Page 58 of Unexpected Entanglement

Ignoring her, Chris continued, “You can handle today’s training, yeah?” After a beat, he added, “We’ll fill you in later.”

He hung up, went around the hood, and got in the truck. “Boy, that friend of yours is relentless.”

“Kinda has to be as a female chef,” Rowan off-handedly said as she struggled to put the ice on her ankle.

“Here.” Chris grabbed her left leg by the calf and pivoted it toward him over the bench seat.

His innocent touch sent a straight zap to her loin, and Rowan’s voice turned squeaky. “What are you doing?”

He laid the ankle over his firm right thigh before gently spreading the bag of ice over it. “You ask that a lot. Have a little faith.”

Sure. Though the ice helped numb the feelings on her ankle, it didn’t cool the heat pooling inside her.

eighteen

“I can manage,” Rowan told Chris as they climbed the steps to the house. She now had crutches and a walking boot over her left foot to her mid-calf.

After spending the afternoon waiting for a doctor and an X-ray, they finally confirmed it was just a sprain. No fracture, no tear, but it was still bad enough that the doctor recommended rest, ice, compression, and elevation, plus over-the-counter meds as needed. He added the boot to help immobilize the ankle.

“Why are you so stubborn? Is this another trait that your father passed down to his children?” Chris quipped.

Rowan glanced at him. “I prefer the term tenacious.”

“Right.” He laughed. “Your sister has a similar streak.”

Digesting that comment, she asked, “What else do we have in common?”

“The eyes. Same brilliant, clear blues. They can look warm like tropical seawater hitting a white-sandy beach or freeze you like the ice in the Arctic.”

Rowan’s brow furrowed at his description. “You’ve studied my sister’s eyes a bit too much. Isn’t she your best friend’s wife?”

“I’m talking about yours,” Chris said with a smile. “I can observe them better without the hat.”

She automatically looked up to where her hat’s bill would be, and she just noticed she didn’t have her hat on. “Where’s my hat?” she gasped.

“Were you wearing it earlier? It must’ve fallen off your head when you stumbled at the cottage.”

“I gotta go back. My phone and my hat—”

Chris shook his head with an eye roll. “I just gave you a compliment, and all you can think of is your phone and hat?”

Rowan scoffed. “I know the compliment isn’t genuine, so…”

“Why isn’t my compliment genuine?” His left eyebrow rose in confusion.

“You’re a flirt. I know your kind. All the girls at the farm are fawning over you. Even Sheila, and she’s the toughest cookie I know.”

“Sheila’s a sweetheart. What are you talking about?”

“See. Case in point. You easily have them eating out of your hand.”

Chris narrowed his eyes at her with an amused smile. “Are you jealous?”

“Why would I be jealous?” Rowan asked as she opened the door and limped inside.

“Because I’m your fiancé.”

Before Rowan could retort, Alex came sliding into the foyer in her socks.

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