***
After about an hour, Lisa was nervous. Where was he? How long would it take him to get back? She could not imagine every being with Josh. It scared her and he was only gone for an hour. What if he had been gone for hours? Would she always be worried every time he left? How did wives or husbands of firefighters do it? She pulled out her phone and text him.
“Are you okay?”
She sat with her phone next to her and waited. After about a half an hour, her phone beeped. She hurried to read the text.
“Yes, I will be there in a little bit. We just got back to the station. I have to do a couple things before I can leave. Are you okay? Do you need something right now?”
“No, I was just checking. See you in a bit.”
Lisa put her phone back on the bed. She felt bad that Josh lost his father. It wasn't about not wanting to be with her. He didn't want to be with anyone. She wondered how Josh had lost his father. She was surprised Heath had never mentioned it. Heath, oh crap, she thought. He never mentioned Josh to her. Things were starting to make sense to her. Anytime she mentioned Josh to Heath, he would get irritated. She just thought he was tired of her asking about him. Heath was protective of her. She thought he liked her as a sister. Did he really like her as more than that? She could not imagine ever being with Heath. He knew way to much about her. They were close, but she had never felt an attraction to him. He was gorgeous. His body was amazing. She had seen all of him at one point or another. No matter how much she thought about it, she still could not see herself with him. She loved him very much, but not in that way.
Lisa decided she wasn't going to push Josh to talk to her about his father. She asked him and it would be up to him to tell her what happened. When he was ready, he would. She knew he was hurting and was afraid of losing the people he loved. Lisa wanted to be friends with him. She was not going to push him into anything more. What happened between them the day before was amazing, but she would make sure it didn't happen again. She wanted their friendship to grow and hoped that one day he would let her into his life. Lisa really liked him. He helped her so much and saved her life. She would always be there for anything he ever needed.
When the front door opened, she felt all of her muscles relax.
“Josh,” she called out.
He stood in the doorway of her bedroom. She felt her eyes widen and a scared look cross her face as she gasped. His hair was flat against his head and she could smell smoke. He looked at her and she could see ash on his face.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I'm fine. I need to take a shower. Do you need anything before I take one? I will hurry. I brought back lunch. If you want I can get yours before I shower,” he said.
“Take a shower. I'm fine waiting,” she said. “Are you sure you're okay?”
“I will probably come back like this a lot. You are going to ask that question so many times. How about I just tell you if I'm not okay?” he asked, as he laughed. “I'll be out in a few minutes.”
He walked away and she took a deep breath. How was she going to be around him for another six days and not feel anything for him? He was amazing and perfect. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and hug him. He was the man of her dreams. She dreamt about him all the time. He would never know that he was the one she saw when she pleasured herself. She knew she was in trouble. A whole week of seeing him was not going to be easy.
She saw him walk past her door with a towel hanging from his waist. Fall, she willed the towel. When he walked past again, he had on shorts and a t-shirt. He brought her lunch into her room and put it on the bed next to her. She looked up at him.
“What?” he asked.
“Would you please stay in here and watch television with me and eat. I'm sorry about earlier. I promise I'll behave.”
He rolled his eyes and went to grab his food.
“Stay on your own side,” he said laughing.
“Shut up,” she joked.
They ate their lunch. Neither of them spoke while they watched television. She was just happy he was there with her. When Becky and Gavin got home, Josh left.
Chapter 10
The next six days went by quickly. Josh took care of Lisa during the day. He left a few times on calls. She enjoyed seeing him during the day and missed him in the evening. Lisa stayed in her room at night so Becky and Gavin could have time to themselves. Heath stopped by to visit a few times. She was happy to see him. Lisa still did not believe he liked her. He did ask a lot of questions about Josh taking care of her. When Josh was over each day, they spent time playing games or watching television in her room. Everything seemed friendly between them. Lisa didn't want to push him to talk about things with her. She told him he did not have to stay all day. Lisa had gotten better and using her walker and was careful not to bump her leg.
It was morning and Josh had just walked into Becky and Gavin's. He walked to Lisa's room. She was excited. Finally, she was getting a cast on and would be able to graduate to crutches. She had never used them before, but they had to be better than a walker. At least she would be able to move around the house by herself. Josh gave her a strange look and laughed.
“You look like a kid who's about to get a present,” he said.
“I feel like it. I will be able to move around without help,” she said.
“Hey, I did the best I could to help you. I wasn't so bad.”
“You were great,” she laughed. “I could get used to having someone bring me all my food and clean up after I was done eating. You can still do all of that. I just want to be able to move around.”
“You can make me food and clean up after me, if you're all better,” he joked.
She was dressed and ready to go. Josh helped her hobble to his Camaro and put her walker in the back. When they got to the doctor, he got a wheel chair and brought it to his car. He helped her get inside, before he parked the car. They called her name and he wheeled her back to the room. She had an x-ray done of her ankle and then waited for the doctor.
Josh joked around with her about the staple remover they would use to take her staples out. She told him to shut up, because she was nervous. He told her he was going to leave the room, but she asked him to stay. If the doctor said something important, he would be there to hear it.
