“We need to get some stitches put in that,” he said.
Noticing that he’d said we rather than you, Melanie smiled despite the throbbing in her forehead. “Really? It’s that bad?” Blood dripped into her eye and Gage gently wiped it away with his thumb.
“Yeah.” He called Travis over. “What do you think, Trav?”
Travis, who was the local veterinarian, took a look. “Yep. She definitely needs stitches.”
Gage looked her in the eye. “I’ll take you to Urgent Care.”
“No,” she said, maybe a little too quickly. “Ashleigh can take me.” She looked to her sister, who stood a couple of feet away.
Someone handed her a small towel, which she pressed to her forehead.
“Remember?” Ashleigh said. “Hannah has that other thing she has to do today, so I’ll take care of Avery while you go.”
What other thing was she talking about? Maybe her memory had been affected by the hit, but she didn’t recall Hannah saying anything about a babysitting deadline. Melanie looked at the other players to see if someone else would step forward and volunteer.
“You should get going,” Ashleigh said to Gage. “I’ll take Melanie’s car and you can drop her off afterwards.”
“Sure thing,” he said, then he turned to the assembled team. “Good practice, guys. I’ll see you on Monday night.” He turned to Travis. “Can you gather all the equipment when you guys are done? I’ll swing by later and pick it up.”
“Sure thing, Gage.”
“Thanks.”
Everything was happening so quickly, but it seemed she didn’t have a lot of options. It would be difficult to drive herself with one hand occupied holding the towel to staunch the bleeding.
“Let’s go,” Gage said to her.
The towel hung in her face, making it difficult to see where she was going. Afraid to remove the towel for fear the blood would flow into her eye, Melanie held the towel in place as she nearly stumbled forward.
“Here,” Gage said as he put an arm around her waist.
Having his arm supporting her certainly helped, but she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Well, she liked it—his strength and the sureness of him. But that’s also what she didn’t like, because it meant her attraction to him was getting harder to subdue.
They reached his car and he opened the passenger door for her.
“I hope I don’t get blood in your car.” That’s all she needed. Her daughter had already thrown up in there. Adding her blood would make it so much worse.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Just keep the towel on your forehead if you’re worried about it.”
She tilted her head so that she could see him around the towel. “Aren’t you worried about it?”
Lifting his shoulders in a shrug, he said, “Not really.” Then he smiled. “Leather cleans up pretty easily.”
“Okay.”
He helped her slide into the seat, then he grabbed the seatbelt and stretched it across her lap, snapping it into place. “There you go.”
Liking the way it felt to be taken care of, and, she admitted, liking the way it felt to have Gage so close to her, Melanie murmured her thanks.
Gage walked around the hood of his car and looked toward Melanie, whose head hung down as she pressed the towel against her wound. Glad she’d agreed to let him drive her to the Urgent Care, he wanted to make the most of his one on one time with her. Especially after the way she’d ended their date so abruptly the night before. Well, he had kissed her—but she’d kissed him back. Still, he didn’t want to waste this opportunity.
He climbed behind the wheel and looked in her direction. She didn’t seem like she was in the mood for conversation, so he stayed quiet as they drove to the nearest Urgent Care facility. When they arrived, he helped her out of the car and to the counter inside. After she checked in, they found a pair of empty seats in the waiting room.
“Thanks for bringing me,” she said.
“No problem.” One side of his mouth lifted into a half-smile. “Even though you didn’t want me to.”
Her eyes widened slightly, like he’d caught her. “I just…I didn’t want to inconvenience you.”
His smile grew. “I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to take you.”
“Don’t you need to get to the bakery?”
“That’s why I have employees. Besides, I finished most of my work early this morning.”
“Oh.”
They were quiet for a few moments.
“How’s your forehead?” he asked.
“It kind of hurts.”
“Let me see.” He reached for the towel, and she let him lift it up where he saw a narrow gash. “That ball hit you just right.” He’d been watching her when the ball had struck her. And she’d been looking at him. Knowing that it was partially his fault that she’d gotten hurt, he felt the need to say something. He let the towel fall back into place. “I, uh…I’m sorry if I distracted you. When the ball was thrown, I mean.”
Embarrassed that he knew she’d been too busy looking at him to notice the ball flying towards her, Melanie felt her face heat. “Accidents happen.”
“So you admit you were distracted by me?” His lips curled into a half-smile.
The heat on her face grew in intensity. She should deny it, but they both knew what had happened. Smirking, she said, “I admit nothing.”
He laughed. “Okay. If that’s how you want to play it.”
She let the towel shift so that it fell over half of her face.
“Melanie Hopkins,” a nurse called out.
Glad for a reason to step away from Gage, Melanie stood.
“I’ll be right here when you’re done,” he said.
The confidence in his voice caught her attention, and her gaze shifted to him for a moment. He would be there for her. The thought brightened her. Until she remembered that Kyle had been there for her too. That is, until a better option had come along.
Distress flooded her, and she turned away from Gage and walked toward the nurse.
