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When she opened her eyes again, she was shocked that two hours had passed. She slowly roused herself to a seated position. Reid sat across from her at a wooden dining table, typing away at the keyboard of a laptop. He appeared to have showered and had changed into clean clothes. Oh, to be so lucky.
He glanced up when he realized she’d awakened. “You’re up.”
“It’s dark out.”
“That it is.”
“Shouldn’t our car have been here by now?”
“I asked for it to be delayed.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “You looked like you could use the rest. I didn’t want to disturb you.”
Great. Yet another misstep she could feel guilty about. “But I know you had to get back to the resort.” And to finally meet whoever had been due to arrive earlier, she added silently.
Reid motioned to the computer in front of him. “It’s okay. Theo was nice enough to lend me his laptop so I could get some stuff done remotely. How does your foot feel?”
Celeste wiggled her toes and moved her ankle from side to side. The pain had mostly subsided. Only a slight ache remained in the joint. “Much better. Rinna was right. Uma’s potion has some sort of magical healing properties.”
She huffed out a breath. “I feel so foolish for going and hurting myself like that. It must have been a terrible inconvenience for them to have to take care of me this whole time.” And for him, too.
“Accidents happen. You’re not at fault.” He stood and walked over to stand in front of her. “If you’re up for it, I can call for the car to come for us.”
Uma entered the room at that precise moment. “It’s much too late to try to make that drive,” the older woman argued. “You two stay here for the night. We have an extra room.”
Reid gave Celeste a questioning look. He was waiting for her to make the decision. “I don’t want to inconvenience anyone,” Celeste said to the room in general.
Uma waved her hand in dismissal. “It’s not a bother. Everything is ready for you. The bed stays made as we have overnight guests quite often. And the sofa down here is large and comfortable enough for you to sleep on, Reid.”
Reid turned from the older woman to address Celeste. “Uma’s offer makes sense. I’d feel better if you stayed completely off that ankle at least for the night. Also, I’d hate to make the driver leave his house this late just to drive us across the island and then have to drive back home again.”
Well, how could she argue with any of that? She’d already been enough of a burden to the people currently under this roof. She certainly didn’t want to further inconvenience the poor nameless driver.
“Thank you, Uma. You’re far too kind,” she told her, vowing to come up with a way to thank the woman at some future date. She’d never experienced such hospitality from strangers she’d met only hours before.
“That settles it then,” Reid announced before turning to Uma. “We’ll take you up on your generous offer. Thank you.”
Uma patted his cheek and left the room. Celeste made an effort to get up off the coach. Reid was by her side in an instant. “Whoa there. What do you think you’re doing?”
Embarrassingly enough, she needed to use the washroom, for one. “Uh, I could use to freshen up a little.”
He wordlessly leaned down and lifted her off the sofa. It was hard not to savor the feel of being in his arms again, despite the circumstances that had led her there. He carried her to the nearest bathroom.
“Just holler when you’re done.”
Celeste shut the door and took a moment to study herself in the bathroom mirror. She looked as if she’d gone toe to toe with some kind of swamp creature. Her hair was a tangled mess, dark circles framed her eyes and her clothes were in a wrinkled state of disarray. Oh, yeah, compared to the gorgeous models and actresses Reid was used to dating, she would definitely fall far short.
With a resigned sigh, she cleaned up as best she could, helping herself to some of the mouthwash sitting on the bureau behind her.
She may not look great, but by the time she opened the door, she at least felt better. Reid remained in the same spot, waiting for her.
