She blushed a little. “That’s not what I said. I was talking about being competitive. My way is a hell of a lot safer.”
“I bet you were top in your class.”
“I was, which wasn’t easy when I had to hold down a job and study. I wanted to be a nurse so bad.”
“Why?”
“Because of my mom being sick all the time. I thought if I was trained, I could look after her better, but it wasn’t her body that was sick.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.” He was interested, as he felt sure that Andy hadn’t told him everything about her.
She took a deep breath. “My mom was bipolar. It was bad, but in the days or times that she was okay, she hated how it affected me. In her mind, the only way to help me was to kill herself.”
Matt was horrified. “Oh Aimee…”
She brushed away his pity. “It’s okay. It was some time back. I’m glad that they have better drugs to manage the disorder for those suffering today.”
“No one comes to visit you. Don’t you have any family or friends?”
“No family, as I said earlier and no friends that could visit here.” She dealt a fresh hand.
“Why? Do they live far away?”
“You’re being very nosy, and it’s your turn.”
He made a rude noise as he sorted his cards. “You know every detail of my life—I think it’s only fair.”
“I’m the help. You don’t need to know anything else about me.”
“I don’t think of you that way. We’re more like friends, don’t you agree?”
Aimee looked away. “Maybe, but when I leave, I don’t think we’ll be visiting each other.”
The words slipped out. “I’d visit you, if you’d let me.”
She spun to face him. “Why on earth would you want to do that?”
“Because that’s what friends do.”
“Hmmmm.”
For as long as she’d been here, Aimee had taken no calls that he knew of, or had any visitors. She said she had no family, but surely there was one person in her life that cared where she was and what she was doing. He cared. Did that matter to her?
“The issue here is, why wouldn’t you visit me?”
She shrugged. “Because, you can’t just pop in to see ex-employers.”
“Of course you can. People do it all the time.”
“Okay, but not employers like the Knights.”
“Ouch. You make it sound like we’re too scary, or is it that we have money?”
She blushed. “Not everything’s about money.”
He let that go. She was only here because she’d been offered a ton of money. He’d read Andy’s report and he knew of her debts, but he also knew after so much time together that her pride was a delicate thing and not subject to debate.
“You’re right. Are you ready to take the cripple to the hospital? I can’t wait to get these off and have a proper shower.”
She put her cards on the table, and gave him a curious look at the change of subject. “I’m sure it won’t hurt if we’re early.”
He handed her the keys of the Mercedes he’d chosen for today. He loved to watch her reaction when she saw which car she’d get to drive. There was no fear anymore, and she enjoyed them all.
Driving into San Francisco with the top down and the radio up, he was able to watch her. She knew he was looking, but pretended not to, and that worked for both of them. With little make-up and her hair flying about her pink cheeks, she was the most natural beauty he’d ever seen. It wasn’t the same as if he were driving, but in some respects, it was just as exhilarating.
“You know that you’ll have to have an x-ray, and then they’ll check things to make sure you don’t have to have another cast?”
“Way to bring a man down.”
“I just want you to be prepared.”
“Great.”
She laughed into the wind. “I’m sure it will be fine.”
He’d started the day not contemplating that the casts would have to go back on, and the idea of it made him feel a little sick. “It better be. I can’t stand the thought of another day with these things, let alone weeks.”
“Ready to go back to work?” she queried.
“You know Mom won’t let me.” It always sounded odd, when he said or thought such things, but Aimee knew his mother by now, and that Mom was like a lioness protecting her cub. Besides, if he didn’t think there was something in this forced break from the business and his exploits he wouldn’t still be here, and all three of them knew it. Even if it wasn’t voiced.
“And you’re still going to listen to her?” she teased.
“You think I shouldn’t?” he asked, innocently.
She grinned. “What are the ramifications if you don’t?”
“A very unhappy mother, which would flow over to a very unhappy set of siblings. You cannot underestimate the power of a family ganging up on you.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
He saw her face close a little. A sadness that hadn’t been there before. It tugged at his heart. “I’m sorry to be so insensitive.”
Her hands gripped the wheel. “Don’t be. I’m not. I don’t have to ask, confer, or pussyfoot around another living soul.”
“Sounds like a definite plus.”
She frowned. “Then again, I don’t have the support and love that I’ve witnessed over the last six weeks. Your family love you unconditionally, and they see you need help. Yes, you should listen to your mother, because after you get these off,” she tapped his arm, “you’ll be tempted to go back to the life you had before, and that’s not good.”
He felt a prickle of unease. It was as if she could read his mind. “Did Mom or one of the other’s put you up to that little speech?”
She took a big breath. “Nope. I’m a very good listener and as a nurse, you see and hear way more than you should. What they’re saying and feeling, as far as I’m concerned, is spot on. You’re a danger to yourself and you need to make permanent changes if you’re hoping to get to thirty and beyond.”
