“Lay down. I’ll grab an ice pack.” I head back down to the kitchen, digging around until I realize they don’t have a single damn ice pack and instead grab a bag of frozen peas.
I return to Hadley’s room and hold the bag of peas up as I stand at the foot of her bed.
“What?”
“Peas don’t suffice.”
“Nice word choice.”
“They don’t stay cold long enough.”
“Would you believe me if I told you this was my first sprained ankle?”
“Holbrook is one of the best trainers in the country. You should listen to him.” I shake my head and grab one of the pillows and tuck it under her knee and a second one under her foot. I strip off the tape before dropping the frozen peas on her ankle.
“Are you always this bossy?”
My gaze snaps to hers and I raise a brow. “You have no idea how damn bossy I can be.”
She stares at me, her playfulness turning to inquisition as she narrows her eyes. “Do you even know when you’re flirting or is it a default setting?”
I snicker, tossing the wad of tape into the garbage beside her desk. “Set a timer for twenty minutes.”
She rolls and grabs her phone, setting a timer before grabbing her laptop and setting it on her bare thighs.
I bring my bag to the side of her bed and sit beside her, pulling my laptop out.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
I fold a pillow behind my lumbar and lean back, trying to get comfortable on the queen-size bed. “Homework.”
She stares at me for a moment, and then opens her laptop.
“Why does the house smell different?” I ask.
“Hannah’s really big into seasonal scents. She was burning pumpkin spice candles, but after you told me you hate pumpkin, I got her apple-spiced ones to burn.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
She shrugs, looking at her computer. “I prefer apple, anyway.” She begins typing.
I open the assignment I managed to outline while Holbrook iced my back this evening and get to work.
We type until the timer goes off, then I move my computer to the end of the bed and lean forward to look at her ankle. I close her laptop, ignoring her objection as I move it to the bed beside her and settle with my back against the wall. “Give me your foot.”
“You’re not rubbing my foot. It’s fine.”
“Hadley.”
“Nolan,” she mocks.
“It’s going to help it heal.”
“It is healing.”
“Can I just help? I invited you to that damn event.”
“It was a freak accident. I completely absolve you of any responsibility. You weren’t even there.”