Chapter 17
Gage watched Melanie go. So far he hadn’t done much to improve his chances with her. And though she hadn’t straight-up admitted that she’d been staring at him, she hadn’t denied it either. That was good. Right? And what was that look she’d given him just before walking to the nurse? Like he’d failed.
Trying not to worry about things he had no control over, he pulled out his phone and surfed the web as he waited for her to come back. Forty-five minutes later, she did.
A small bandage adorned her forehead just above her left eyebrow. The blood had been cleaned away, and she was smiling.
“That didn’t take too long,” Gage said, glad to see that she seemed to be in good spirits. “How’d it go?”
Sitting beside him, she touched the bandage. “I just needed three stitches, so it wasn’t too bad.”
“Good.” He smiled. “I should take you to get ice cream or something. For being such a good patient.”
She laughed. “How do you know I was a good patient? You weren’t in there with me.”
“Well, I didn’t hear any screaming, so I can only assume.”
She chuckled. “You’re right. I behaved myself.”
Why was she joking around with him? Then again, why did she feel so comfortable with him? It was almost as if she’d known him for ages when she’d actually known him for less than two weeks. After all, they’d never spoken in high school that she could remember. Yeah, she’d known who he was back then, but only because he was friends with her sister. She’d never given him a second look.
But now? Not only was she attracted to him, but she felt comfortable with him. She needed to slow things down before this got out of hand. But when she was with him she felt good, and even forgot about Kyle. Most of the time.
“So,” he said. “What about some ice cream? Or maybe lunch?”
Though tempted, Melanie shook her head. “I should get home to Avery. I’ve hardl
y seen her today.”
A grin blossomed on Gage’s face. “Actually, Ashleigh called me a few minutes ago to see how you were doing—I guess you didn’t answer your phone. Anyway, she told me she and Avery were headed to Gabby’s house to visit Bella.”
There went that excuse. “Oh.”
“So?”
“Uh…” She could say her head hurt too much or that she wasn’t up to it, but those were lies. And she was tired of lies. Too many lies had been exchanged between her and Kyle—him saying he still loved her while she’d told him she only wanted him to adopt Avery for Avery’s sake. Shame at the way she’d tried to manipulate him rushed through her. She was done with that. It hadn’t worked, so why put herself through it? In fact, why try at love at all? So far she was 0 for 2. Why not have fun? What was wrong with looking for friendship? She would stuff down her attraction to Gage and enjoy herself.
But she needed him to know where they stood. If he knew how she felt, he wouldn’t push her for anything beyond friendship. Win-win.
“Okay,” she said.
“Really?” His eyebrows spiked in surprise.
Time to lay down the ground rules. Glancing around the Urgent Care waiting room, Melanie leaned towards Gage and prepared to lower her voice. She didn’t want strangers to listen in.
Score! Two dates two days in a row. And one kiss. Gage couldn’t have asked for a better record. And as Melanie leaned towards him, her expression serious, he prepared himself for the possibility of another kiss.
“I need to make something clear,” she said, her voice soft.
Their eyes were locked together and their faces were only a few inches apart. Gage’s imagination went wild. She would say I’ve always been madly in love with you, but we have to play it cool. Or maybe That kiss last night was the most incredible kiss I’ve ever experienced. Do it again.
“Gage,” she began, then her gaze flicked away before settling on his face. “You have to know that we can never be more than friends.”
His heart did a kind of ka-thump. That wasn’t one of the options he’d imagined. In fact, it was the polar opposite of what he’d hoped for. Doing his best to keep his poker face on, his head moved in an imperceptible nod. “Right.”
She straightened, putting distance between them. “So you’re okay with that?”
No, he most definitely was not okay with that. But if he told her how he really felt, she would never agree to spend time with him. Time to play along. “Of course.” Then his curiosity got the better of him. “Why is that?” Wait. She might read that as you not being okay with this. “I mean, I’m just wondering.” He immediately regretted asking, because again, his imagination gave him the answer. Because when I look at you all I can see is the dorky boy from high school. “Never mind,” he said. Hearing her answer would crush his soul.
“No,” she said. “It’s okay. I, uh, I’m happy being single. That’s all.”
Not sure if he believed her, he plastered a smile onto his mouth as he nodded. “I understand.”
Relief lit her eyes. “Good.” She put the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “Shall we go?” Then she bit her lower lip. “Do you still want to go?”
Knowing it was this or nothing, he smiled. “Of course.” He stood, then held out his hand in a gesture of helping her up. Her gaze flicked to his hand, but she ignored it as she stood.
Well, that makes one thing clear. No touching.
She stood and faced him with a smile. “My favorite is mint chocolate chip.”
He laughed. “Okay then. Do you want lunch with that?”
Wrinkling her nose, she said, “I suppose we should.”
“You don’t have to. I won’t tell Avery that you skipped right to dessert.”
That won him a laugh. “No, you’re right,” she said. “We should probably eat lunch before dessert.”
“That’s what my mother always told me to do.”
Her eyebrows rose. “There you go then.”
“All right.” He wanted to take her hand, but she’d made it abundantly clear that that was a no-go. Instead, he swept his right arm forward to indicate she should go first, which she did, and he followed her out to his car.
