Page 106 of As They Are
He blew out a breath and knelt, not giving me an answer. My mind went blank when he gently took off my shoe.
“What are you doing?”
“Making sure you don’t get sore.”
Holy shit. He was rubbing my ankle while pissed at me? My body was warm already from the hot day, but this was taking it to new levels.
“Why are you doing all of this?”
He didn’t look up as he answered, his fingers trailing my sore ankle. “If there’s anything I learned about you falling off that ladder, it’s that I can’t bear to let anything happen to you.”
“Nothing is happening to me. I’m just in a little bit of pain.”
Now he looked at me. “That’s included in what I said.”
I could get lost in his eyes, but then I remembered where we were. The cameras were rolling. This had to be for them.
“I’m trying to rest. I’m just not the kind of person to do nothing all day.”
“Then sit. Do your interviews on a chair. If they give you a hard time, send them to me.”
“O-okay.” My brain was fuzzy. His hands and words were too much.
He spent a few minutes focusing on my ankle, and for the entire time, I was unable to think straight, much less talk to him.
Afterward, he told Madison to do my interviews with Jude from the park bench. She tried to argue, but he didn’t let her.
Once all of it was set up, he turned to me. “Can I trust you to take care of yourself?”
“I’ll try my best.”
“Okay.” He pressed a kiss to my cheek. “I’ll see you later, buttercup.”
And he was gone. I watched him until he disappeared into the clinic, noticing that he didn’t stop to take off the mic pack. In fact, I wasn’t sure he had even been wearing one in the first place.
Which meant I wasn’t sure if all of that was for the cameras at all.
Almost two weeks later, I walked into Henry’s clinic to get my stitches removed. I’d done my best to take it easy, but he had also made sure I was listening. I did have a lot to do when it came to the show, especially when I was taking more time off right after the injury, and Madison wanted the all clear to put me back on my usual work.
The door jingled to announce my presence, and Henry poked his head around the corner. “Wren?”
“Hey,” I said. “Have time for a walk-in? It’s been two weeks.”
“I do,” he replied. “Come on back.”
“No waiting time? Perks of dating the doctor, I guess.”
“More like perks of a small-town doctor.”
I laughed and followed him. At least he didn’t correct me on the dating thing.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“About the same as this morning. My ankle is mostly fine. The stitches seem fine.”
He hummed and took off the gauze. “You’re healing really nicely.”
“I aim to please.” That might have been a lie. It had been over a week since he’d gotten bossy with me, and I was already missing it. I was torn between following orders and pushing him to get more.
