Page 7 of Remembering You
I nodded. “It was the cheapest place I could find to rent, so I figured I’d utilize it while I was a part of the program.”
“I’ll drop off your bags for you. That way you don’t have to lug them around the emergency room.”
Without thinking, I placed a palm protectively on the vision board… as stupid as it was, that thing was like a piece of my soul.
“Don’t worry,” Jim said, smiling at me. “I’ll take good care of your things. Nothing will happen to this… um… this…”
“Vision board,” I answered for him, feeling suddenly immature.
“I promise to take good care of your vision board,” Jim said. His tone held no condescension. No malice or sarcasm and it made me feel slightly better.
“Well, thank you. That is seriously very nice.”
He shrugged away the compliment like it was nothing. And maybe it was to him. But to me? Feeling as lonely and scared and foolish as I did right then, it meant everything. “I’m headed that way anyway. It’s not a big deal. Do you know which room number you’re in?”
I bent, digging through my bags until I found the folder with all the information I needed. “I’m in 434, Lodge A.”
He frowned, chewing the inside of his cheek, deep in thought. “That’s not going to work. Four flights of stairs on that ankle?”
Inwardly, I winced. He was right… that was going to suck. I definitely didn’t think my ankle was broken, but even a sprain could take a while to heal—longer if you have to climb four flights of stairs several times a day.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Jim said, smiling once more. “I’ve got some pull over there.”
“You do, do you?” He nodded, chest puffed out with pride and I playfully narrowed my gaze. “How so?”
“Just trust me. I’ll check you in and meet you at the ER with your new room number and keys.”
“You’re being kind of elusive, but I don’t really have much choice, do I?”
He gently rolled my vision board up, holding a hand out for the rubber band I had slipped around my wrist. I handed it over and once he finished, he lifted the rest of my bags effortlessly, slinging them over his shoulder with another heart-melting grin. Then, he looked up, waving at Sheila. “See you later tonight.”
She hardly glanced at him over her shoulder, giving a little wave goodbye as well and my face heated as I watched their exchange. He wasn’t mine. That heart-melting grin wasn’t meant to warm me inside. I could not and would not fall for the one man who was already taken. And taken by my boss. That was careless and stupid and I needed to pull it together.
Sheila walked over, sipping her coffee and grumbling under her breath. “I swear she does that just to piss me off,” she said quietly.
I lifted my brows. “What happened?”
“I’m allergic to nutmeg,” Sheila grunted. “And I swear Elsa convinced Jack to brew all the coffee with cinnamon and nutmeg just to make my life harder.”
That… that seemed unlikely. Maybe even a little paranoid. Lifting my gaze, I glanced over Sheila’s shoulder to where Elsa was behind the counter with a sneering grin plastered on her face. Hm. Then again, maybe it wasn’t so paranoid. “So, what is that you’re drinking then?”
“I have to order Americanos now. They take twice as long to make.” Sheila sighed and rolled her eyes. “I swear, she’s just in love with Jim and makes my life harder every chance she can out of spite.”
Well, that didn’t seem right. Not from what I had noticed. Then again, what the hell did I know? I’d been in this town all of two-seconds. “Really? I mean, it’s none of my business, but I thought she seemed to like Jack,” I whispered.
“Jack?” Sheila snorted a laugh. “Who in their right mind would findhimattractive?” Okay, admittedly, he wasn’t as hot as Jim, in my opinion. He was less preppy. His wild red hair was a few weeks in need of a haircut, but he wasn’t hideous like Sheila suggested. He was actually really handsome in a rugged, burly way that seemed to fit Elsa.
But the last thing I wanted was to get in the middle of whatever this drama between Elsa and Sheila was. I simply shrugged in response.
Sheila’s gaze lit up. “Wait… doyouthink Jack’s cute?” Her grin widened and she slid into the empty seat beside me.
“Uh… no. I mean, he’s notnotcute. But I’m not really interested. He’s not my type—”
Sheila giggled and took another sip of her coffee. “I think you’re protesting an awful lot.” She smiled widely from behind her coffee cup.
I cleared my throat. I would give almost anything right now for a change in subject. I couldn’t exactly say,Nope, not interested because I think your boyfriend is super hot.Instead, I said nothing.
“Anyway,” Sheila said, flipping her hand in the air. “We should get you to the ER. Unless you want to clean up a bit first.”
