Page 25 of Without Regret

He led me up the stairs without any protest from me. Then he put an extremely dirty Rufus in his apartment a few doors down from mine, apparently without caring what damage the mud would cause. “Get in there, you big lug.”

“I didn’t feed him yet.”

He hesitated but then sighed. “Stay here, sugar. I’ll be back in a moment.”

He was true to his word, returning in less than a minute.

“He’ll get your apartment dirty.”

Trevor shrugged. “Not what I’m concerned about at the moment. Let’s get you inside your place. You prefer a bath or shower?”

“Um, bath is probably better.” A good soak would probably help my aches and pains.

“You get out of your clothes, and I’ll draw the bath.”

When was the last time someone had taken care of me? That would be never.

I went into my walk-in wardrobe and took off my jacket and dress, letting them fall to the floor. Later, I’d have to see if they could be saved or not. I hoped my shoes weren’t as unlucky. After stripping out of my underwear, I donned a full-length robe and peeked out to see Trevor coming out of my bathroom.

He stopped dead in his tracks. “Bath is ready. I thought a glass of wine might help, too. Found some in your fridge. I’ll, um, give you some privacy.”

I swallowed hard at the intimacy of him doing this for me. That intensity went up a notch as he approached me, his eyes simmering with intensity. “You okay?” He took my chin again in his hand.

I had to look away before I was overwhelmed by him. “Yeah. But I don’t like anyone seeing me this way.” Truer words had never been spoken.

“Come tomorrow, we’ll go back to normal without a word spoken about this. Promise.”

I could only nod, swallowing hard at this strange moment between us.

“I’ll come check on you in a half hour and bring dinner.”

“You don’t need—”

“No arguments. Let me do this for you. Okay?”

I held his gaze before agreeing. “’Kay.”

He appeared to hesitate but finally walked away, closing the door to my bathroom behind him.

I settled into the tub, wincing at the pain on my scraped knees but otherwise relishing the hot water. True to his word, there was a glass of white wine sitting on the side. I smiled at his thoughtfulness. He’d also managed to find my bath bubbles and ensured the water temp was perfect.

He returned thirty minutes later with something that smelled delicious. By this time, I’d gotten out of the tub and opted to dress casual in yoga pants and a Dallas Cowboys football shirt. My choice of jersey had him smiling.

“You’re breaking my heart, honey. We need to get you a Houston Texan’s shirt.”

“Peyton thought it would be funny to buy me this after I kept saying I’d never watched American football.”

He put the plates on my table and took off the tin foil to reveal steaks. He’d changed into jeans and a T-shirt, looking way too sexy for my comfort.

“I know you said you don’t normally eat red meat, but it was all I had. I can call out for some salads or something else if you want.”

My mouth was watering with the decadent smell. Although I didn’t eat meat a lot, I did enjoy indulging every once in awhile. “You went and grilled these just now?”

“I did indeed. One of my skills would be grilling a good steak. Although if Rufus had managed to catch a deer, we could’ve had venison.”

“I think his speed was all in his head. But maybe I shouldn’t talk since he managed to outrun me.”

“I can’t believe he dragged you down, and you ran after him. Thank you for that.”

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