Saryn buried her face in her hands and groaned. The sounds vibrated straight to my cock. I had to look away from her. The moment I saw Liliana, I got my wits about me. I couldn’t be thinking about her mother like that when she was in the room. What kind of asshole does that?
“This is not happening, Mr. Carter,” Saryn said, her voice muffled by her hands.
I sat on the sofa on the other side of my office and slipped on my socks. When I tried to put the boot on over my sore ankle, I winced.
“Have you iced it, Truitt?” she asked.
“We’re back to first names again?”
It came out harsher than I intended, and I watched as embarrassment washed over her face.
She sighed and sat in the chair across from me. Liliana was now playing with her bear on the table between us.
“I’m sorry I came in here acting like I did. I didn’t mean the things I said. I’m sure you do amazing work; I was upset that my mother was meddling in my life. I took it out on you, and for that I’m sorry.”
I nodded. “It’s alright. I’m sorry your mother wasn’t up front with you.”
She smiled. “Don’t force the boot on, you’ll only make it worse. Have you iced and elevated it today?”
With a shake of my head, I replied, “No. I haven’t.”
Saryn stood. “Do you happen to have ice or an ice pack?”
I tilted my head. “Are you trying to nurse me, Ms. Night?”
“Yes I am. It’s a habit.”
Pointing past her, I said, “The small refrigerator has an ice pack in it. A few, actually. Ms. Townsend insists I keep them on hand.”
A slight smile tugged at her mouth before she turned and walked over to it. She took out the ice pack and made her way back to me.
“May I use this?” she asked, pointing to the small towel I had used to dry off my hair.
“Sure.”
She wrapped the ice pack with the towel, then pulled the table closer to me, grabbed a pillow, and motioned for me to put my foot on it. I did as she asked, keeping my gaze locked on her every move. She was stunningly beautiful.
“You really need to do this a few times a day. It will help with the swelling and the pain.”
A strange tightness hit me in the middle of the chest. I replied with the only word I could manage. “Okay.”
“How did you hurt it?” she asked as she sat down on the table and held the ice pack in place. She didn’t need to: it could rest on top of my ankle easily, but I liked that she was still holding it. Liliana was now walking her bear up and down Saryn’s body as she played make-believe and babbled. Most of what she said I couldn’t even make out, but it was cute as hell.
“Would you believe me if I said a woman pushed a ladder and caused me to fall?”
She laughed. “Did you sleep with her and never call her back?”
It was my turn to chuckle. “No. She and her husband were arguing, and she pushed off the ladder I was climbing down on. I’m telling you, the woman had the strength of ten men. The ladder went over with me on it. I tried to jump, but my one foot caught on a rock and twisted my ankle. I knew it was just twisted, but my brother has a bet going with a few friends, hence the visit to the ER.”
Her brow rose. “What kind of bet?”
“It’s a pool, really. They all bet on different things. How many times in that quarter I’ll get hurt, head to the ER, break a bone…you get the picture.”
When her hand came up to hide her smile, I laughed. “It’s okay, you can laugh. I’ve been blessed with a string of unfortunate events since I could remember.”
“You think that’s a blessing? To be accident prone?”
I chuckled. “No, but I’m a positive person, so I try to look at it that way.”
She looked down at her daughter, then back to me. “I have a confession to make, Truitt.”
I raised my brows.
“I read your medical file. I have to admit, the penile fracture made me laugh.”
I rolled my eyes, dropped my head back, and let out a frustrated groan. “I need that stricken from my medical record.”
“Would it be wrong of me to get in on this pool?” she asked.
My head jerked back up only to find her giving me the most breathtaking smile I’d ever seen in my life. Something inside me stirred with a longing I’d never experienced before.
“Yes. It would!” I said, tossing the pillow that was next to me, hitting her right square in the face, causing us both to laugh.
“Ohh, no! Momma get mad!” Liliana stated, her little hand on her hip as she gave me a look that would put any my mother used to give me to shame. It was obvious, she was her mother’s mini.