They were nearly at the hospital and Matt was glad. The conversation wasn’t conducive to his mood. Everyone he knew, including Aimee, apparently, thought he was crazy, and that was enough to make him want to do something—anything—to prove them wrong. The trouble was, all his ideas would do was the complete opposite.
Aimee parked and held his door while he maneuvered out of the car. She handed him his crutch and when he stood they were inches apart. His eyes searched hers for some understanding. Some encouragement. For what he wasn’t sure.
Her face softened as her hand reached up to his face. Then she dropped it and she looked away.
“Shall I get a wheelchair?”
“No, thanks.” He strode ahead, as fast as the hobble allowed.
After all this time, they shouldn’t be embarrassed about their feelings, but somehow today would change things and he didn’t know if it would be for better or worse.
Aimee led him down the hall, holding doors open until they got to the waiting room. They had barely enough time to sit before his name was called. She didn’t ask if she should come and he was happy to have her there when the saw began to cut through the cast on his leg.
Jumping from a plane felt less threatening than this, then the cool air hit his scaly skin. His leg appeared, skinny and pale from its cocoon and the lightness felt amazing. He grinned at Aimee and she smiled back.
Next was his arm. It was just as ugly and made him even happier. Dressing and other things had been an absolute pain. He fervently hoped he was done with them for good.
The specialist was waiting for them once they’d had the casts removed and he put the x-rays up on a wall so Matt could see the results. “You’re healing nicely. As you see, we managed to align both breaks perfectly, so you’ll be good as new once you do a bit of physiotherapy.”
“Does that mean I can now do everything I used to?”
“Within reason. I
don’t want you lifting anything heavy with that arm otherwise you can do most things if you approach things carefully. No parachuting or horse jumping just yet.”
Dr. Barker knew him too well.
“I’ve also got a moon boot here for you to use for a few days. It will help as a prop to your leg which has lost a lot of muscle tone.” He turned to Aimee. “Mrs. Knight suggested that you come into the hospital for a few training sessions with our top physiotherapist so that you can help Matt with the exercises at home.”
She looked surprised, but agreed. They discussed times for her to come in, then after the moon boot had been fitted, they left the hospital. He still had a slight limp with the moon boot on, but he finally felt normal.
“I bet it feels weird with no casts?”
He lifted his arm, then his leg. “Incredibly. We should celebrate.”
Aimee frowned. “We should get you home so that you can tell your family the good news.
“They’re all at work. If it makes you feel better I’ll call Mom.”
She sighed. “Were do you want to go?”
“Let’s go down to the waterfront and have lunch.”
She looked like she wanted to debate that, then she shrugged. “Fine, but after you make that call.”
Matt wasn’t used to being told what to do by anyone apart from his mother, but he was so happy to be free from the casts, he would have danced a jig. If he was alone—or knew how.
It didn’t hurt that Aimee was to be his physiotherapist.
Chapter Nine
The waterfront was spellbinding. Aimee remembered coming here with her mother a couple of times during summer break. They’d watched the opulent boats coming and going from the marina, seen the people behaving as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Some of the larger boats’ owners had people to pour their drinks and cook them food. Others loaded prepared baskets from the diverse restaurants.
“You’re very quiet,” Matt broke her reverie.
“I was thinking about my mother bringing me here when I was small. I asked her if we could go on one of the yachts. She laughed and told me that people like us didn’t go on boats like that. I didn’t understand, and she was immediately sorry, so I didn’t dwell on it. She often said things that were out of character. The next day we went for a ferry ride. It might sound like a terrible comparison, but I was in heaven.”
“Was it the big one?”
“No, but to me it was wonderful and exciting and I wasn’t scared. I understand now that the cost wasn’t in our budget. She would have sacrificed a lot for that day.”
“She sounded amazing.”
“She was and she wasn’t. It depended. So, your family, do they all like boats?”
“We all sail, but now that Evan has a share of a marina, he’s bought a huge boat, and a small cruise ship. Dad and he shared that passion. Dad would have been so proud of him. Say, I should take you out to the East Coast.”
“Why?”
“So I can check out the business, and you can go on something better than a ferry.”
Aimee shook her head. “That would make my memory smaller, and I told you I can’t swim.”
“You’ve been on a ferry and swimming is no prerequisite for sailing. Besides, Evan’s boats are well-maintained. My father was a stickler for that therefore you would be totally safe.”
“Is there anything your family can’t do?”
He laughed. “I suppose when your parents don’t have money and then they do, it makes sense that they’d spoil their children. They wanted us to have experiences so that we were tough and understood about decision making.”
She thought about that while they wandered along the promenade. It sort of made sense, as in, ‘why wouldn’t you?’. Not that it was something that would ever affect her. She wasn’t having children. “I suppose it’s worked for your siblings but you don’t seem to have taken that message on board.”
He stopped and looked down at her. “You’re determined to bring me down, but I’m equally determined not to let you. I feel like lobster and Mikaela’s is the best in the world.”
