Rocky and I watched as he bounded up the stairs, two at a time. I rolled my eyes. “Showoff!”
He grinned down at me from the balcony. “I know.”
Less than five minutes later he was back downstairs, his arms filled with my stuff. “Wait here. I’ll dump this in your bedroom then come back out and get you.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m pretty sure I can walk.”
“Oh, by all means.”
I tried to do a little hop shuffle…and ended up falling on my knees.
“That’s gotta hurt,” he said dryly.
“Hush.”
He laughed. “Don’t move. Be right back.”
I knelt there, contemplating what in the world I was going to do with a bummed ankle, when Chase strolled back out into the foyer a few minutes later, whistling merrily.
I looked up from my kneeled position and scowled.
“You keep that up, Martin, and your face might freeze that way. Didn’t your mom ever warn you against that?”
I couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up inside and practically spewed out of my mouth. I didn’t want to find him amusing and kind.
He reached down and gently lifted me so I was able to stand.
“Want me to just lean against you and hobble inside?” I asked.
He snorted then scooped me up in his arms again. “Why waste ten minutes. I’m going in feet first so I don’t knock them against the door jamb.”
“Okay.” I hated how breathy my voice sounded every time he picked me up or came too near. I was totally giving my hand away.
“Let’s put you on the couch while I grab some ice.”
He deposited me, leaving Rocky to stand guard again. A few minutes later he returned and gently took my ankle in his hands.
“It’s already swelling.” He placed the bag on my ankle and propped it against the back of the couch with a smaller pillow. “It’ll be cold but hopefully we’ll see some improvement.”
“Thank you.”
“I also have a compression sock you can wear,” he added.
I was shocked when he sat down in a chair diagonal from the couch. “Don’t you have somewhere to go tonight?”
He frowned and propped his feet up on the coffee table. “Nope. Why?”
I shrugged, feeling self-conscious. “I don’t know. Because it’s a Friday night.”
“Rest assured, I had no big plans this weekend. Well, unless you count grilling out tomorrow with Lance big plans. Which right now I don’t since I’m still mad at him.”
“Please don’t be mad at him,” I said. “He’s a really good guy.”
A mischievous grin spread over Chase’s face. “How you know him is different than how I know him, trust me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I sort of grew up with him,” he said. “Our grandpas are friends. It’s fine now, but when we were younger, Lance just saw me as the pest five years younger than him who bothered him. He was always finding ways to torture me.” His gaze swept over me. “I knew immediately Lance hadn’t made a mistake like you thought. He knew exactly what he was doing when he sent you here under the guise of a male.”
