against the view. Had any man’s bare chest ever been this distracting? She drew a deep breath and cast about for a change in topic. “Your hardware. Tell me about it.”
A heartbeat’s worth of utter silence followed her question before Sean roared with laughter. Grace’s cheeks reached scorching. Oh, for the love of—
Crossing her arms, she leveled a baleful glare at Sean and waited for him to recover.
“You know perfectly well what I meant,” she informed him when he had.
He chuckled some more. “Yes, but you have to admit, your phrasing just then was awfully well timed.”
She refrained—just—from telling him where to go. He made another effort to straighten his face.
“Sorry,” he said. She didn’t believe him for a nanosecond. “And to answer your question, I have two plates and I forget how many screws holding part of my thighbone together, plus several feet of wire.”
Grace regarded him for a moment, wrestling with her curiosity. She’d come to check on him, not learn his life history. Or share hers. And now that she’d accomplished what she’d set out to do…
She retrieved Sean’s crutches from near the door and handed them to him. “I need to get back to the kids. Do you want a hand getting up?”
“Thanks, but if I’m going to be on my own out here, I should probably figure out how to get myself back on my feet.”
She stood back to watch, grimacing at his struggle. More than once, her hand twitched with the impulse to go to his aid, but she held back, knowing he was right about learning to do it alone. At last he stood upright, flushed with exertion and victory.
“Ha!” he said with deep satisfaction.
Grace couldn’t help but smile. “Congratulations. Do I dare ask how much pain you’re in after that?”
He sank onto the edge of the bed, his chest heaving and sweat gleaming along his shoulders and arms. “More than I would like to be.”
She passed him the bottle of painkillers from the nightstand. He took it from her, but didn’t open it right away, instead eying her with curiosity.
“You still haven’t told me where you learned to drop a man to the ground like that.”
“I hold black belts in jujitsu and tae kwon do. I travel a lot for work, sometimes to countries that aren’t overly friendly to women. I like to be able to look after myself.”
She jutted her chin at the bottle in his hand. “Do you need water?”
“I’m good, thanks.” He dumped two tablets into his palm.
She cleared her throat. He looked up.
“Might I suggest just one this time around?” she asked. “Apparently I quadruple in presence when you take more than that.”
Sean’s brows drew together. “Hell. That was real?”
She fought back a smile. “It certainly seemed so for you.”
“Then the rest of it…” Trailing off, he replaced one of the tablets, then re-capped the bottle and handed it back to her.
“How much do you remember?”
“Apart from Wonder Boy and Romeo, you mean? Too much,” he muttered. “Enough to know I owe you an apology. Hell, Grace, I am so sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
“You didn’t. I knew it was the drugs talking, and believe me, I’ve had to deal with far worse.”
“And you’re very capable of looking after yourself. As we’ve just seen.”
Setting the pills back on the nightstand, she glanced out the window. It was full-on dark now. The kids would be wondering where she was. “Do you need anything else before I go? Food? Water?”
“I think I can manage.” He patted his cast. “It’s easing up already.”
“Probably because you’re not bashing into things with it.”
“Probably.”
Grace hesitated. Well then. This was it. Time to say goodbye, with no further need for communication between them, even though they lived just a few hundred feet apart. The small silence between them threatened to grow into something uncomfortable.
Definitely time to leave.
She turned toward the door. She paused in the
A heartbeat’s worth of utter silence followed her question before Sean roared with laughter. Grace’s cheeks reached scorching. Oh, for the love of—
Crossing her arms, she leveled a baleful glare at Sean and waited for him to recover.
“You know perfectly well what I meant,” she informed him when he had.
He chuckled some more. “Yes, but you have to admit, your phrasing just then was awfully well timed.”
She refrained—just—from telling him where to go. He made another effort to straighten his face.
“Sorry,” he said. She didn’t believe him for a nanosecond. “And to answer your question, I have two plates and I forget how many screws holding part of my thighbone together, plus several feet of wire.”
Grace regarded him for a moment, wrestling with her curiosity. She’d come to check on him, not learn his life history. Or share hers. And now that she’d accomplished what she’d set out to do…
She retrieved Sean’s crutches from near the door and handed them to him. “I need to get back to the kids. Do you want a hand getting up?”
“Thanks, but if I’m going to be on my own out here, I should probably figure out how to get myself back on my feet.”
She stood back to watch, grimacing at his struggle. More than once, her hand twitched with the impulse to go to his aid, but she held back, knowing he was right about learning to do it alone. At last he stood upright, flushed with exertion and victory.
“Ha!” he said with deep satisfaction.
Grace couldn’t help but smile. “Congratulations. Do I dare ask how much pain you’re in after that?”
He sank onto the edge of the bed, his chest heaving and sweat gleaming along his shoulders and arms. “More than I would like to be.”
She passed him the bottle of painkillers from the nightstand. He took it from her, but didn’t open it right away, instead eying her with curiosity.
“You still haven’t told me where you learned to drop a man to the ground like that.”
“I hold black belts in jujitsu and tae kwon do. I travel a lot for work, sometimes to countries that aren’t overly friendly to women. I like to be able to look after myself.”
She jutted her chin at the bottle in his hand. “Do you need water?”
“I’m good, thanks.” He dumped two tablets into his palm.
She cleared her throat. He looked up.
“Might I suggest just one this time around?” she asked. “Apparently I quadruple in presence when you take more than that.”
Sean’s brows drew together. “Hell. That was real?”
She fought back a smile. “It certainly seemed so for you.”
“Then the rest of it…” Trailing off, he replaced one of the tablets, then re-capped the bottle and handed it back to her.
“How much do you remember?”
“Apart from Wonder Boy and Romeo, you mean? Too much,” he muttered. “Enough to know I owe you an apology. Hell, Grace, I am so sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
“You didn’t. I knew it was the drugs talking, and believe me, I’ve had to deal with far worse.”
“And you’re very capable of looking after yourself. As we’ve just seen.”
Setting the pills back on the nightstand, she glanced out the window. It was full-on dark now. The kids would be wondering where she was. “Do you need anything else before I go? Food? Water?”
“I think I can manage.” He patted his cast. “It’s easing up already.”
“Probably because you’re not bashing into things with it.”
“Probably.”
Grace hesitated. Well then. This was it. Time to say goodbye, with no further need for communication between them, even though they lived just a few hundred feet apart. The small silence between them threatened to grow into something uncomfortable.
Definitely time to leave.
She turned toward the door. She paused in the
Similar Books
