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He went quiet for a moment.
“What is it?”
“I’m glad you met Ryan.”
Surprised, Georgie said, “Me too.”
“He’s a great guy.”
“Yeah.”
“Is he seeing anyone, do you know?”
That also surprised Georgie. She shrugged. “Where are you going with this?”
“Nowhere. I just thought…”
“Thought what?”
“You’d be good together.”
Georgie flinched. “I’m not looking for anything like that, Brandon.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m not.” How could she say to her brother that she couldn’t imagine going to bed with anyone? Couldn’t imagine anyone wanting her broken and scarred body in that way? No, she couldn’t do it. “And besides, even if I were, he doesn’t see me that way.” She saw Brandon was about to argue and held up her hand. “Leave it, please.”
* * *
Georgie tried to be as patient as possible while facing the stark reality that she was, in fact, not built for patience. A tortoise, that’s what Ryan had said. But she was a hare, all the way. She felt better and better with each passing day and railed against the restrictions Ryan put on her. She was on the stationary bike, doing enough cardio to give her a light sheen of sweat. It had the thin cotton of her t-shirt clinging to her skin. It felt really, really good. “I can do more.”
“No.”
She blew out a breath. “I can!”
“No you can’t.”
She flicked Ryan a glance. “You think I don’t know my own body?”
“You think you know your body better than I do right now?” His tone was tinged with uncharacteristic frustration.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I know exactly where you’re at. And how far you still have to go. It’s not a race. You run too hard, you’ll collapse. You will!” He insisted when she shook her head. “You’ll set yourself back, almost to the beginning. I can’t watch you go through that, Georgie.”
She glanced at him. There was something in his voice. An emotion she couldn’t name. It scared and thrilled her in equal measure. But his face was impassive, giving nothing away. “Fine. At least tell me when I can get out of here.”
“Tomorrow.”
Her feet faltered on the pedals in her surprise. “Seriously?”
“Aye. You’re stable enough to handle a little bit of uneven ground. Brandon has ordered you a bike for your cabin. You can do your hydrotherapy in the sea.”
She recoiled.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
