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“So thoughtful.” I press a kiss to her lips, then set her gently on the bed.
She smiles up at me as she dries off where she sits. I towel off beside her, then wrap the terry cloth around my waist.
“You feeling daring?” I joke, heading toward the closet with the intent of picking out her clothes.
Laughing, she starts to towel dry her hair. “Do your worst—but…”
Her face flushes as I pause in the doorway, turning to meet her eyes.
“Maybe pick something with long sleeves.” Tia raises her wrist tentatively, revealing the dark ring of fingerprints from where I grabbed her to catch her fall.
My stomach knots, knowing that I hurt her, even if I didn’t have much choice. I nod, disappearing into the closet a moment later. When I come out, Tia is wearing her towel around her body like a mini dress, her foot up on the bed as she attempts to rewrap her ace bandage.
From the grimace that mars her full lips, it’s not going well.
“Does the concept of asking for help completely elude you?” I demand, only half joking as I toss the long-sleeve burgundy dress I picked out for her onto the bed.
She pauses in her efforts, looking up at me with an almost bashful face. “I feel so helpless,” she groans.
But when I settle onto the bed next to her, she willingly relinquishes her half-wrapped foot. “Do you mind?” she asks tentatively.
I give her a half smile and cradle her calf, then glance up to meet her eyes. “Now, was that so hard?”
Smiling softly, Tia leans back onto her palms. “I guess not.”
“Good. Then try it more often.” Focusing on the wrap, I loop it slowly beneath her heel and then back up around her ankle, trying to mimic the way Dr. Luca wrapped it. “There. Can I help you get dressed?” I offer, fully expecting her to turn me down.
“I haven’t picked out my panties yet,” she says, glancing toward her dresser drawers.
“Perfect.” I flash her a wicked smile, then I start to take her dress off its hanger.
“What do you mean, ‘perfect’? I am not about to go through dinner with the mayor and his family, without panties, in that dress,” she insists.
“Why not?” I lift it, admiring the short, flowing layers of the gauzy skirt.
“Leo,” she scolds, leveling me with a deadly serious gaze. “If you can’t dress me properly, then I’ll just have to dress myself.”
Stepping toward her, I capture Tia’s chin with my fingers, tipping her face until she’s looking up at me. “I’ll let you get away with wearing panties this time,” I murmur. “Because you’re hurt. But I promise you, you won’t get away with it forever.”
Tia’s breath catches, and her cheeks flush a beautiful shade of pink, making me smile with satisfaction. I release her then, and her eyes follow me as I head to her dresser and pick out a pair of panties and a bra, then I bring them back over.
She dresses easily enough, giving me a fantastic show when she removes her towel to don the lingerie I picked out. After, I carry her to her vanity chair, leaving her to her makeup while I get dressed.
Rather than dry her hair and style it down, as Tia often does, tonight she pulls it up into an elegant ballet bun atop her head.
“Shall I carry you to dinner?” I offer, not entirely put out by having an excuse to hold her in my arms once again.
Tia smiles. “While I very much enjoy making you carry me everywhere, I don’t think it would be the most dignified way to welcome our guests,” she points out. “Especially considering the length of my dress.”
“I’m starting to get the impression that you don’t approve of my fashion sense,” I quip.
She laughs, the sound warm and melodic, and it warms my chest. “I assure you, that’s not the case. Just maybe your more… creative ideas. Imagine if I’d said yes to both. I’d be flashing our two new friends and their children before they’ve even had a drink to calm their nerves.”
With a Cheshire grin, I hand Tia her crutches. “I assure you I would have saved that pleasure exclusively for myself.”
Holding the door for my wife, I follow her out into the hall, and with her slow and slightly laborious progress, we make it to the entry just in time for Luigi to open the door for our guests.
“Welcome,” Tia says graciously, her lips spreading in a wide smile as the four Romney family members step inside.