The doctor took off the temporary cast on her leg and looked at her staples. She was grossed out by the way her ankle looked. There were staples running in a straight line on both sides. They looked weird like they were holding her together. Josh laughed when he saw the look on her face. She had her nose scrunched up and her eyes slightly closed, as if she had eaten some sour candy.
“Is it going to hurt when you take those out?” she asked the doctor.
“It might pinch, but it won't be that bad,” the doctor answered.
She was nervous and could feel her hands shake. Josh walked up and took her hand in his.
“Don't look at it,” she told him. “Go wait out in the hall.”
The doctor was getting the stuff he needed ready.
“I can feel your hand shaking. I am not leaving you by yourself.”
“It looks gross. There is dried blood, and the staples look weird. The cuts look bad. Stop looking at it,” she scolded him.
“I'm a firefighter. You don't think I have seen things that look way worse than your ankle?” he asked.
“I don't know.”
“I'm not going to think any different of you because you have staples holding you together,” he laughed.
“Shut up,” she snapped, as she punched his arm. “I'm going to have some big scars.”
“That's okay. When you look at your scars, you will think of my big, strong arms carrying you to safety,” he said, as he flexed his muscles and winked.
The doctor sat down and started to get close to her ankle. Her hand squeezed Josh's and she kept her eyes shut. She felt a pinch and jumped slightly. Josh laughed.
“Don't be a wimp,” he laughed.
&nbs
p; She gave him a dirty look.
“I'm right here,” he said. “I was just joking. Look at my face and not your foot.”
She looked up at him.
“See, that's better,” he said. “Just keep looking into my sexy, brown eyes.”
“Stop trying to make me laugh while he is taking them out,” she said. “What happened to that sweet voice telling me that everything is going to be okay?”
“It's going to be fine. Just talk to me and it will be over before you know it. What color cast are you going to get?” he asked.
“What color cast? I'm not a child. I don't think adults get the cool colors.”
“If you could have a cool color, what color would it be?” he asked.
“Purple”
“Hey doc, can we get her a purple cast?” Josh asked.
The doctor shook his head and laughed.
“See, you get to be a cool kid,” Josh joked. “Can I be the first to sign it?”
“Of course you can,” she said, as she looked into his eyes and squeezed his hand.
A couple of staples later, the doctor was done. They cleaned her leg off and made sure that everything was okay before they put on her purple cast. She would have to go back in six weeks to make sure she could have the cast taken off. Then she would move on to therapy.
Josh wheeled her out and helped her get in the car. They went to the store, so he could get her crutches. The people at the store set them to where she needed them and showed her how to use them. He got her into the car and put her crutches in the back seat.
“We are going to lunch,” he said. “We can celebrate you getting rid of the walker. I bet it feels good to get out of the house. Do you mind if we go to one of my restaurants? That way I can check in with them while we're there.”
“That sounds great.”
She was able to use the crutches to get into the restaurant. It was harder than she thought it would be. They treated Josh with so much respect, from the moment he entered the restaurant. He was very nice to the employees. It made her like him even more, seeing how good he treated everyone. They seated them at a nice table with a great outside view. There was nobody else seated in their section. Lisa had never been to the restaurant before and was very impressed. The staff was professional. There was soft music and dim lights. The tables had candles on them. Everything was very clean. It was a very romantic setting. She could see herself there on a date.
The waiter came to their table to take their order. Josh ordered appetizers and steaks with a few different sides. He ordered them each a salad.
“Would you like wine?” he asked Lisa.
“Would you?” she asked.
“I'm on call tonight, so I don't want any. If you want it, I'll get it,” he said.
“I would just like an iced tea,” she said.
Josh turned back to the waiter and ordered two iced teas.
“This place is beautiful. You must be so proud of what you have accomplished,” she said.
He nodded but did not say anything.
“I need to run and check on something. Will you be okay here? I will only be a minute.”
“I'll be fine,” she answered.
Josh walked toward the kitchen and was gone for a few minutes. The waiter had already brought their tea and salads to the table. Josh had a plate in his hand. It was the appetizers he had ordered. He pulled a black marker out of his pocket and smirked.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I'm going to sign your cast,” he answered. “You said I could be the first.”
He lifted her sweat pant leg and wrote for a few minutes. What was he doing? She couldn't tell if he was writing or drawing. She laughed. He put the pants back over the cast and sat in his chair. She reached down to lift the pants and he took her hand.
“Nope, you can't look at it,” he said.
“What if you wrote something crazy?”
“Doesn't matter, no looking at it now,” he said. “Let's eat.”
Josh finished off the food that Lisa couldn't eat. She laughed and shook her head as he rubbed his belly.
When they got back to Becky and Gavin's, Josh brought Lisa's stuff in. She was happy that she would be able to get around the house alone. Becky and Gavin text Josh to tell him they were on their way home.
“Thank you for everything you have done for me. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate it. It has been a crazy nine days. I bet you are going to be happy to have your life back,” Lisa said.