Was he supposed to not open the passenger door for her? Did he usually do that for a female friend? No. So he didn’t.
Melanie seemed unfazed by him going straight to his own door, and she climbed into the passenger side unassisted.
It was a little surprising to Melanie when Gage didn’t open her door for her. He’d done it every other time they’d gotten into his car. It was most likely because she’d said they could only be friends. That was a good thing. It showed Gage understood boundaries.
Yet Melanie was already missing the special treatment he’d given her when they’d gone on their date.
Chapter 18
As they drove from the Urgent Care facility to a diner in Emerald Falls, Melanie was hyper-aware that only a couple of feet separated her from Gage. With just the two of them inside the Camaro, it felt kind of intimate. The space was close, and with the small windows tinted, the world seemed far away.
“Do you like burgers?” Gage asked as they pulled into a parking space in front of Eats & Treats Diner.
“Sure. That sounds great.” She smirked. “But does this place have good ice cream?”
“You haven’t had a milkshake until you’ve had one from Eats & Treats.”
“Hmm. Sounds promising.” As soon as he’d shut off the engine, Melanie opened her door and got out. The false intimacy of the car’s interior was getting to be too much. Plus, she didn’t want to make things awkward by waiting in the car for Gage to open the door for her. She met him on the sidewalk in front of the Camaro, and when he opened the door to the diner for her, she went in first.
The place was pretty busy. Then again, it was a Saturday afternoon. The scent of grilled burgers filled the air, and the noise of people talking was partially drowned out by pop music playing over the speakers.
“There’s an empty booth,” Gage said, then he led the way to a table next to a window that looked onto Main Street.
Melanie sat across from him, then they picked up their menus. After perusing the options for a few moments, she said, “Everything sounds really good, but I think I’m going to get the grilled cheese on sourdough with tomato.”
Gage set his menu down. “Good choice, but what about a shake?”
“Well, yeah. A shake too.” She smiled. “What about you? What are you going to get?”
Before he had a chance to answer, a beautiful woman with long black hair and striking blue eyes stopped beside their table.
“Hey there, Gage.” Her smile was warm, and after greeting Gage, she turned to Melanie. “Welcome to Eats & Treats.”
“This is Clarissa,” Gage said. “The owner of this fine establishment.”
“Nice to meet you,” Melanie said.
“Likewise. Are you new to Emerald Falls?”
“Sort of. I lived here when I was a teenager, but I just moved back.”
“So you knew Gage way back when?”
Not sure how to explain, she hesitated, but Gage filled in the gap.
“We were passing acquaintances back in the day, but we’re friends now.”
Was that Melanie’s imagination, or did a pained expression cross Gage’s face at the word friends? And how did she feel about it? That’s what she’d told him they needed to be, yet the phrase coming from his mouth sent all hope flying away.
Wait. Hope of what? Pushing aside those questions, she focused on the conversation.
“It’s always fun to get reacquainted, isn’t it?” Clarissa said.
“It has been really nice to see old friends,” Melanie said, meaning it. Emerald Falls felt more like home each day. “How long have you and Gage known each other?” She glanced at Clarissa’s left ring finger and noticed it was bare.
Clarissa’s gaze went to Gage. “What would you say? About two years?”
&nbs
p; He nodded. “Sounds about right. It was right around the time you opened Eats & Treats.”
She smiled and turned to Melanie. “He was one of the first business owners to welcome me to Emerald Falls. He introduced me to some of the other business owners and really made me feel welcome.”
“There’s even been a time or two,” Gage began with a chuckle, “that Clarissa’s run over to my bakery to buy a few items when she’s run out.”
Clarissa gently pushed Gage’s shoulder. “That only happened once.” She smiled at Melanie. “I ran out of fresh rolls one time, so of course the first place I thought to go was Gage’s bakery.”
As Melanie watched their camaraderie, she was surprised at the sliver of jealousy that pierced her. But that was ridiculous. She and Gage were destined to only be friends. He could flirt with and date whomever he wanted. Although the idea pained her a little. He was obviously a good guy, not to mention extremely attractive and a successful businessman. But that wasn’t enough to make her want to risk her heart. Was it?
“What can I get you guys?” Clarissa asked.
They gave her their order and a moment later she left.
“Do you eat here often?” Melanie asked, but of course what she was really asking was How often do you see Clarissa?
“Every couple of weeks, I guess.”
Nodding, Melanie sipped at her water. So he sees Clarissa semi-regularly. Does he come here for the food or the friendship? And could there be anything more brewing between them?
Not liking where her thoughts were going, when her phone chimed a message, she snatched it from her purse, glad for the distraction. She glanced at the screen, then looked at Gage. “It’s from Ashleigh. Do you mind if I…”
He smiled. “Go ahead. I’m sure she’s worried about you.”
“Thanks.” She read the message.
Ashleigh: How are you? Still with Gage?
Melanie: I’m fine. We’re at lunch. He said you took Avery to see Bella.
Ashleigh: Yes. Let me know when you’re on your way home.
Chance Encounter: Gage and Melanie (An Emerald Falls Romance, Book Three) (Companion to the Over You series) Page 9