Page 14 of Blitzing Emily

“You need to go to bed. Come on, sugar.”

“I don’t understand why you’re still calling me that, either.”

Brandon didn’t answer. He helped her up, offering his arm. Emily felt a little steadier than earlier, but she took it. They crossed the living room at a glacial pace and climbed the stairs one at a time.

“I think I need more medicine, too. My head—”

“Hang on.”

He swept her up in his arms. This time, though, she clasped her arms around his neck.

“Last door on the left,” she said sleepily. She laid her cheek against his shoulder. “Thanks for the ride.”

He put her down on the bed and threw the blanket from the foot of the bed over her.

Emily’s room was a confection of lace, ruffles, and a rainbow of pink. Besides the four-poster bed, which was dressed with ruffles and flounces and lacy pillows, and the overstuffed easy chair and ottoman, which was covered with a print festooned with huge cabbage roses, she lay on a custom-made, floral-print quilt. She was exhausted, but she could only imagine his thoughts. Brandon had stumbled into some kind of parallel universe. Girly World: No Boys Allowed. She could only imagine how shocking it was in comparison with what he’d seen of the rest of her house.

“Everything’s so soft,” he muttered.

EMILY OPENED HEReyes to see Brandon sitting in her bedroom chair and watching CNN. He wore her coral pink silk bathrobe. It didn’t come close to fitting him. His damp hair and a wave of what she now knew as Brandon’s scent—clean male skin, a bit musky, and a hint of old-fashioned aftershave—announced he’d been in the shower.

“My clothes will be done in the dryer pretty soon.”

“I was wondering if pink silk was a new look for you.”

“There isn’t a pair of sweats in this house,” he complained. “It’s not like I could go naked.”

He propped his crossed ankles on the edge of Emily’s bed. She tried not to stare at the sculpted chest covered in darker blond curls or let her eyes stray further down.

“You went through my closet. That’s private. What are you still doing here?” she said.

“You were out for a while.”

“Brandon, I’m fine. You don’t have to stay. Your girlfriend must be crazy mad. You should call her.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Well, then, who sent you all the stuff I dropped off today?”

“Not a big deal—”

Emily interrupted him. “Let’s go back to my original question.”

“The doctor told me to watch you. Apparently, I’m the only person in the country who doesn’t have a date tonight,” he joked. “I have to be here.”

She craned her neck to look at the clock radio, which he was currently blocking. “It’s eleven-thirty. I’m imposing on you.”

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be,” he responded. He didn’t meet her eyes. Emily resolved that when his clothes were done he was leaving, whether he knew it or not.

She pushed herself out of bed. She was still a little woozy, but she needed to get up and do some things. She headed toward the staircase, bracing herself against the wall with one hand.

He hurried into the hallway. His arm snaked around her waist.

“Let’s go together.”

Emily resisted the impulse to melt into his side. She reminded herself that she didn’t know him. He wasn’t part of her life. He’d go back to the Victoria’s Secret models or whoever else he dated, and she would still be alone.

“I’m fine. I can do this.” She missed a step. He caught her before she fell. “Oops.”

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