by Jill Shalvis
This made him smile.
“Oh, I’m not kidding,” she said.
Out of all the women Spence had known in his life, he couldn’t think of a single one who’d be taking this so well, and shit, he realized she was absently rubbing her elbow. Gently, he pushed up the sleeve of her denim jacket and found an abrasion along with an already blooming bruise.
“It’s nothing,” she said.
Maybe, but her skin was broken and he had no idea what was in that water. “We need to clean that cut and ice your elbow. And of course I’ll pay for your clothes to be cleaned or replaced—”
“Wuff!”
He shot the impatient Daisy a long look that promised no cookies today just as Elle came out of the elevator, striding toward them with a concerned look on her face. “Hi,” she said to Colbie. “I’m Elle Wheaten, the building manager. What happened? Are you okay?”
“She took a header into the water,” Spence said. “Daisy’s fault.”
They all looked at Daisy, who was sitting there smiling wide, not a concern in this world.
“I’m taking Colbie upstairs,” he said. “To clean out her cut and get her some dry clothes.”
Elle turned to him in shock.
Spence understood the surprise. He usually avoided dealing with people, especially people he didn’t know. And then there was the fact that his penthouse apartment was an inner sanctum that he didn’t let just anyone into. “The gym,” he clarified, which was on the top floor next to his apartment. It had its own entrance, separate from his living quarters and office.
“I’ll take her,” Elle offered, doing as she always did, which was keeping herself between Spence and the rest of the world.
“Really,” Colbie said, her voice firm if not a little shaky. “Not necessary. I’m fine.”
Spence didn’t claim to know all that much about women, but even he knew that ‘fine’ didn’t mean fine. The scale went: great, good, okay, not okay, I hate you, fine. And as a bonus, she was beginning to tremble from the cold as she gripped her suitcase and tried to walk off—not that her dress was having it. Tangled around her legs, it was suctioned to her limbs.
Colbie stopped fighting it, sighed, and tilted her head back. “Really? Are we serious with today?”
Both Spence and Elle glanced up at the sky. Nothing but clouds. He looked over at Elle, who was brows up, giving him a slow shake of her head. And while it was true that Elle was one of his best friends and he trusted her with his life, he didn’t agree with her silent opinion to just let the woman go.
He couldn’t. There was just something about the very wet, cute-yet-sexy Colbie No-Last-Name that appealed to him in a way that nothing else had in a long time. So when she tripped over her dress yet again and swore with a low, muttered “son of a beach!”, he grabbed for her, keeping her upright.
“Please,” he said as her clothes bean to soak his. “Please let me help you.”
At his other side, Elle’s mouth fell open. She wasn’t used to hearing the word ‘please’ from him. Ignoring her, he kept his gaze on Colbie.
Wary, she rolled her eyes but gave a slight nod. She’d let him help her out, but she wasn’t happy about it.
Fair enough.
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