his legs. The casts had concealed the scars. “It’s going to feel good to put on a pair of long pants.”
“Where are we going?” Ciara asked when she wanted to tell him that she’d enjoyed looking at his legs. They were well-formed and developed. If he hadn’t been in tip-top condition, his recovery would’ve taken longer.
“Someplace local and very casual.” He winked at her. “You don’t have to change.” Jeans hugging her hips and legs, a pastel-pink twinset and her hair pulled into a ponytail made her look like a college coed.
“Do you need help getting dressed?”
“Not this time.”
Ciara averted her gaze. “Not this time,” she mused. Not this time or the next time. Her patient was rapidly becoming more independent. After the crutches it would a cane or canes, and then he would be able to walk unaided. That’s when it would be over for her.
She’d wrestled with her conscience about sleeping with Brandt, then vacillated because the pleasure she derived offset her ambivalence. There were times when she’d called on all of her emotional resilience not to fall in love. It had been easier not to fall in love with Victor once she’d become cognizant of his controlling, possessive traits, but it was different with Brandt. At any time she could call the agency and ask to be reassigned, when it hadn’t occurred to her to resign her position at the hospital until the physical altercation with Victor.
Ciara loved nursing, and when she’d joined the hospital staff her intent had been to begin and end her career there. The staff had become her extended family and she still maintained friendships with many in the nursing department.
“What are you thinking about?”
Brandt’s query broke into her musings. “Not much,” she lied smoothly.
“How much is not much?”
“Nothing worth talking about.”
Reaching over, he tugged at her ponytail. “How would you like a break?”
Ciara stared at Brandt’s profile, surprisingly shocked by his question. “You want another nurse?”
Leaning closer, he pressed a kiss to her hair. “Now why would I want another nurse when I’m crazy about the one I have? I was talking about going away for a week or two.”
She wondered if Brandt was thinking about his aborted vacation. He’d been on his way to North Carolina when he’d had the accident. “You want to go to North Carolina?”
“No, babe, I don’t want to go to North Carolina. I’d have a problem getting around on crutches.”
Wrapping her arm around Brandt’s waist, Ciara rested her head on his shoulder. Their relationship had an undercurrent of uneasiness these days. It was as if they’d reached an impasse: they couldn’t go forward and there was no going back. There was no way they could undo making love.
“What about your therapy?”
Brandt chuckled. “Do you always have to think like a nurse?”
It was Ciara’s turn to laugh. “Of course. Once a nurse, always a nurse.”
“Well, Nurse Dennison, there are some exercises I can do without using a treadmill or bike. Now, where should we go?”
He was offering her a choice—something Victor never had done. It had always been his way or no way. She hadn’t thought about or spoken Victor’s name since Esteban’s birthday celebration, and she knew it was just a matter of time before she would be able to exorcise him completely from her mind.
“We’ll discuss it over dinner.”
Brandt angled his head and brushed his mouth over her parted lips. “Wherever we decide to go, it will have to be after Sunday. I promised the guys on the team I would come see them play Sunday afternoon.”
“What else do you have planned?” she asked, smiling.
“That’s it for now. I’m going to have to call my aunt and let her know we’ll be away and won’t be able to join the others for her fall frolic fête.”
Ciara wanted to tell Brandt that reconnecting with his family took precedence over an impromptu vacation, but didn’t know his current state of mind. Perhaps getting away was what he needed to prepare himself for the next phase of his life—because there was still the possibility that he wouldn’t be able to play ball again. He would always have his family, but even if he’d remained healthy the career of a professional football player was not a long one. He’d chosen a career path measured in mere years and wishes that he would be able to retire physically unscathed.
Brandt had selected a tiny Italian restaurant two blocks from the apartment building, and what should’ve taken them five minutes to walk