timing couldn’t be worse. “Hello?”
“Sonya, Arron’s not taking his milk again. He’s whining, and he threw the bottle at my head.”
Sonya snorted and covered her mouth. She pulled herself together and glanced at Romy. He looked out the opposite window, and she hoped he wasn’t listening. Cupping the phone to her mouth, she lowered her voice. “Give him some cheese cubes with his lunch. I bought some yesterday. If he doesn’t want the milk, don’t try to force him. He might take some orange juice but only give it to him after he eats.”
“Okay.”
Sonya didn’t know what she would do once school started. She had known her teenage neighbor for years, and the girl always babysat during the summers. Sonya had taken a chance with her after a ton of glowing recommendations from other parents, but all of them had kids older than Arron. Her little sweetheart was only ten months old, and she knew he would soon be ready to give up the bottle completely. Maybe today. She gave her sitter a few more instructions and ended the call.
“You’re a mother,” Romy said when she tucked her phone into her purse. No shame whatsoever about eavesdropping.
“I’m actually an aunt.” She hesitated about telling him the rest, such as why the sitter would be calling her. This was the time. She needed to spit it out, but she was afraid he would kick her out of his car and leave her to fend for herself. Her own car was back at the office. Boy would she have a challenge getting it home.
Romy sat in silence as if waiting for her to continue. She pressed her lips together.
“Very well,” he said. “We’re here.”
Sonya would have loved to rush out of the car and dismiss him, but she needed his arm. He held it out to her, and she grabbed hold. Strong tense muscles flexed beneath her fingers, and being so near, she got a whiff of his natural male scent. He didn’t wear cologne like Cason, but being so close to him was far more enticing. She couldn’t even imagine why.
Romy stayed by her side as she sat waiting to see a doctor, had her ankle wrapped, and was given meds. He carried her prescription to the pharmacy and had it filled. Just as his brother said he signed all the paperwork, instructing the staff to send all bills to his company.
Once they were back in the car, he turned toward her. “Lunch?”
“Oh, no, I have a sandwich in the refrigerator at the office. I’ll get it and my car when I go back.”
