Clara lit up like she’d been dying for me to ask. She ticked off each item on her fingers. “One, like I said, you’d be getting me out of my parents’ house. Two, you’d be upping my cosmic karma points, since running out of a wedding was not my finest moment. And three, you’d eat up the free time I’d otherwise be spending wallowing in self-pity.” Her arms folded over her chest. “So really you’re doingmethe favor here.”
I’d heard whispers of her wedding-day drama as Hayes filled the silence between us and ranted about how small towns loved to gossip. Seeing her now—cheeks pink, chin tipped up like she dared me to agree with them—I realized how wrong they’d gotten her. She wasn’t unhinged. She was untethered.
Her logic made absolutely no sense, but I couldn’t quite muster the energy to come up with a rebuttal. To be honest, the prospect of having someone who looked like her around while simultaneously getting Hayes off my ass was tempting. Even in the months since my accident, daily tasks were a lot more complicated.
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I think this is a terrible idea.”
Terrible ideas had never looked so appealing. A warm body in the house. Someone to nag me into showering. Someone who wasn’t paid to see me at my lowest.
“It’s me or another stranger moving in. Besides, I wouldn’t have to be here if you’d stop firing your helpers.” Clara’s simple logic annoyed the fuck out of me.
“They weren’thelpers,” I growled. “They were licensed nurses with experience aiding recent amputees. Everyday tasks get harder when you don’t have someone helping at home.” Hearing my physical therapist’s words in my own voice was jarring.
The hired nurses had also looked at me like I was their good deed for the year. I didn’t want to be anyone’s inspiration. I just wanted to be a guy who could make it through a shower without supervision.
“Then what was the problem?” she asked.
Exhausted, I sighed. “They were also little old ladies who shuffled around my house and tried to give me sponge baths.”
Clara’s eyes widened as they raked down my body.
Heat licked up the back of my neck.
Fantastic. Now I was picturing her hands on me instead of the nurse’s, which was a whole different problem.
“That’s not a requirement of the position.” I stumbled over the words, scrambling to get this strange conversation back on track.
Her lips pursed. “Shame.”
Before I could respond, she whipped her head around and walked back out the front door. Moments later, Clara dragged two huge suitcases plus a shoulder bag over the threshold. She muscled them inside and looked at me with a huff.
“So ... are we doing this or what?”
