“I know Bryan’s making sure you and he are in the public eye, but does he have to be quite so dramatic about it?” Chloe asked, looking up from the newspaper spread on the counter in front of her.
“Very funny.”
“Donovan almost went nuts this morning when he heard about this. He had to leave immediately to make sure Bryan was okay. He’s probably still chewing him out for playing the hero and getting himself hurt.”
“I already gave him that lecture. He scared the bejeebers out of me. But, really, Chloe, what else could he have done? He pulled a little boy out of the car and then he went back in for the baby. If I’d been the one who’d gotten there first, I’d have done the same thing. Who wouldn’t try to save a helpless baby?”
“A lot of people wouldn’t—not if it meant risking their own lives.”
“Bryan never even hesitated. I don’t think he gave a thought to his own safety.”
“He wouldn’t.” Chloe smiled and folded the paper. “He wasn’t ‘acting the hero.’ He was simply being himself.”
“Let’s not get carried away with his praises.” Grace walked into the office to stow her purse and place the keys to Bryan’s car in her desk drawer. She assumed someone would be along soon to collect it.
Chloe followed her into the room. “How is Bryan, really? He told Donovan on the phone that the burns were only superficial, but the newspaper accounts made them seem much worse.”
“I think you could say the truth lies somewhere between those two reports.”
“Did his arm look very bad?”
Remembering Bryan’s raw, red skin, Grace nodded. “I’ve seen worse, but yeah, it looked painful.”
“You know, Justin and I can handle things around here today if you think you should spend some time with Bryan.”
Grace looked at her sister blankly. “Why would I do that?”
“You know—to take care of him.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
Chloe made a face. “Honestly, Grace, he’s been hurt. He was burned saving lives. It just seems like it would be a nice gesture if you spent some time with him today.”
“He has plenty of people to take care of him. You said yourself that Donovan rushed to his side this morning. Heaven only knows how many others did so.”
“I just thought you…”
“Don’t you start believing the stories, Chloe. None of this is real.”
Chloe frowned. “His injuries are real. Even for the sake of the charade, don’t you think it looks odd that you aren’t with him today?”
“I don’t think anyone’s paying that close attention to us,” Grace returned. “Besides, he really wasn’t hurt that badly. It was hardly worse than a very bad sunburn. Painful, but not exactly life-threatening.”
Chloe looked dissatisfied. “It’s your decision, of course.”
Grace saw no need to admit that she had tossed and turned for most of the night reliving those long minutes when Bryan had been in the car and the smell of gasoline and smoke had been heavy in the air. She wouldn’t admit that his burned arm had been the first image in her mind when the alarm had awakened her from a fitful sleep. Confessions like that would only encourage the disquieting matchmaking urge Grace had seen in her sister lately.
She glanced at her watch. “We’d better get to work. It’s almost time to open.”
She thought she did a fair job of hiding her distraction as she worked. Only a few times did someone have to say her name repeatedly to get her attention. She only stocked items on the wrong shelves twice, and incorrectly answered only a few customer questions. More than once she found herself standing beside the phone, one hand on the receiver, even though there wasn’t anyone in particular that she needed to call.
She worked through her lunch break, explaining that she wasn’t hungry when Justin offered to make a food run. Finally, at just after 2:00 p.m., she went into her office, picked up the phone and dialed Bryan’s mobile phone number. It was the number he’d given her to use whenever she needed to talk to him; he kept that phone with him at all times, answered it himself, and gave the number out only to a very few.
He answered on the second ring. “Hello?”
“Bryan, it’s Grace.”
His voice changed instantly from brusque and businesslike to warm and intimate. “Good afternoon, Grace. How are you today?”