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Seventeen
Blaine forcedhis eyes open and sat up in the chair he’d pulled into Emilia’s bedroom, his back a jumble of pain in numerous places. He hadn’t wanted to sleep on the couch, since that meant leaving her unwatched overnight, and sharing a bed with her had been out of the question.
After their kiss and her mention of Sarah, she’d simply locked herself away and refused to speak. She needed to rest, so he hadn’t pushed for more conversation, though his ability to sleep had died in the process.
This chair, although one of his creations, hadn’t been designed for sleeping in, that much was certain. And then there’d been his intrusive thoughts over the talk he would have with Emilia today.
“Hmmm…” She gave a small groan and rolled over, facing him, her eyes slow in fluttering open, before they snapped completely wide.
Even across the room, he caught the quick dilation of her pupils, suggesting she’d forgotten his presence. Her face took on a sudden hard edge. Like she’d also just remembered her problem with him.
The thin strap of her white nightgown intersected her warmer skin tone, threatening to slip off her slender shoulder. He frowned down at his lap, trying to focus on something other than how much he wanted to finish what they’d started last night.
She’s right, though. There’s Sarah. Explain to Emilia, and then I need to talk to Sarah too…
He shifted his thoughts to easier ground for now. “How’s the shoulder?”
“Still sore.” She sat up, her voice croaky.
Even with her sleep-tousled hair, her skin glowed, and she appeared well rested. Probably more rested than he’d seen since her arrival in town. At least one of them was.
She stared at him through the weighty silence for a while, that stare reminding him that he wasn’t wearing all that much besides the wool blanket he’d stolen from the couch and his briefs underneath. Mostly because he’d come here in his work clothes and didn’t want to sleep in them.
The fact that he didn’t rush to cover his bare torso seemed to push her gaze from him again, as though she sought to ignore him. “Don’t you have a shop to run today?”
The way she pulled herself from the bed, sheet draped over her shoulders, along with her terse tone and choice of words, more than implied her desire to have him gone.
“I’ve got more important things to do.” He held court in his chair, refusing to shrink away, tempted to push for a more direct chat about what had passed between them last night. “Like dole out pain meds to you all day and help where I can.”
She gave a sharp laugh, a sexy mess of dark ringlets tumbling about her face as she jerked her attention back to him. “Oh no, no, no. That’s not going to happen.”
She leaped out of bed and threw open her wardrobe doors, only stopping to wince and hiss because she’d clearly forgotten all about her bad shoulder.
“You have to go.” She ground her words past her obvious pain.
He sat forward and scowled at her. “and you need help today.”
A hard knock came at the door, followed by an overly bright, female voice calling Emilia’s name. Emilia slammed her stare into him.
“Oh, no. I forgot.” She jammed her arms into the sleeves of her bathrobe, wincing once again. “Ally’s coming over this morning. She can’t see you here.”
He gripped the blanket, just as she powered over to rip it away. “I’m not sneaking out the backdoor if that’s what you’re asking.”
Emilia narrowed her eyes like she might actually launch herself at him if he didn’t let the blanket go or get some clothes on.
His lips twinged. Maybe her launching herself at him wasn’t such a bad thing. Maybe that would force her to face reality with him. So he let go. Her eyes flared as her end of the blanket sprung back, revealing his body, bare except for his black underwear.
She turned away, her cheeks red. “Please. Just get up and put me out of my misery.”
He strode over to her, turning her to face him. “Cancel your catch-up with Ally. Tell her something came up. I’m sure falling off ladders counts as ‘something.’ We have stuff to sort out, Emilia, and I’m not happy about leaving you here alone all day.”
“Dr. Richards said I only needed monitoring overnight. I’ll survive without your help, Blaine.” She turned from him, picking up his pants and jamming them into his hands. “Besides, this isn’t just about Ally. This is just too much… too much—”
“Too much what?” He pushed his legs through his pants, tugging them over his waist, pissed that he even obliged.
“Too much reality.” She crossed her arms over her chest, her shoulders rising. “I don’t want anyone to know about last night.”
“You think I’m the type to broadcast something like that?”
