Page 33 of Wild For You

My face falls.

Fuck!

Is that today?

“Happy birthday. You look older than you are.” Kellan lets out an annoying laugh, then shouts to the commotion on the terrace, “Hey, folks. Cash is now also suffering from dementia.”

“Keep the fuck quiet.” I shuffle around the bend on my crutches, taking slow, mindful steps.

“Dude,” Kellan continues, oblivious to my need for solitude. “I’m telling you. Hiding from the world all the time makes you mentally challenged.”

“I very much doubt that,” I mumble. “As for the hiding, I’ve had a very good reason.”

He cocks his head to the side, regarding me intently. “I can’t think of one, but please share it with me.”

“I’ve been hiding because—” How can I spell out the obvious to my brother who seems to have forgotten all about the bachelor life he used to live before his soon-to-be wife, Ava, came along and put an end to it. There are certain rules involving the intricacies of dipping your dick into the dating pool without actually swimming in it. One being: don’t ever let a woman invade your private space, unless you want her to take over.

“I’ve been avoiding Erin,” I mutter.

“You’ve been avoiding yourphysical therapist?” Kellan repeats like I’m speaking Chinese.

“Yes.” I nod slowly. “And I’d like to keep it that way.”

His brows draw together. “Why?”

“Because Dad should never have sent her. I don’t need anyone’s help. I’m doing just fine on my own.”

Kellan stares at me for a second, then bursts out in the kind of laughter that would grate on a saint’s nerves.

“What?” I shrug my shoulders grimly. “What’s so funny?”

He continues laughing. I glare at him until he’s calmed down, but the flicker of amusement in his eyes doesn’t blow out. “Don’t tell me you haven’t just broken your leg, but also your brain. If I weren’t walking down the aisle soon—” He smacks his tongue, meaningfully. “Seriously, if I were you I’d seriously consider whether I might have lost more than just the mobility of my leg in that accident.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Your dick. I’m talking about your dick.” He sighs and wraps an arm around my shoulders, drawing me closer. “Listen, bro. The way I see it, you should thank Dad for being an intrusive jerk. He’s just tossed you a hot piece of ass right in front of your door, and you’ve been nothing but a sulky little kid about it. Don’t tell me you haven’t been thinking about tapping Erin because if you haven’t, you don’t need physical therapy. You need a shrink.”

“I didn’t ask Dad to hire someone as hot as her.”

His hand moves to his ear, cupping it. “Did you just say hot?” His voice is dripping with amusement as he slams the palm of his hand against my back. “I’m glad to hear there’s still hope for you. It took us six weeks to find the right person—basically a physical therapist with the right credentials, glowing recommendations from previous patients, and who’d be willing to live in the same house as the patient. It took us even longer than that to persuade her to travel to a town that’s in the middle of nowhere. It sure helps that she’s easy on the eye, funny, motivated—all things we didn’t know before we first met her.” He cocks a brow. “Want me to go on? I know you want to say it, so….” He shrugs. “You’re welcome.”

“She’s not my type.”

“Who cares whether she’s your type? She’s here to get you back on your feet.” He laughs. “Besides, I don’t believe you because you just called her hot. My advice? Let her spin her magic. It will be like a good ol’ massage parlor, maybe even better.”

His clueless remarks anger me for some reason. Erin isn’t cheap. She’s a professional. For some reason, I want him to respect that. “Do you have any idea what physical therapy is?”

“No, and I don’t care either. That’s for you to find out. I’m not the one who was stupid enough to ride that bull. No offense.”

“None taken.”

While Kellan likes to dish out his advice and opinion to everyone, regardless of whether they might be interested in hearing it, I excel at doing the opposite of whatever people expect of me.

He obviously expects me to fuck her, which I might have…under different circumstances.

Kellan’s brows shoot up meaningfully. “So, how long has it been exactly?”

Dammit!

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