The same thing happened somewhere inside him; she knew it. But his wounds, though no deeper, were different than hers. She didn’t know if anyone—certainly not her—would ever dig deep enough to heal them.
“You deserve that, too,” she finally said.
His next words surprised the shit out of her.
“I know.”
She stilled. “You do?”
He gave her a sort of sad half smile. “I said I know I deserve everything I’m looking for. That’s why I go out every weekend looking for it.”
Was he talking about women or being in the mountains? She was too chickenshit to ask, and Gertrude chose that moment to make her move, anyway. A woman with two large Rottweilers walked by, and Gertrude immediately went on high alert, barking endlessly as if she stood a chance to defend this house against those monstrosities should they decide to attack.
Then, when they had turned the corner, Gertrude trotted over to Claire and leaped onto her lap, back straight and tail wagging.
Graham’s mouth dropped open. “What the hell?”
Claire glared at the dog. “You’re not being cool here, G. He wasn’t supposed to find out about us.”
The pitch in his voice went up an octave. “Gertrude? Claire?”
Claire took a deep breath as if about to impart grave information. “Over the last couple weeks, Gertrude and I have been…”
“What? Just tell me!”
“…going on walks.”
Graham gasped. “No.”
Claire nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t mean for it to happen, but she kept standing by her leash all sad and shit. At first I just did it so she’d get some exercise and maybe not take it out on my pillows or shoes. And it’s worked, by the way—she hasn’t chewed up anything since.”
“But…going on walks was our thing.”
“And it’ll be your thing again, once you’re better.” Claire ran a hand down Gertrude’s soft fur. “She still loves you best, Graham. You know that. It’s just, well, I can give her something right now that you can’t. It’s just for a little while.”
Gertrude whined, bringing both people’s attention to her.
Graham collapsed back against the chair and flung his arm across his eyes. “Just go.”
“Are you sure?”
He sat up suddenly and reached for his crutches. “I’ll go inside to make it less awkward. Just…don’t talk about it when you get back, okay?”
Claire couldn’t help the giggle that escaped as he thumped into the house, shoulders rounded in dejection. She darted up to grab Gertrude’s leash from just inside the door and turned to the little canine who, she had to admit, was pretty adorable in that moment.
“Well, G. Ready to go?”
The following evening, Graham appeared in her doorway while she stood in front of her open closet.
“You okay?” he asked. “I heard cursing.”
“I don’t know what to wear,” she whined.
He gestured to her silk robe. “That looks pretty fucking hot.”
He flashed that gorgeous crooked smile, which was the last thing she needed before going on a date with another guy.
Please, please let me like the new guy’s smile, too.
Determined to keep character to convince herself as much as Graham, she rolled her eyes. “If you’re not gonna help me, move along.”
Graham moved farther into the room, eyeing the outfits she’d discarded on the bed. Putting his weight on one crutch, he gestured with the other. “What’s wrong with that one?”
Claire scrunched her nose. “I decided it’s too fancy, and a little too revealing.” She ignored the flare of heat flashing through his eyes. “He just asked me for coffee, remember? I need to consider the setting.”
Graham frowned as if the concept were foreign to him, but he didn’t argue. “Okay, what are the other options?”
She pulled out a floral sundress that she’d always found cute and flirty and made her ass look great.
“You look really hot in that.”
“I do?”
“Sure. You wore it last year when we went out for your birthday.”
Her heartbeat slowed a fraction and she hooked the hanger on the back of the doorknob, trying to ignore the way her hand trembled slightly. She grabbed an emerald green silk tank top. “Um, I was also considering this one. With jeans.”
“Also a good choice. Didn’t that make it through an entire night at Dante’s Bar?”