He tucked his arm through hers and with his awkward gait, led her to a restaurant that had a blue-striped awning and appeared to be full. A waiter came and ushered them to a table by a large window with arguably the best view in the place.
His arm brushed the side of her breast, and she shivered. He smelled wonderful and the warmth of his thigh against hers was delicious. She’d been trying so hard to contain her feelings for him, and with one touch he was undoing her hard work.
Even so, she didn’t want to let his arm go, but sitting would have been an issue. A set of shining glasses and silverware were almost blinding as they took their seats.
“I’ll have the lobster, Henry, but Aimee here is new to your restaurant. Perhaps you could entice her with today’s specials.”
“Certainly, Mr. Knight. We have a lovely crab bisque, a seafood marinara to die for, salmon on vegetable fettuccine, and a prawn and calamari salad.”
Aimee had never eaten or been offered such things, and she wasn’t sure if she’d like them. “The salad, please.”
“Wonderful choice. May I suggest a matching wine?”
Matt shook his head. “I’ll have sparkling water.”
“Me too, please.”
“Aimee, you should have had a drink, since I’ll be driving home.”
She raised her eyebrow. “I don’t want one, and you won’t be.”
He waved his arm. “The casts are gone.”
“For all of twenty minutes. When the moon boots off, and you’re used to walking on that leg, then we’ll see.”
“It’s been six weeks and I—”
“Don’t say it.”
“You don’t know what I was about to say.”
Aimee used a childish voice. “I’m bored. Is that right?”
He was suitably embarrassed. “You make me sound like a spoiled brat.”
“If the shoe fits. And, FYI, I’m not the only one who things you need a concrete pill.”
“What the hell is a concrete pill?”
“Something to make you harden up.”
“So, not a real thing?”
“Perhaps it should be.”
Matt was angry, until he saw the laughter in her eyes. “What the heck am I supposed to do with you? You don’t play fair and you have a perverse streak.”
“All you have to do is get well and behave yourself for six months then I’ll be out of your hair. We’re already nearly a quarter of the way there.”
“It still feels a long way off.”
“Until I go?”
“No, silly. Until I can be me again.”
“When you find out who that is, we’ll all be a lot happier.”
She thought she’d pushed too many buttons at once, but was saved by the food arriving. The waiter picked up her napkin and placed it over her knees before placing her food down. Another one was doing the same for Matt. She looked around the restaurant and noted that everyone was getting this treatment. Fancy wasn’t a strong enough word for the type of place this was.
“Is the food okay?”
She took a bite. The dressing was zingy, the prawns delicious and tender.
“Wonderful. This place is packed.”
“Always. The food is legend around here.”
She took a second mouthful of the best salad she’d ever eaten. She closed her eyes and let out a small moan. “It is. So good. Oh my.”
Matt laughed. “Looks like you’re in that movie playing Meg Ryan.”
“When Harry met Sally?”
He clicked his fingers. “That’s the one.”
Now she was embarrassed, as she remembered that scene had been about orgasms. She tried to tone it down in case anyone heard, but each mouthful was seriously worth an exclamation, and it was just salad.
He was watching her, his own food hardly touched. The tension between them amped up several notches and she was unabl
e to stop herself from enjoying every second.
His eyes narrowed slightly and she saw him gulp. It was getting difficult for her to swallow, and the fork felt slippery in her hand. Her thighs squeezed together, but that simply heightened her desire.
“We should get going soon,” his voice rasped.
She nodded unable to take her eyes from his. They were sending a message that she was powerless to refuse. “Yes.”
He stood and held out his hand. “Will we go home?”
Aimee took it and let him lead her to the cashier, then back out to the car. His hand never left hers and his thumb caressed her in ways that told her he felt the same way. She would go with him wherever he wanted, if he could touch her all over like that.
When he let her go to get in the car, the fancy car that wasn’t hers, she remembered who she was, and why she was here.
As soon as she got in the driver’s side, his hand reached for her.
She leaned away from him. “I’m sorry, Matt. That wasn’t very professional of me. Can we forget it?”
His eyebrows shot up. “Forget that I want you and you want me?”
She shook her head. “It’s not going to happen. I work for you. Nothing more.”
“I see.”
Those two words and the silence weighed heavy on her. She’d hurt him, and for that she wouldn’t forgive herself, but he’d get over it. A man like him could find a woman, no problem at all.
The thought of Matt doing to another woman what she wanted him to do to her was the last thing she wanted in her head, but how did she get it out of there?
Chapter Ten
Matt could feel his strength returning. He hadn’t felt like doing any exercise before and would have been hampered by the casts. Now he had the all clear, he was determined to get his skinnier limbs back to where they’d been and to get fit again.
“That’s great, Matt. Just a little further.”
He winced as she pushed his knee straighter then bent it. This was not fun, yet the urge to please her had become a drug he was addicted to.
“I was thinking, now that the scars are healed over, we could go swimming.”
She nodded. “Swimming would be good for your joints. You should go.”
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