But two weeks ago, in the midst of a crisis surrounded by his friends, he put her first and pushed everything aside.
An hour later, her blood sugar was fine and she knew she’d be battling the high for the carb overload, but it was manageable. Her body was just weak from the havoc she’d experienced.
Rowan hadn’t wanted to surf with his friends, but rather stay by her side. She didn’t want him to give that up, nor did she want them all to think she was so frail she needed to be watched over.
They compromised, he’d brought an umbrella out and stuck it in the sand with a chair and she sat there watching him having fun, reading a book, and supplying drinks for everyone. Even went in the house and put together food to bring down hours later, much to his chagrin.
If she had a raging headache and felt nauseous, she wouldn’t let on. He’d get even more protective of her and she knew it’d pass.
She wasn’t just out to prove to the group she was fine, but to Rowan that it was only a little bit of time and she bounced back quickly.
What she hated the most was how much he’d apologized all night for pushing her to surf.
She’d laughed and said she wanted to learn, but the truth was, she wasn’t so sure it was her thing but promised to try again, just not give it as much time. She was happy with bodysurfing and paddleboarding.
He wouldn’t pressure her, and that was what she loved the most.
The question remained if he felt the same for her as she did for him.
For a guy that slipped words out of his mouth all the time, they’d yet to address their feelings.
Was it just fun for him?
She didn’t think so. Not with the way he treated her grandmother and they hung out together while she was working. Her grandmother never had so much fun in her life.
She walked to her closet and went through the dresses in there. Today was going to be a long one. Not in time but in nervousness.
An expo and press release for Sixth Surf. Rowan had been talking about this for months. He had a new line of boards coming out with another pro. Most of the pros he sponsored would be here today too. She’d gotten the lowdown of how it worked. Or what he’d done.
She heard the door open downstairs and walked out of their room.
“Rowan, is that you?”
“Yeah,” he yelled up.
“What are you doing home so early?”
Saylor moved toward the stairs with him coming up them. “I’ve got something for you. Logan and the rest of my team have everything under control.”
The expo was on the beach, the pros going out to test the new boards. It was a space he’d rented for today and media would be present.
It wasn’t the first he’d done it, but not having any knowledge of this world, she’d been unaware of the existence of events like this.
“Are you nervous?” she asked
“Nope,” he said. “I came to shower and change and give you this.”
She reached for the bag in his hand. “What is it?”
“It’s a dress if you’ll wear it.”
“Of course.” Even if it was ugly, she’d wear it for him since it was his event.
She pulled it out, the bright prints of blue and green her favorite mixture of colors. “It’s so pretty.”
It was a long maxi dress, sleeveless but with thick straps. The V wasn’t extremely deep so that she had no worry that her bra would show.
“It’s got pockets,” he said, grinning. “You can have treatments in it.”
