The Billionaire's Practice Kiss - Tamie Dearen Page 0,18
pity makes me feel inferior.”
“I wasn’t trying to—”
“I know you weren’t, but that’s how it feels. I liked you better when you were giving me a hard time. That made me feel like we were equals.”
He gave a slow nod. “Fair enough. I won’t pity you. But am I allowed to admire you?”
“Depends. Could be pity in disguise.” She let him see her smirk. “You don’t know me well enough to admire me for anything but having survived a car wreck, and that wasn’t even my doing. You should be admiring the firefighters and the doctors and nurses for saving me.”
One eyebrow lifted. “I can admire you for having a better response to your adversity than I had to mine.”
“Ah, but I had counseling. You probably didn’t talk to anyone about your feelings.”
“I’m a man. I don’t talk about my feeling.” He grinned as he emphasized the singular form of the word.
“Men have just as many emotions as women, whether they acknowledge it or not,” she said. “But anyway, I’d rather be admired for something else. Or nothing at all. I hate having that stupid accident define who I am for the rest of my life.”
“Okay, then. No pity and no admiration.” A grin played at the edge of his lips. “You’re the first woman I’ve met who didn’t want to be admired.”
“You can admire me all you want,” she corrected. “Just pick something that has nothing to do with the accident.”
“Hmmm…” His brow creased. “How about your eyes?”
“My eyes?”
“Yes. I’ve never seen eyes like yours…striated dark blue with a black outline. Your eyes are killer!”
Ellery’s heart skipped a beat. She’d been complimented on her eyes before, but she didn’t remember it making her pulse race like this. She knew his words didn’t mean anything. They were only friends, and barely even that. She hadn’t even known the man for twenty-four hours. He certainly wasn’t romantically interested.
So why am I reacting like he is?
She knew one sure way to put herself back in reality. “You never did tell me what happened last night.”
“Nothing much.” The casual tone in his voice was forced. “You called for help, and I kind of calmed you down.”
The sedative must’ve kept her from waking up. How humiliating! “I’m so sorry. I hope you didn’t lose much sleep.”
Come to think of it, his eyes did look a little bloodshot.
“I’m fine. Not even tired.” He chuckled. “And if Mom’s tired, it’s her own fault. She got up every time to make sure I left the door to your room open. You’d think I was sixteen instead of a grown man, but I humored her.”
Ellery only heard two words of his reply. “Every time? How many times did you have to get up?”
“Only three times,” he replied quickly. “And the last time only took about five minutes.”
Which meant the other times had taken significantly longer. It wasn’t simply humiliating. It was mortifying. No wonder he felt so sorry for her.
“Listen, I really appreciate what you did, but you didn’t have to do that.” She held up her hand when he started to protest. “This happens to me all the time, and I’m used to it. So tonight, I’ll sleep downstairs on the couch where you can’t hear me.”
A V-shaped furrow formed on his brow, a replica of the one she’d seen on his mom’s forehead. “That’s not necessary. I honestly didn’t mind at all.”
“You got less sleep than you would with a new puppy.”
A dimple popped into view. “Then I’ll be ready if I ever get one.”
Why did he have to be so cute? She had to do something, or she was going to fall for him.
“Okay, then. I’m going to pay you back.”
“Pay me back?” His gaze darted her way and back to the road. “I don’t need your money.”
“No, I’m going to pay you with what you don’t have.” She stuck out her chin. “I’m going to help you win Allegra back.”
Chapter 8
It was one thing to get a haircut he didn’t want. It was another thing to get one with Ellery watching, a triumphant expression etched on her face. How had he let her talk him into doing this? Probably because he felt guilty.
He hadn’t even admitted to her that he’d talked to a counselor about his problems with his stepdad. He was too embarrassed that he hadn’t made any real progress while Ellery had come so far after much worse trauma. She wasn’t even bitter, despite losing her entire family.