Page 8 of Wild Tides
“Overblown. All I did was have a moment of quick reflexes.” I gestured sheepishly to my ankle. “Followed immediately by a not-so-great one.”
“Just enjoy the notoriety, Lee.” Her amusement turned to concern. “How’s the ankle doing? I meant to bring you a fresh ice pack earlier.”
“Fine.” Her brow arched like she didn’t believe me. “Mostly fine,” I modified. “Another ice pack after dinner would be nice.”
“You got it. Anything else you need from upstairs?”
I held her gaze. The only thing I really wanted was her company.
“Maybe we can watch a movie?” I offered.
Her eyes widened. Like she was surprised I wanted more time with her.
“Sure. I can pop some popcorn while you pick one out.”
“I don’t think I have any popcorn.”
Her smile broadened. “You do now.”
“Thank you.” I should have been able to find more sophisticated words to show my appreciation, but the way her coffee eyes lit, I figured I’d done okay. “You’re a good friend, Vi.”
Her eyes darkened, her smile faltering for a moment. “Right. Friends,” she said briskly, grabbing our plates. “I’ll be back with the popcorn.”
She mounted the stairs quickly, leaving me with the vague idea that I’d said the wrong thing. Hurt her somehow. It was the last thing I wanted. A pit opened in my stomach. For a man who could find fifty different words to describe death, I sure struggled with finding the right ones for Vi to feel appreciated.
Chapter 5 – Violet
Butter chicken was too lavish to cook for just myself, but staying with Lee gave me a good excuse for whipping it up. He needed the comfort food, even if he’d never admit it. I scraped the leftovers into a container and stowed them in the fridge while the popcorn popped, keeping a careful ear out. I hated the smell of burned popcorn. There were few things worse than scorched kernels and butter. Something about the microwave bag turned the combination into nuclear waste.
I’d half expected Lee to claim he needed to get more work done and boot me upstairs after dinner. Being friends with Lee Murphy was a little like befriending a hedgehog. He looked so cute and cuddly on the outside, but he was easily spooked. And those spikes… He’d tell me I was totally wrong about hedgehogs. All the book research he did meant he could pull obscure facts out of thin air when he wanted to.
He was dedicated to his craft. To his career. It was one of the things I admired about him, even as I despaired. Getting him to notice anything outside of his immediate bubble was nearlyimpossible. Like the fact that I was interested in more than friendship. A situationship with Lee would be complicated. My brothers. Our small town. His drive, bordering on workaholic territory. The man didn’t know when to quit. It was admirable. And frustrating as hell.
He kept so much of himself private, it was hard to know what he was thinking. Feeling. But something told me cracking his tough exterior would be worth the effort. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but I could swear he’d softened toward me. Opened to me, just a bit.
I liked to think I’d become more than just Drew and Zach’s little sister. But how much more? And if he ever turned that quiet intensity on me, really looked at me that way, could I handle it?
A shiver skittered under my skin, too electric to ignore.
Easy sex was one thing. But nothing would ever be simple with Lee Murphy. He did complicated for breakfast. Maybe not in his love life, but everywhere else? Absolutely.
I shook the swirl of what-ifs before they could take root. He’d agreed to a movie. Popcorn.That was it.
I dumped the popcorn into a bowl and grabbed a couple of sodas from his fridge and an ice pack, before loping downstairs to find him flushed.
“You okay?” I asked.
He wrinkled his nose. “Apparently trips to the bathroom are almost more than I can manage. My ankle is throbbing.”
“I’m sorry, Lee.”
He shrugged. “It is what it is. I’m mostly just annoyed at myself. But if I haven’t said it enough, thanks for taking care of me. Contemplating tackling the stairs to get an ice pack on my own makes me want to cry.”
“Well, we can’t have that.” I held out the squishy blue compress. “Here. Let’s get you settled.” I helped Lee stretch out,his right leg propped on the coffee table, before frowning. “That can’t be comfortable. Shall we just get the bed pulled out? Then you don’t have to do it later.”
“Sure.”
I tugged Lee to his feet, and he hobbled to his desk chair while I scooted the table to the opposite wall and pulled the cushions off the couch to access the fold-out mattress beneath. He kept a set of sheets on the pullout, so it only took a moment for me to tuck cushions in the gap between the mattress and the back of the couch.
