“Look, all I’m saying is it might help to spend some time every day focusing on what’s good. What’s the first thing you’ll do when the cast comes off? The first place you’ll go for a beer? Where do you want to climb first when you’re able to again?”
His gaze locked on hers for a second and he held up a single finger, asking her to wait as he went back to his phone screen.
Easy. I’ll want to climb Eldo and have a beer at the Blue Lion. And because I’ll never forgive myself for getting hurt when things were just getting good between us, the first thing I’ll want to do when the cast comes off is you.
Claire sucked in a breath when she read that last line. Heat flared beneath her skin and she looked up to find his eyes on her. She took in his intense brown eyes and the lock of thick hair falling across his forehead. Holy hell, he was hotter than Clark Kent. Heart pounding, she swallowed.
“I look forward to it.”
10
Claire slept in Graham’s bed again.
He enjoyed having her beside him more than he should have.
Don’t get used to it.
While she was in the shower, Gertrude tugged her pillow off the bed. Which, for a six-pound dog, was quite a feat. Graham let it happen because at first, he couldn’t figure out what Gertie was doing, and by the time he did he found it incredibly amusing.
He’d prefer two human women fighting over him but he’d take what he could get.
After breakfast, coffee, and meds, Claire scowled at Gertie as she tossed the pillow back on the bed, then settled beside him with the remote.
“What are we watching?”
He shrugged. He’d watched more TV yesterday than he had the last three months, and he was already over it.
She picked some Netflix Original he’d never heard of, and just when he started to get into it his phone rang.
It was his dad.
Claire glanced at his vibrating phone. “Want me to talk to him?”
Graham shook his head and declined the call. Thinking quickly, he sent a follow-up text.
Sorry, a little loud where I am so I can’t talk. Everything OK?
It wasn’t a complete lie. Claire had the volume up pretty loud…
Dad: We just wanted to check on you. I told your mother you said it wasn’t a big deal, but she doesn’t believe us.
Graham had sent it as a group text with his mom’s cell, too, dammit.
Graham: I’m good. It’s mostly my leg, but I’ll be back to normal in no time. My roommate is a nurse, so she’s taking good care of me.
Mom: I’m the queen of downplaying medical issues and I want more information. What kind of leg injury, and what kind of nurse is your roommate? Is this Claire or Reagan?
Why did he think he’d be able to slip this past them? He was in a different state so it shouldn’t have been that difficult, but he’d never been good at lying to his parents. A twinge of guilt hit him in the gut but he stuffed it down because really, he was fine. He tried to be truthful but give as little information as possible.
Graham: I have to stay off it for a few weeks, which you know is driving me up the wall. It’s Claire and she’s an ER nurse, but is doubling as my babysitter and is keeping me on track. She could probably even get you to follow directions.
Mom: Sounds like a woman I’d like to meet. Why don’t you come visit and bring her along?
Graham nearly choked. His mom was forever trying to get him to settle down.
The one time he’d brought a woman home had been a disaster, but that didn’t deter her in the least.
As if she felt time was running out for her only child to get married and give her grandchildren, she’d been relentless these last couple of years. She’d clearly been paying attention anytime he mentioned his roommates, and taken note of their names.
Graham: Roommate, Mom. Not girlfriend.
Dad: She sounds like a great catch if she can keep you in line.
Graham: It’s only been a few days and when it comes to pushing the boundaries of medical advice, I learned from the best.
Mom: My situation is completely different. Besides, you’re my son and you should do as I say and not as I do.
Graham: Yes, Mother.
He dropped his phone to the bed and leaned his head against the headboard with a sigh.
“Everything okay?” Claire asked.
Keeping his head against the wood, he rotated his head to regard her, his dad’s words scrolling through his mind. She sounds like a great catch. With those big, hazel eyes and wild hair that seemed untamable, she’d certainly caught his eye from the moment he met her.
She was also fun, independent, and tough. A force of nature.