“I like helping you. You were a great patient,” he laughed. “I can still come over next week, until you are used to the crutches. I really don't mind.”
“I will be fine. I will miss you serving me lunch though. You have disrupted your life enough for me. I want you to get back to real life.”
“I'm going to keep the key, so you can call me if you need anything. Even if you just want lunch brought to you,” he joked.
Becky and Gavin came in, and Josh said goodbye as he walked out the door.
Lisa went to her room and sat on her bed. She lifted the leg on her sweats and looked at her cast. She felt a tear fall from her eye. Josh drew a firefighter symbol and wrote the words “your hero” in black marker on her cast.
Chapter 11
Josh went back to his normal life. He went on runs all week and spent time at his restaurants. He missed Lisa, but knew he needed to jump back into his regular routine. The gym was one of his go to places. He went more that week than he had in a long time. He told himself he was catching up for what he missed helping Lisa.
While he was at the gym, one of the women he saw there often walked up to talk to him. Her name was Patty. She was tall and thin, with long blond hair. She worked out often, and it showed. He didn't really feel like talking and blew her off. She looked shocked, since normally he was flirty. Josh was on his way out of the gym when she stopped him again.
“Are you busy tonight?” she asked.
Josh thought about it for a minute. He had the night off and had nothing to do. Usually, he had his days off planned ahead. He was shocked that he had not made plans. Josh looked down at his phone to make sure he did not have any messages. Lisa had not needed him at all that week. He was surprised she had not text him at all. Back to real life, he thought.
“I'm not busy,” he answered.
“Would you like to go to a movie?” she asked.
Josh tried to keep his thoughts on what she was saying to him, but his mind wandered. Was she okay? Did she need help making lunch? Was she eating? Stop, he told himself.
“Uh, sure that sounds fine,” he said. “Here's my number. Text me your address. I'll pick you up at seven.”
He gave the girl his number, and she put it into her phone. Josh went home to shower. He thought about going by Becky and Gavin's house to check on Lisa. If she wanted him there, she would have text him, he thought. There was no reason to go if she didn't want him there. What did he care anyway? Maybe Heath was going over, now that he was gone. When he thought about Heath being over Lisa's, he had a weird feeling in his stomach. Josh pushed his feelings deep and got ready for his date. He was going out for the night. It had been over two weeks since he had been out. He was so tense and definitely needed to release his tension. It was the perfect opportunity. A night of no emotions and fun was just what he needed. He was back to normal.
Josh picked his date up right on time. She already had a movie picked out, which was fine with him. He sat through the chick flick as his date reached over to grope him. Thoughts of sitting on the bed with Lisa popped into his mind. He thought about falling asleep on her while she watched a movie and waking up with her in his arms. Josh reached down and took his dates hand in his. He wasn't in the mood for being fondled at the movies. What the hell was wrong with him? He never minded being groped anywhere.
He checked his phone at least ten times through the night, but there was nothing there. Knock it off, he thought. You have a ready and willing partner w
ith you. Enjoy the night. They went back to her place, and she invited him in. Josh sat on her couch and waited for her to change her clothes. He thought about the last night he had been out and his phone going off. It was the night of the fire. He remembered pulling the wood off of her and grabbing her in his arms, hoping she would be okay. Josh could not believe it ended up being Lisa. It was the little girl from Heath's house. She was not that little girl anymore. She was a grown woman, and she was amazing. Lisa was smart and funny. He had learned so much about her in the time they spent together.
“Would you like something to drink?” he heard from the other room.
“No thanks, I'm good,” he replied.
She walked out in a pair of tiny shorts and a tank top, with a huge smile on her face. Josh looked over at his date and smiled. He was not feeling it. Maybe he was just tired. She sat down on the couch facing him. Her hand was on his bicep, as she commented on how fit he was. He leaned in to kiss her. Their lips connected as she put her hand on the back of his head. She parted her lips and licked his bottom lip. He slid his tongue into her mouth and found hers. They kissed for a few minutes. She slid her hand down his chest toward his jeans. Josh couldn't figure out why, but he wasn't in the mood. It had been a long week and he needed to get some rest. He just needed some sleep. She asked him if everything was okay, and he told her he wasn't feeling well. He told her he needed to go home and they would go out again when he was feeling better.
Josh drove home and fell into his bed, still dressed. It was just after eleven o'clock on Friday night, and he was at home in his bed. What are you doing, he wondered? Get your shit together. If he checked just to make sure everything was fine with Lisa, he would feel better. There was no reason to even think about her. Becky and Gavin were awesome and would take care of her. Heath would visit as well. She must have been fine, because she didn't need him for anything that entire week. He pulled out his phone and started to type.
“Are they being nice to you?” he sent.
Josh took his clothes off and got under his covers. His lights were off, and he was going to bed. There was no reason to stay up. He might as well get some rest. In the morning, he would be rested and feeling like himself. Just as he closed his eyes, he heard the sound of his phone.
Hot for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #2) Page 6