I shrugged, too soaked to care about hurrying. “What’s the rush? Afraid you’ll rust if you stand out here for more than a minute?”
“Absolutely.” He opened the passenger door for me, and I made my way over to him. “I would complain about you dripping all over the leather, but lucky for you, this is Leo’s vehicle and I don’t give a shit.”
“Lucky for me.” I ducked into the front seat and then held my crutches out to him. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” After tossing them in the back, he rounded the front of Range Rover and slid onto the driver’s seat. He turned up the heat and adjusted the vents so they were pointed at me.
“How did you find me?” I asked.
“Hayle texted when he realized you weren’t at the townhouse, and since I’d just gotten back to the marina, I joined in the search.” He glanced at me before putting the SUV in drive. “Want to tell me why you left without taking your phone along?”
“I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly.”
“Guess that’s why you ended up over a mile from home in this weather?”
Had I? “Guess so.”
He didn’t ask me any other questions, and we made the short drive back to the townhouse in companionable silence. Well, minus the sound of my teeth chattering. I must have been really out of it to not notice how cold it had gotten.
Once we made it inside and upstairs, Tristin followed me into the master bedroom. “We need to get you out of those clothes and then dry your cast. You really shouldn’t have gotten it that wet.”
“We?”
He didn’t bother replying, disappearing into the bathroom and reappearing with a towel and hair dryer a few moments later. After setting both on the bed, he opened the door to my closet and tore a heavy sweatshirt off a hanger. Meanwhile, I just stood there, staring. Even after more than a month of being taken care of by Tristin and his brothers, I didn’t know what to do with this. He was taking charge, like he had the right. And, goddammit, I wished he did.
When he realized that I still hadn’t moved, he led me to the bed, extracted my crutches, and helped me sit on the edge of the mattress. Then, he unfurled the oversized towel and gently blotted at my face and around my scalp before moving onto my hair.
He was so focused on his task, he didn’t notice me watching him with rapt attention. Maybe it was my imagination, but I could have sworn his features had softened over the past few weeks. His face didn’t seem quite as angular, his jaw still chiseled but not as sharp. Or, maybe, the difference was all in the loosening of the lines around his mouth, giving even more fullness to his lower lip. And his eyes. Their aquamarine hue was as vibrant as ever, but there was more depth to them. More warmth and affection and everything good.
They suddenly met mine, and a shiver ran down my spine that had nothing to do with the damp material clinging to my skin. This connection between us was too strong. I couldn’t deny it anymore. And I didn’t even want to.
But I had to.
So, I forced my gaze away and said, “Could you, um, leave for a minute? I need to change.”
I felt his eyes on me, but I didn’t acknowledge his presence as I made my way over to my dresser and gathered fresh undergarments and leggings. When I heard the door quietly shut behind him, I released a ragged breath. I could do this. Right?
It didn’t take me long to finish drying off and change, but I didn’t immediately re-open the door. Instead, I leaned against it and counted my breaths. Being so close to Tristin when my emotions were already so fragile was a seriously bad idea. I should just tell him I wanted to be alone. That would fix everything.
But as soon as I saw him waiting for me on the other side of the door, I couldn’t get the words out. I told myself it was because he’d been so kind to me, and I couldn’t bear the thought of rejecting him in any way. Yet, I knew better. I was being selfish. I wanted him near me, even if it ended up hurting both of us.