“I need to occupy my time.”
“You can entertain me. Start by removing some of those clothes. You don’t really need the shirt, do you?”
“Paige—”
I made the mistake of looking Will directly in the eyes, and the fire in his
dark gaze almost melted my resolve.
“Will, we have instructions from your doctor, and we are going to follow them.”
“Remember my view on rules?”
I cleared my throat. “These are not rules. They’re instructions. So sit outside on the lounger and do nothing. Except playing eye candy. If you’re so inclined, you can kick off your jeans too until the workers arrive.”
Will tilted his head, taking one step forward, and I almost felt my dress melting from the sheer heat and masculinity pouring off him. But I was saved by the bell... or in that case the electrician.
As days passed, though, Will’s mood didn’t improve, and I started wondering if the recovery was the only thing causing him distress.
“I’ve just booked someone to repaint my apartment so I can get my deposit back in full. My lease is up in one week,” I said one afternoon, after we’d returned to his apartment.
I had my back to Will, facing a mirror, and I saw his reflection. He was frowning. I felt the first stab of fear that afternoon, after which I started reading into every little thing, overanalyzing every reaction. Was he having second thoughts? Now that my lease was up and I was officially unemployed, maybe he wasn’t finding this whole thing appealing. Maybe he realized just how tied together we were and it wasn’t sitting well with him. I tried to neutralize those thoughts the second they popped up, but I wasn’t always successful.
I thought about talking about my concerns with him, but honestly, I was embarrassed. If they were unfounded, it would just be awkward. If they weren’t unfounded... well, I wasn’t sure I was equipped to handle the outcome, not with all the other changes occurring in my life at the moment. I was going to wait for Will to get better, and then I’d see if things changed.
One afternoon, Jace called.
“What’s up, almost sister-in-law?”
“Jace, don’t call me that.” But I grinned at his words nonetheless. “So, you and Val were right. Will isn’t... himself.”
“Well, that took longer than expected. I was betting with Landon that this might be the first time Will isn’t grouchy.”
“I thought Will was your betting partner,” I countered.
“I’m adaptable. So, listen. You remember my cousin Blake Bennett? He was at Lori’s wedding.”
“Hmmm, vaguely.”
“He co-owns some bars and restaurants with his sister Alice in San Francisco, and now they’ve franchised their business here too. He’s in town to oversee the opening of the first bar and wants to do a test run with the family on Saturday. Are you and Will up to it?”
“Oh, I think that’s a great idea. And he’s not on pain medication anymore so he can drink as well. I’ll ask him. What time should we be there?”
“Afternoon. I don’t know the exact hour yet, but I’ll text you.”
“Perfect.”
I briefly considered asking Jace to ask Will if two weeks of convalescence was the only thing bothering him, but then decided not to. I wasn’t that close to Jace.
***
Will
“Blake, you’ve certainly done well for yourself,” I said. We were in Blake and Alice’s first franchised bar. “I think I like it even more than the ones you have in San Francisco.”
“Location’s great,” Blake agreed. “If things work out here, we’re going to green light the opening of two more.”
The bar was on the rooftop of a five-story building, overlooking the beach. Paige and I had arrived early, along with Jace.