“I’ll see you in themorning.”
The lightswentout.
I propped up a couple of extra pillows and eased my body onto them. Pain radiated through me and an involuntary gasp escapedmylips.
The light went back on. “Areyouokay?”
“Yeah. Sorry. I bruised my ribs theotherday.”
“Really? Why didn’t you say anythingbefore?”
“I don’t know, but the thought did occur to me on the Ferris wheel when you were digging your headintothem.”
“Did you have x-rays?” she asked, swinging her long legs out from under the covers, and her breasts walked over to me.Eyesup.
“Yeah – nobreaks.”
“CanIlook?”
She bent over, and of course, I could see right into her tank top. It was the pink panty reaction all over again.Eyesup!
I pulled my shirt over my head so she could have a look attheribs.
“Did the doctor tell you to wrap it?” she asked, sitting across from me on the coffee table. Now her breasts were eye level.Eyes…oh shit, I didn’t know where to putmyeyes.
“Finn?” She snapped her fingers, smirking. “Uphere.”
“Sorry. They’re just right there,” I said, squeezing air melons with my hands to emphasize mypoint.
“Yes, they do that – since, you know, they’re on my chest. I can put a shirt on if that will help youfocus.”
“I don’t think it will help, and no, my ribs just feel better with thewrapon.”
“It can actually constrict yourbreathing.”
“Oh, well, that’s not good. I’m having enough trouble asitis.”
“Breathing?”
Inodded.
Emma began unraveling the wrap until just the naked skinwasleft.
“Doyoumind?”
She didn’t wait for my reply as her hands made contact with my heated skin. Emma’s cool touch sent shivers up my spine as she ran her fingers along my rib cage. Just a little further down. I gulped, closing my eyes and conjuring up the unsavory image of my great-grandmother snapping my nuts with hergrabberarm.
“They all feel intact,” she announced, before padding to the counter and dumping the excess water from the ice bucket. I watched as she tied a knot in the plastic bag holding the remaining ice and came back over to me, pushing the freezing pack over my throbbing ribs. She wound the wrap around it to hold the ice in place. The entire time she was asking me questions about my symptoms, the nurse in her in full swing. “Have you taken any painrelief?”
“Notrecently.”
“When was thelasttime?”
“Two days ago, Ithink.”
She grinned. “Well, maybe it’s time foranotherone.”
After I’d swallowed a pill, she stood there evaluating me with an amused look on her face and repeated her line from earlier. “What am I going to dowithyou?”
