He reached in and fastened her seatbelt for her.
Opening her purse and groping blindly through the contents, she came up with the bottle of eyedrops he’d given her for the contacts. Tipping her head back, she held her eyes open and dripped some cool liquid into them.
God, that burned like a bitch, but it still felt better than the weird grittiness in the backs of her eyes.
Dear God, she’d forgotten just how much she loathed contact lenses and how shit could get caught under them. She hadn’t tried wearing them since high school, and she wholeheartedly agreed with her teen self: those things blew.
Dalton fired up the Jeep, and they bumped down the road much faster than they’d come up. As he sped along the highway, she continued to cough and wheeze as her body fought to clear the crap out of her system. Though the sneezing had mostly stopped, she was still leaking mucus like it was going out of style. Gross. She hadn’t blown her nose this often since the last time she got the flu. Her nose was already feeling tender and raw.
He made a turn and slowed to a stop. She glanced up to see they were parked in his driveway.
“Come on.” He hopped out, hurried to the passenger side, and took her arm to guide her up the porch steps into his living room. He pressed her onto the couch and handed her a box of tissues. “I’ll be right back.”
Well, at least the tissues were softer on her skin than the napkins, but that was about the only improvement she saw here.
“Lie down.” Dalton returned and urged her backward until she was stretched out on the cushions. He sat beside her, his hip pressed to hers. He settled a cold, wet washcloth on her eyes, and she almost cried, it felt so good. “Just stay like that for a while and let your eyes calm down.”
“Okay.” Not that she was ever the type to just be idle, but staying completely still seemed to make her head ache less.
He stroked her hair back for a few minutes. “If you think you’re all right being left alone for a few minutes, I can make a run to the office and get you a new pair of contacts. You’ll need them tomorrow.”
“That’s a good idea.” Even though she didn’t even want to contemplate shoving those things into her eyes ever again, she didn’t have a choice if she wanted to see clearly. She really, really missed her glasses.
His lips brushed over her forehead. “I’m so sorry about this, Camille. I hoped this evening would go a lot differently.”
“You and me both.” Moving her hand to where she could feel his leg pressed to hers, she patted his thigh.
Well, he was a nice man, even if she had turned into a snot beast on him. So much for getting her sexy on tonight. Those dreams had gone up in a puff of pollen, hadn’t they? Yes, this was just a temporary problem, but holy shit, she was nursing a bottle of Visine like an alcoholic with a fifth of whiskey.
Nothing good was going to come of this night.
* * * * *
When Dalton got back, he came through the door to see her still curled up on his couch. He liked having her there, but he was unsure which of them felt worse. His attempt at a romantic picnic was a gigantic bust, wasn’t it? An hour later and his date’s face was still mottled and puffy.
Yeah, he was a fucking romance ninja.
After tugging the washcloth away, she rolled her head against the arm of the couch to look at him, her eyes red-rimmed and bloodshot. “Hey.”
He held up the bag in his hand. “Got your refill, though I wouldn’t recommend wearing them until morning.”
“I think I can manage that.” A little smile curved her lips. “Those things are the devil.”
“Agreed.” He came to sit on the coffee table in front of the sofa. “Do you need more drops? Another cold cloth?”
“No, I think I just need to quit messing with my eyes.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “They’re feeling better, though I’m betting I look like hell.”
There was no way he was commenting on that. She
Opening her purse and groping blindly through the contents, she came up with the bottle of eyedrops he’d given her for the contacts. Tipping her head back, she held her eyes open and dripped some cool liquid into them.
God, that burned like a bitch, but it still felt better than the weird grittiness in the backs of her eyes.
Dear God, she’d forgotten just how much she loathed contact lenses and how shit could get caught under them. She hadn’t tried wearing them since high school, and she wholeheartedly agreed with her teen self: those things blew.
Dalton fired up the Jeep, and they bumped down the road much faster than they’d come up. As he sped along the highway, she continued to cough and wheeze as her body fought to clear the crap out of her system. Though the sneezing had mostly stopped, she was still leaking mucus like it was going out of style. Gross. She hadn’t blown her nose this often since the last time she got the flu. Her nose was already feeling tender and raw.
He made a turn and slowed to a stop. She glanced up to see they were parked in his driveway.
“Come on.” He hopped out, hurried to the passenger side, and took her arm to guide her up the porch steps into his living room. He pressed her onto the couch and handed her a box of tissues. “I’ll be right back.”
Well, at least the tissues were softer on her skin than the napkins, but that was about the only improvement she saw here.
“Lie down.” Dalton returned and urged her backward until she was stretched out on the cushions. He sat beside her, his hip pressed to hers. He settled a cold, wet washcloth on her eyes, and she almost cried, it felt so good. “Just stay like that for a while and let your eyes calm down.”
“Okay.” Not that she was ever the type to just be idle, but staying completely still seemed to make her head ache less.
He stroked her hair back for a few minutes. “If you think you’re all right being left alone for a few minutes, I can make a run to the office and get you a new pair of contacts. You’ll need them tomorrow.”
“That’s a good idea.” Even though she didn’t even want to contemplate shoving those things into her eyes ever again, she didn’t have a choice if she wanted to see clearly. She really, really missed her glasses.
His lips brushed over her forehead. “I’m so sorry about this, Camille. I hoped this evening would go a lot differently.”
“You and me both.” Moving her hand to where she could feel his leg pressed to hers, she patted his thigh.
Well, he was a nice man, even if she had turned into a snot beast on him. So much for getting her sexy on tonight. Those dreams had gone up in a puff of pollen, hadn’t they? Yes, this was just a temporary problem, but holy shit, she was nursing a bottle of Visine like an alcoholic with a fifth of whiskey.
Nothing good was going to come of this night.
* * * * *
When Dalton got back, he came through the door to see her still curled up on his couch. He liked having her there, but he was unsure which of them felt worse. His attempt at a romantic picnic was a gigantic bust, wasn’t it? An hour later and his date’s face was still mottled and puffy.
Yeah, he was a fucking romance ninja.
After tugging the washcloth away, she rolled her head against the arm of the couch to look at him, her eyes red-rimmed and bloodshot. “Hey.”
He held up the bag in his hand. “Got your refill, though I wouldn’t recommend wearing them until morning.”
“I think I can manage that.” A little smile curved her lips. “Those things are the devil.”
“Agreed.” He came to sit on the coffee table in front of the sofa. “Do you need more drops? Another cold cloth?”
“No, I think I just need to quit messing with my eyes.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “They’re feeling better, though I’m betting I look like hell.”
There was no way he was commenting on that. She
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