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“I can’t walk it?”
“Not yet. The sand is too soft. It’ll shift under you.”
“Okay. Crutches then.”
It was hard going across the sand with the crutches, but the last thing Georgie was going to do was let Ryan carry her. The next half hour was going to be hard enough to get through as it was. A few meters back from the shoreline, they stopped. Georgie slipped her shoes off and dropped the crutches. She was painfully, acutely aware that Ryan was stripping off next to her. Then he was holding out his hands and she flicked him a glance. Her mouth went dry. Her fingers tingled with the urge to run her hands over him. All that broad, muscular flesh. A sprinkling of chest hair. Too hot for words.
“You good?” he asked when she didn’t put her hands in his immediately.
“Ah, yeah. Sure. Of course.” She slipped her hands in his and allowed him to take her weight as she hobbled to the shoreline. “Fuck!” The water was ice cold on her bare feet.
Ryan dragged her a bit further out. “Come on, Georgie May. It’s good for you.”
“It doesn’t feel good! It feels like my toes are going to fall off. It’s freezing!”
He flashed her a grin. “Think how I feel then.”
Ah, better not to do that, Georgie thought as waves lapped at her legs. Ryan pulled her along, far enough out that she couldn’t touch the bottom but he could. Which meant she had to put her hands on his shoulders for support. His broad, perfect shoulders. With muscles that rippled under her hands as he held her by the waist. He gave her instructions for the movements she needed to do and she did them. Then he turned her around, pulled her against him and told her to bicycle her legs. His hands were across her middle. Inches from her breasts. Georgie felt heat pool in her belly as she imagined him moving his hands higher. God, she needed to get a grip. He was her therapist. A medical professional. His touch told her that. It was exactly that – professional. Impersonal. She was his patient, that was all. If someone had asked her, she couldn’t have said how she got through the rest of the session. It was pure torture.
CHAPTER11
The hydrotherapy sessions continued to be torturous for Georgie. She couldn’t get enough of the feel of Ryan’s hands on her. But at the same time, she wanted it to stop, before her feelings, the heat, overwhelmed her. Sometimes she had to curl her fingers into tight fists to stop herself from sliding them over his skin. A few times she thought he held her longer than was strictly necessary. Other times maybe closer than was strictly necessary. Then she thought she was probably just imagining it. Projecting.
“Note to self. Next time I get surgery, of any kind, do it at the start of summer.” Georgie had her hands resting on Ryan’s biceps. They bulged as he held her up in the water.
Ryan chuckled. “Here’s hoping you never need any type of surgery, ever again.”
“Amen to that.”
“You’re done.” He let her go and pushed his wet hair back. Georgie ignored the flash of disappointment she felt. “We’ll go for a walk now.”
“Okay.” Georgie kept her eyes averted as they toweled off and threw their clothes on over their swimwear. He held the crutches back when she went to take them from him.
“This is a test.”
“Is it?”
“Yes. Let’s see how far you can go.”
Georgie had walked every day without the crutches. She was keen to see exactly what she was capable of at this point in her recovery. “Okay.” They walked slowly along for a little while. Georgie liked it that the quiet with him was so comfortable. “I’ve been thinking about something.”
“Have you? And what’s that?”
“I haven’t said anything to Brandon yet, so don’t mention it, will you?”
“This sounds serious.”
“Maybe. I don’t know how he’ll feel about it.”
“What is it?”
“I’m thinking of buying a house.”
“Are you now?”
“Yes. In Blessed Inlet.” She glanced up at him. He was smiling at her. She smiled back.
“Well, I think that’s a grand idea.”
