The second they got inside his foyer, they each gave a sigh of relief, then shook the excess snow from their coats and stomped their boots. Blake led her to the elevator and pressed the button for the third floor.
“Okay, yeah. Wouldn’t want to do that too many times in a night. How were your patients when you left them?”
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. “They were sleeping soundly, and all vitals looked stable. The nurses know where I am, but hopefully they can handle anything that comes up.”
At his door, she unbuttoned her coat and discarded her gloves. She might wait for the hat until there was a mirror nearby. Curls didn’t always make it after a wet dash in the snow under a hat. Her vanity was pitiful.
Inside his apartment, Blake hung his coat on the hook in the entryway, tossed his gloves and hat on the floor, and shucked his boots. Carli followed suit, finger combing her hair in the mirror by the door.
“Leave them here, and they should be dry by morning.”
“Let’s hope my pants are, too. These are soaked.” The blowing snow had done a number, not only on her thick dress slacks, but she was pretty sure her underwear was damp, too.
“I’ll get you something to wear, and you can throw anything you want in the dryer.”
“Something flannel,” she called out as he ducked in his bedroom. Even though they were inside his apartment, she was still chilled.
“Will this do?” Blake held up a green plaid flannel shirt that looked as if she could swim in it.
“Perfect. I’ll just slip into the bathroom.”
“Let me crank this heat, then I think I’ll take a quick shower. Too many bodily fluids going around today, not to mention the flu. I’ll use my bathroom.”
Carli wasted no time in removing her clothes and snuggling into the warm flannel. It went down to her knees, and the sleeves needed to be rolled back. Her panties were rinsed in the sink and hung over the towel holder to dry. She might be willing to wear pants a second day, but underwear was a completely different story. Though now she felt naked underneath this flannel. Would Blake even know? Would he care?
Her CIs were another worry. The batteries usually lasted her all day at work, but she’d worked sixteen hours today. She always kept an extra set of batteries in her purse for emergencies, and she’d switched them out after supper. However, the ones in there now wouldn’t last much longer, and she had no way to recharge them.
Decision made, she turned her processors off and removed the CIs. Heading back to the kitchen where she’d left her purse, she glanced in the open door of Blake’s bedroom. Was he done with his shower? His bathroom door opened as she stood there, and she quickly scooted down the hallway. But she’d seen a little peek of him coming out, towel wrapped around his lean hips. Holy guacamole.
It took her a minute to get the case for her CIs from her purse and put them away. By the time she was done, he’d nuzzled up behind her and kissed her cheek.
As she turned, she noticed his lips moving. Darn, she’d missed what he said.
“Hold on. I took out my CIs. Start again, so I can read your lips.”
“You look good in my…” He touched the lapel of her shirt with a confused expression.
“Shirt.” She showed him the sign.And you look good without one,she signed. And boy, did he.
“Wait, I look good…what? I missed that last bit.”
Oops. She couldn’t get away with anything. He’d started to remember too much ASL. When she shook her head, he pulled her in close, their faces only a few inches apart.
“What did you say?”
Tentatively, she reached out and touched his bare chest, the nicely muscled chest with sprinkles of hair on his pectorals and in a fine line down his middle. Had it gotten hot in here?
Thrusting out her chin, she said, “You look good without a shirt.” There, see what he made of that.
His eyes crinkled and his mouth pulled back. She was thankful she’d heard his laughter before but would love to hear it again.
She explained about her CIs and the battery life. “You’ll have to make sure to look at me when talking.”
“I like looking at you.”
Yeah, he must have cranked that heat up higher than it should be. Except her feet. They were cold. Of course, the kitchen floor was tile. That didn’t help.
When she looked down, his gaze followed, and he ushered her to the living room where there was carpet. Tipping her chin up, he said, “I’ll get you some socks.Sit.”
