In the passenger seat beside him, the hulking, wet man leaned heavily against the window. Tyler had been trying to figure out how to drag the stranger into his car when the man had groaned, grabbed his head, asked “Where the fuck am I,” and then vomited all over the sidewalk.
It had taken a while to get the barely coherent man loaded up in his Subaru.
Tyler kept sneaking glances at him. He couldn’t help noticing his unruly blonde brows and his full lower lip–but it didn’t matter how objectively attractive the well-dressed stranger was. Didn’t matter that Tyler had always had a weakness for men who were bigger than him.
This guy was drunk, possibly concussed, and he was single-handedly ruining Tyler’s night.
At least he’d stopped throwing up.
“Think you can walk, big guy?” Tyler asked.
The man groaned.
Tyler came to a slow stop at the red-painted curb in front of the emergency room.
“Ready for this?”
A grunt.
Tyler shook his head, got out of the car, and by some miracle he managed to get the man on his feet with his shoulders supporting a heavy arm. “Work with me, you caveman,” he gritted out between clenched teeth, his body struggling to stay upright with the weight of the body leaning against him. “You’re the one who showed up on my lawn and beat up my kid’s snowman. I probably should have left you to freeze. The least you can do is walk, for fuck’s sake.”
The man finally lifted his head, and Tyler’s breath froze in his chest. He could see him now,reallysee the man who’d stumbled into his yard in the middle of the night. In the harsh light filtering out from the automated glass doors he looked like the lead from a black and white Western, with heavy brows over serious, green eyes, a perfectly average nose and thatfuckingmustache that framed a full, soft mouth.
He stared down at Tyler, shaking himself like he was trying to rouse himself from a deep sleep. “I,” he started, his voice a dry rasp. He cleared his throat. “I think I’m drunk.”
Tyler snorted. “And apparently a fucking genius.”
Wincing, his eyes tightened in a squint and he let out a hiss of pain. “Did I hit my head?”
“Yep. After you beat the shit out of my kid’s snowman.”
Those green eyes got big, looking down at Tyler with an expression of unmistakable anguish. “Oh m’god. I’m an asshole.”
“I mean,” Tyler began, resuming their slow shuffle toward the front doors. “I’m not going to argue with you there.”
“And you’re so pretty, too.”
A surprised huff escaped Tyler’s lips, which were already growing numb from the cold. He almost tripped over his feet when he felt the press of a nose against the top of his head.What was this guy doing? Smelling him?
“Behave yourself,” Tyler muttered.
“I don’t wanna,” the man said before letting out a groan, only this time the sound didn’t sound pained. It almost sounded…
No. Nope. None of that.
Thankgodthey had finally reached the sliding doors, moving into the warmth of the lobby. He helped the stranger into a chair against the wall, shielding the back of his head from slamming into the sheetrock as he slumped back. Damnthis guy was wasted.
Tyler went over to the receptionist. “Hey, so I don’t actually know this guy, but he hit his head on my sidewalk and seems to be drunk.”
After answering some basic questions about what had happened and his impression of the stranger’s condition, the redheaded man at the computer looked up at Tyler through copper lashes. Tyler felt his appraising gaze on his face, picking up on the interest directed his way. “Are you going to stay?”
Tyler turned to look at the stranger. The man seemed to be sleeping, head tipped back and mouth hanging softly open. He thought he saw the sheen of drool dripping down the stranger’s chin. The beginnings of a purple bruise spread over his jaw. His long, thick legs were sprawled out, and Tyler caught a glimpse of orange and green argyle socks peeking out above his dress shoes.
He had no business thinking about towering, bumbling strangers who had called himpretty. There was a kid at home waiting for him. A toddler who Tyler loved with a fierce, unquestioning blaze that sometimes left him breathless; the kind of love that could overwhelm someone.
If his life was different, he might have stayed.
“No,” he said to the receptionist. “You guys will take care of him, right?”
