“I’m not in denial,” I called into the other room.
“Damn,” Roxie whispered loudly.
I got myself a beer and walked back into the living room taking a long pull. This somewhat hurt my lip (okay, so it hurt my lip a lot) but I powered through it.
When I hit the living room again, Lee came up to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders curling me into his body.
It was then I saw that I got blood on his shirt where I had wiped my face.
“I got blood on your shirt,” I told him.
“Forget it,” he returned. “Look at me, Ava.”
My gaze lifted from his shoulder to his eyes. Close up I could see he had nice eyes, warm, chocolate brown.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine.”
“You should go upstairs, lie down, talk to Roxie,” he suggested.
“I’m fine.”
Lee looked at Hank. “Maybe we should call Victim’s Assistance.”
“I’m fine,” I repeated, a lot louder and a lot snottier this time.
Lee looked back at me. “Okay, honey. You’re fine,” he said this in the way all men speak when they’re dealing with a stubborn, unreasonable woman. I just stopped myself from rolling my eyes.
Instead I offered, “I’ll clean your shirt. I’m good with stains. I can Shout it out like a pro. If I didn’t go into graphic design, I was going to go into dry cleaning.”
The eye wrinkle came back, it was a lot better close up, in fact it was positively magnetic.
So that’s why I was standing wrapped in Lee’s arm and staring at him like a lovesick puppy when the door opened and Luke walked in.
Everyone, including me, looked at Luke.
Luke looked unhappy. Not, “oh, they are out of my favorite donuts at LaMar’s” unhappy but a lot worse.
“Hey,” I said.
Luke’s eyes never left me even when he walked forward and even when Lee’s arm dropped from around me. We lost eye contact only when Luke pulled me into his arms and I had nowhere to put my face but against his chest but I chose the side of my face that wasn’t bruised and battered. He held me close but he didn’t hold me tight. He held me like you hold a newborn baby, gentle and with care.
Wow.
I forgot I was mad at him and on my way to St. Croix and I melted into him.
“I’m fine,” I repeated softly.
“Babe,” was all he said.
“Let’s give them a minute,” I heard Hank tell the crowd.
Lee got close and I lifted my head up and looked at him. The eye crinkle was gone, his face was totally serious and I knew what he was communicating.
I shook my head but he nodded his. I knew this meant, if I didn’t tell Luke he would.
“I want it to come from me,” I told Lee.