He appeared in front of me, his arms full of bags. “What did the doctor say?”
Leave it to him to cut straight to the chase. “You shouldn’t have called and asked them to come. I can move just fine. A house call for a sprained ankle is a stretch.”
Cameron carefully placed everything on the coffee table and ignored my complaint. His gaze returned to my face, his expression waiting, patient. Unbothered. He arched his brows.
I sighed. “It’s a low-grade sprain. I should stay off it for a few days, and I’ll be fine in a week.”
He shot me a skeptical look.
I rolled my eyes. “From one to three weeks. It depends.”
“That’s what I thought.” A slow nod. “Are you hungry?”
“I’m still stuffed from breakfast,” I answered honestly. He’d pulled out so much food—again—that I’d had as much as I could just so he wouldn’t have to throw anything away. And that included a new bag of mini croissants. I averted my eyes, summoning the will to say everything I’d thought about while he’d been away. “Listen, I appreciate you raiding your pantry, feeding me, and… helping me out, but I think I should go now.”
“Why?”
This man and his questions. “Because.”
“Because what?”
I glanced up. He was looking at me with a focused expression. “Because this is your home, Cameron. Because I don’t have my clothes or my things or…” Any dignity left after this weekend, frankly. “You’re an excellent host and even a better neighbor. If I were to leave you a Yelp review I’d call it high-quality grandmotherly care, but I can take care of myself and we can go back to normal now.”
“Grandmotherly.” He let out with a low chuckle. Ugh, those stupidly low chuckles he went throwing around. “Did not expect to be compared to a nan. What about me is grandmotherly?”
“Well, look at me.” I waved my arms in the air. “You fed me, put me in the coziest bathrobe, and found me all the pillows in the house.”
“Are you not comfortable?”
I shook my head. “I am. I don’t think I’ve ever been this comfortable in my life.”
The corners of his lips twitched, and I couldn’t believe it, but he had the audacity to look smug. He pointed in the vicinity of my lap. “Willow doesn’t like people. She hates everyone, and after dragging her here, that also included me.” He tilted his head. “I don’t think she’s that bothered anymore.”
I looked down at the cat, recalling that first time I’d seen her. She’d scratched Cameron’s arm. “Maybe she senses something’s off and feels bad for me.”
“Maybe she can’t stay away anymore.”
Anymore? Our gazes met. And his was so intense, different, that I flushed. Were we talking about Willow? “Maybe I… like that she likes me. It makes me feel special. Is that lame?”
“It’s not,” he said, Adam’s apple bobbing. “But if you keep being that sweet, she’ll stick to your side and never look back. And that…” Something crossed his face. “It would complicate things.”
My heart pounded in my chest. “I’m not stealing your cat,” I croaked, feeling my skin heat up under the bathrobe. “And I should really go.”
Cameron’s eyes were on me for one more instant and then, his focus shifted to the bags. He pulled out the contents. Sweaters, short-and long-sleeved shirts, wool-lined fleeces, pants, socks. Every item in shades of greens, burgundies, and grays. Every item just like the ones he owned, all very functional-looking and… small. Much smaller than what I expected his size to be.
“Cameron?” I asked, my voice coming out rocky, because he couldn’t have, could he? “What’s all of this?”
He grabbed a mustard beanie and inspected it up close. “These are clothes. You know, they’re meant to keep your body warm and protected. And yes, they are appropriate for the area and season even if they’re not up to Vogue’s standards.”
“You’ve lived in L.A., you should know that I’m the furthest thing from a fashionista or whatever you’re implying. You’ve dated—”
“Your ankle begs to differ.”
“My heels—”
“You don’t need them now.” He moved to a new bag and pulled out a pair of outdoor boots. “You’ll look just as beautifully imposing in these.” My lips bobbed silently. Beautifully imposing? “Once your ankle swelling comes down, of course. Until then,” he paused, his eyes traveling down my robe and his face doing a strange thing. “You stay right where you are. I need to run back to town for practice, so Josie will come check on you. She insisted after she heard what shape you’re in.” A pause. “She also mentioned something about helping you move in to Lazy Elk, so be prepared.”