“Yeah, yeah. Believe me, no one knows how fast muscles atrophy better than someone who gets paid to build them.” The girls went back to their art project, and he reached for Hailey’s hand. “Hey, I’m sorry for the timing of this.”
“It’s not your fault, and I’ll only have to wait on you hand and foot for a couple of days.” She turned serious. “Are you bummed about your team?”
“Sure. It sucks, but…” He hunched a shoulder. “It’ll enable me to help out here.”
“Yeah, I was wondering about that. How does this affect your plans? Are you still leaving right after Christmas?”
“Actually, I’m staying for six weeks. I’m doing my physical therapy here.”
“In Calamity? Are you serious?”
“Yep. It makes the most sense.”
“You’re going to stay here for six weeks?”
“I am.”
“Oh, my God.” She fell back against the cushion. “Is it terrible to say I’m relieved? I know you need to be with your team, and I can totally do it alone. But…God, just knowing you’re here to help…I mean, I’m so stinking happy about that.”
Surprisingly, he was, too. “I talked to the guys. Since you’ve got to work, and I have to train, Declan’s going to find us a sitter. But yeah.” He reached for her hand. “It’s you and me. We’re in this together.”
She squeezed. “You and me.” They were just three simple words, but when uttered in a whisper filled with yearning, their meaning changed.
He looked at their joined hands, his big, battle-scarred, and veiny, and hers so slender and elegant, and his heart flipped over. He’d been touched by a thousand people in his lifetime—trainers, doctors, friends, teammates, lovers. But only this woman’s had the power to transport him out of his ordinary world and into someplace magical.
“Cole?” she asked quietly. “I’m really sorry about this morning. I just think I’ve been let down by so many people that when someone exceeds my expectations, I’m kind of blown away.”
“Your mom?”
“Honestly, other than you and Lindsay, pretty much everyone’s let me down in one way or another. I think it’s the kind of people my mom hangs around. They’re all flaky and self-involved.”
He liked this moment with her. Holding hands on the couch, the girls working happily on their ornaments, the house smelling like pine and cinnamon.
It struck him that he’d never—not once—just hung out in his home. He either had a rowdy group of guests with him, or he was alone and anxious.
And he only knew the difference because of how content he was right then.
Content. Huh. He’d never felt that before.
“But you haven’t let me down.” Her voice went soft, full of affection. “I’m just really sorry for taking my personal issues out on you. You didn’t deserve them.”
“We’re good.” They were so much more than good. He was on fire for her, and given how she’d kissed him, she might feel the same way.
He’d be here for the next six weeks.
Holy shit. Could he finally get to be with her?
ChapterEleven
Since she wantedto give the girls robes for Christmas, Hailey asked her mom to overnight some fabric. She bought supplies and then found a room in this giant house where she could spread out and work.
It looked like a craft room of some kind. One sage green wall held two dozen wrapping paper dispensers. Every occasion was represented from baby showers to children’s birthdays, major and minor holidays, weddings, and graduations.
A massive hutch took up another wall. It had nooks for scissors, bows, and tape and a rows of ribbon rods in the center.
Lost in her work, Hailey startled at the phone vibrating on the island counter. When she saw Cole’s name, she opened the text.
Cole: Heard from the PI. He’s found some distant cousins of Lindsay’s mom. They’re less than twenty miles away.