Chapter 7
To come out of left field – when Mr. Overprotector is in on the surprise
“You’re not going.”
“You’re not going,” I mimic like I’m a teenager being put on house arrest by her mom instead of a full-fledged adult being held captive by a burly man.
Great. Now, I can’t stop imagining Rowan in a pirate’s outfit. I nearly fan myself when I think of his massive chest being exposed by the pirate shirt. Does he have hair on his chest? Can I curl my fingers into it? Or is his chest smooth and hairless and I can glide my hands over it without disruption? Inquiring minds want to know.
“You broke your ankle last week. You should keep your leg elevated, not go bar hopping.” Grumpy dude had to open his mouth and ruin my pirate fantasy, didn’t he?
I lean forward as far as I can without tipping forward on these dang crutches and get right up in his face. “I’m not going bar hopping. I’m going to Electric Vibes for the monthly pub quiz. I can’t miss a pub quiz. My team relies on me for the sports questions. Ellery, Aspen, Lilac, and Juniper are useless when it comes to sports.”
He crosses his arms over his chest and his biceps flex with the movement. My eyes are drawn there, and I can’t help but wonder if I can wrap my hand around his bicep or if his bicep is wider than my hand.
“Alcohol and pain meds do not mix.”
“Good thing I didn’t take any pain meds today then, isn’t it?” I fire back at him.
He growls. “You didn’t take any pain meds?” He prowls down the hallway toward the bedrooms. “Where do you keep them? In the bathroom?”
I use my crutch to slap his calf. “Stop! I don’t need any pain medication. It’s a broken ankle. The only reason I have the pain meds in the first place is because of the whole being a complete wimp and passing out thing.”
My face heats at the memory. Why, oh why, am I the one person in the world who passes out because of a broken bone? Ugh. So embarrassing.
Rowan actually stops his prowl down the hallway. “You’re positive you don’t need something to help with the pain? I have some aspirin.”
I roll my eyes. “Dude, if I want aspirin, I have some. I’m a woman. I have a complete pharmacy in my make-up bag.”
He blows out a breath of air, and I realize I’ve won this round. “But you’re still not going to the pub.”
I guess I haven’t won this round after all. “I’m going. I’ll message Lyric. My future brother-in-law is the Chief of Police. He won’t let you hold me captive.”
I hope. You never know what the people of Winter Falls will do in any given situation. My sister Aspen appears determined to force Rowan and me together, and I fear she’s roped her fiancé, the Chief of Police, into assisting her. Why do happily engaged people think it’s okay to matchmake other people?
“Go ahead,” he says and offers me his phone.
Well, shit. Lyric is definitely compromised. But none of this makes any sense.
Today’s my birthday. I planned to meet up with my sisters at the bar to celebrate. Technically, my birthday celebration is Sunday at our weekly family dinner, but I can’t let the actual day of my birthday slide by without some kind of celebration. It would be the height of depressing!
I bite my lip as I stare up at Rowan. He doesn’t know it’s my birthday either. I know everything about this man – his birthday, the day he was drafted into the NFL, the day he got married, the day he blew out his knee and his career ended, the day he got divorced – and he doesn’t even know when my birthday is. If there ever was a big flashing red sign telling me this man is not for me, this would probably be it.
His phone beeps and he reads the message. “Get your shit. I’ll drive you to the bar.”
Wait! What? “Why did you change your mind?” I wave my hands in the air as if to erase my question and nearly end up nosediving to the floor. “Never mind. I’m ready. Let’s go.”
“Don’t you need to spend an hour in the bathroom doing your make-up?”
I glare up at him. “Are you saying I’m ugly?”
He rubs his neck. “No?”
“Whatever. Let’s go.”
He bends down to lift me, and I swat him away. “I can walk, dude. In fact, I’ll race your fat ass to the golf cart,” I taunt before taking off.
I’m not blowing smoke. I am pretty fast on my crutches. It helps that my upper body is strong from all the helping out at Phoenix’s farm I’ve done.