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She followed them, the sound of her crutches echoing through the hallway as they hit the flagstone floor. As she walked into the vast living room, Nate helped her over to the sofa, gently lowering her until her bottom hit the cushion. Riley slid the footstool she’d talked about beneath Ally’s leg cast. Ally turned to look out of the huge wall of glass that led to the small backyard and the beach beyond. The sun was shining in the sky, the surf calm and gentle. After yesterday’s storm it was a beautiful day. The sort of day she could run down the beach until her lungs couldn’t work any more.
She sighed. How the hell was she going to manage to go without exercising? It was the one thing that kept her sane. And right now she needed to keep her thoughts under control more than ever. She was going to be cooped up in this house with Nate and Riley for at least two weeks.
The thought both alarmed and excited her.
“I need to do some homework,” Riley said, giving them both a wave as she left the room. “Catch you later, mashed po-tay-ta.”
“Homework.” Nate smirked. “That’s her code word for spending the rest of the night on Snapchat and Netflix,” he told Ally. “In case you were wondering.”
She laughed. “I’m glad social media wasn’t such a big thing when I was a teenager. At least nobody got to share photographs of all the stupid things I did.”
“I can’t imagine you doing stupid things.”
“Can’t you?” she asked him. “Things like running on wet grass and tripping over a huge rock I hadn’t even seen.” Her eyes widened. “Hey, they didn’t get a photo of that, did they?”
Nate grinned. “Not that I’ve heard. Though I’d probably pay good money to see it.”
“Thanks.”
Her eyes were drawn to the beach again. Somebody was running along the shoreline with a dog. She shifted in her seat to try and get comfortable.
“You really hate sitting still, don’t you?” Nate asked.
“It’s not my favorite thing,” she admitted, surprised that he’d noticed. “I like getting things done, I always have. I prefer to be on the move instead of sitting around doing nothing.” She shrugged. “But I’ll be okay. I’ll read a book or something.”
He inclined his head at the bookshelves that lined the far wall. “Help yourself. And there are movies on demand on the television.” He handed her the remote, his fingertips brushing against hers. “Anything you want we can order in.”
“I’ll be fine,” she said again, embarrassed that he’d even noticed her discomfort. He was being so nice to her, and it was taking some time to get used to.
He tipped his head to the side, looking at her as though he was trying to work her out.
“Well at least let me get your pain meds and a drink.” He slowly ran his thumb along his jaw. “And then I should do some work. That’s if you’re okay here. You can holler if you need anything, if I don’t hear you Riley will.”
Embarrassment washed over her again. “Of course. I must have really messed up your day. Go and do whatever you need to do.” She picked up the remote and aimed it at the television, trying to look busy.
“If you’re sure…”
She looked up at him, smiling. “Go.”
He nodded as the screen lit up and the sound cut through whatever was happening between them. “I’ll check on you in a bit.”
“Sure thing.”
She watched as he left, then switched the television off again. She barely watched the thing anyway. Between work and running and seeing her friends, there was little time to keep up with a series.
Yeah, well. You may need to rethink that, sweetheart.
Strange how the voice in her head seemed to sound just like him.
But maybe it was right. Two weeks in close proximity with Nate Crawford. With no work to do, and no ability to run off her feelings.
She was either in seventh heaven or the seventh circle of hell. Right now, she couldn’t tell the difference.
11
Could a day really feel this long? Ally stared out of the window at the beach beyond the house, watching the rhythm of the waves as they broke against the shore. The tide was out, leaving an expanse of golden sand, and she curled her toes at the sight of it.
Or one set of them, anyway. The others were too constrained by the plaster.
