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“I think I’m bleeding,” she muttered, feeling dazed. Her forehead hurt, and she was pretty sure she’d scraped her knees when she fell.
“You need a dressing.” Ashton knelt in front of her, peering at the blood trickling down her face. “Can you stand up?”
Feeling wobbly, Lily took hold of his outstretched hand and gingerly stood. Her knees hurt, and her right eye had blood smeared across it, making it blurry. Her pink skirt was dirty, and one shoe had fallen off.
“I … I think I need to go home,” she said in a small voice. She looked around for her handbag, and dismay filled her heart as she saw its contents scattered all over the sidewalk and the edge of the road. Some of her things were lying in a puddle. Feeling dizzy, she limped over to retrieve them. Ashton followed her.
“Let me help,” he said and bent to pick up her phone, wallet, glasses, and other assorted belongings.
“Thank you.” She almost cried out as pain shot through the palms of her hands, which she suddenly realized were also bleeding. Mortification warred with her need for help as she watched Ashton gather her personal belongings.
“Uh, your keys are in the puddle,” he said, fishing them out of the grimy water. “I’m not sure they’ll work now.”
She looked at the electronic key fob in dismay. “They aren’t supposed to get wet,” she agreed. “I have another set at home, but I have to get there to pick them up.”
“Don’t worry yet,” Ashton advised. “We should try them first just in case they still work, and then you can go home and dry them out.” He held out his arm. “I can help you to your car if you’d like.”
Lily gritted her teeth against the pain in her knees and reluctantly accepted his arm. She hobbled along slowly while Ashton walked beside her to steady her as they made their way to the parking lot. When they reached her car, she tried the key. Nothing. She tried again. Still nothing.
“It’s not going to work,” she said, feeling dismayed. “I was hoping it would.”
Ashton held out his hand for the key. “May I try?”
She handed it over, but after several attempts, he also admitted defeat.
“I’ll drive you home so you can get the other key,” he offered.
Lily looked at him warily. A car ride with the man who’d broken her heart was the last thing on her to-do list today. Ashton seemed to sense her thoughts.
“Look, I know things went wrong between us, Lily, but I’m sorry for my part in it. I said some things that I regret, and I’m sorry for saying them and for the hurt I caused you. Can we put the past behind us and at least get along as friends? Avoiding each other and playing games is just silly.”
Lily sighed. “All right. I’m sorry, too.” She looked at him. “But this doesn’t mean that everything is the same as before. It just means we’re not at war.”
He held up his hands. “That’s fine by me. It’s a good first step.” He paused. “Now, would you like a ride home?”
“Yes, please,” she said in a small voice, unable to believe that Ashton had apologized to her.
“My truck is just over there,” he pointed to the other side of the parking lot.
“Thank you,” she said as she took his arm.
But as she limped along beside Ashton to his truck, a new fear struck her. What about Henry? There was no way she wanted Ashton anywhere near her place while Henry was there. It could be a disaster!
10
Ashton glanced at Lily as she sat beside him in his truck. Her face was grim with pain, her pretty pink skirt was dirty, and blood still trickled down her face from the cut on her forehead. He felt his heart constrict with sympathy for her after her mishap. It was never fun to fall in a heap, especially in public. And she’d been injured as well. He turned to her.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
She glanced at him as if questioning his motive for asking the question, then nodded. “My hands really hurt. So do my knees.”
“I thought you’d say it was your forehead.”
“It hurts too, but the other things are worse.”
“You’ll feel better once you get some dressings on them.”
“I hope I didn’t put blood anywhere in your car,” she said, glancing around the interior.
