Page 72 of Doc Defence

His gaze flew up, and he saw the flush spreading up her neck and staining her cheeks. She clearly hadn’t expected that to come out of her mouth either.

It was on the tip of his tongue to push things a little further, and then he caught a whiff of his own body odour. He wasn’t in the position to impress anyone at the moment, and he would prefer to push that conversation at a time when he was up to following through.

“You have other applicants? I’m not in the condition to fight anyone for the honour of the role, so if you could put them off until I’m better, that would be great,” Frost teased, to stop things from becoming strange between them.

“I’ll phone them and let them know. Will it be a sword fight, or will you be using your weapon of choice?” she answered dryly.

Glancing up, he saw her flush receding. “What’s my weapon of choice? A hockey stick?”

Hel giggled. “No, I actually had an image in my head of you using the crutches to fight.”

“I don’t know if I find that funny or deeply insulting.” Frost leaned his head back and scowled up at her, but he couldn’t stop the corner of his lip twitching up in amusement.

“I know your name’s Frost, but I didn’t take you for a snowflake,” she clapped back.

This time, Frost couldn’t stop the laughter bubbling up. “Snowflake?”

Hel shrugged. “If the name fits.” But the serious tone of voice was spoiled when she let out a giggle.

Frost grinned, relieved any awkwardness had been glossed over, and they chatted easily as she pushed him to the car.

CHAPTER 25

HEL

Helstoodinfrontof the microwave, waiting for the popcorn to cook. She had gone to the shops as soon as she woke after persuading Frost that this morning was all about junk food and to stop trying to make them a healthy breakfast.

Hel treated the junk food aisles like she was a kid in a candy store and bought far more than a normal person could eat in a day without vomiting. She tried to balance it out by buying them a salad for lunch and some salmon for dinner, so at least they had some healthy food in the mix.

“Is that the butter or the sweet?” Frost hopped over and stood behind her, peering into the microwave too.

Hel’s breath hitched. He was so close to her that she felt the heat radiating off his body. If she moved back a little, she could lean into his chest. Feel the planes of his muscles against her back. Maybe he would put his arms around her, and she could run her hands along his biceps—that she tried not to constantly watch as they tensed and relaxed under his shirt when he used his crutches. She wondered what it would be like to be in his warm embrace.

But she didn’t move as he was leaving so soon, and she was looking for long-term, not something that would be gone in a few weeks, leaving her shattered.

Anyway, it didn’t matter, as Frost dated women like Star. Twenty-five and well-groomed. Someone who would look amazing on his arm when he attended events.

“Butter.” Her voice sounded breathy to her own ears when she replied. “The sweet is in the bowl.”

She debated when she was at the shop only getting the butter like she said the day before, but had caved and bought both.

“Excellent.” He leaned closer as the kernels began to pop.

Hel’s breath stuttered. This was not good at all, although a small part of her mind told her how very good indeed it actually was.

“I was a little baffled when you tried to limit our popcorn choice,” Frost said, which made his chest move and brush over her back.

“Yeah,” Hel squeaked. Pull it together. Pull it together. But her internal pep talk didn’t slow her heart rate.

She was disappointed when the microwave pinged, and he stepped back to let her get the food out. Berating herself for getting caught up in thoughts, which were only going to lead to her getting disappointed.

She didn’t look at him as she took the pack of popcorn out of the microwave and poured it into the bowl sitting ready on the counter.

“Right. Get your giant self out of my way and into the living room.” She made shooing gestures at Frost, who still stood in the kitchen, watching her.

“Is your eye sore?” He asked sympathetically.

Hel’s hand shot to her eye, which was a lovely shade of purple thanks to her patient. “Yeah, a bit.”

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