Page 60 of Three to Fall

She gave me a bright smile; her lips painted a magenta purple that caught the light from overhead. “Of course! I’d be happy to. Poor thing. Maybe I’ll make some chicken soup for him. Do you think he’d like that?”

I smiled. “I do. He’s used to homestyle cooking. That’s all he ever got at the commune. It’s lovely of you to offer. Thank you.”

She skittered off to the kitchen, clearly happy to have a project for the day. I watched her go, wondering what she did with her time when she wasn’t here. I realized I had no idea. I hoped she had something more than just waiting around here for bikers who might never see her as more than a club girl.

Maybe I’d talk to her about volunteering at the hospital. She seemed excited by the idea of caring for Kyle while he was sick. Maybe she’d be interested in doing it more often.

In my room, I got dressed quickly, pulling on a T-shirt and a pair of shorts that were hemmed mid-thigh. I paused for a second, noticing the cellulite on my legs that the shorts did nothing to hide.

For half a second, I thought about putting longer pants on. Hawk had promised to be staring at my behind the entire way up the trail. He’d see every dimple and bump in these shorts. But it was hot out. I’d be sweating like a pig if I put on longer pants, and I’d spend the day miserable and self-conscious about butt sweat.

But then Grayson walked out of the shower, and his gaze lit up, like a kid on Christmas morning. “Why don’t you wear those more often?”

I smoothed my hands over them. “I never wear shorts. I don’t like my legs.”

He skimmed his hands over the curve of my behind. “But hear me out. How often do you look at your legs during the day?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. A couple of times I guess, though not with any purpose for the most part.”

“Right. But I look at your legs approximately eleven billionty times a day. And your hips. And your ass. And your tits. And your face. And your pinky finger…”

I giggled. “I get the point. You look at me.”

“I like your legs. In anything. Shorts. Pants. Skirts. Scrubs. Hessian sacks.” He sniggered, but then he sobered. “Wear the shorts, Kara. Erase the idea from your head that nobody wants to see you. I do.”

A slow warmth trickled through me. I loved the way he stared at me, the way he saw me and built me up when my self-confidence had a wobble. I’d come a long way from the broken woman I’d been when I’d first arrived in Saint View, but I was far from completely healed.

His words helped though. Little by little, they mended the holes Josiah had punched through my heart.

“I love you,” he murmured. Then clapped his hands together, not waiting for a response from me. “Let’s go hike!”

Some part of me wanted to say it back. But there was another part that just wasn’t there yet. I loved he wasn’t pushing me. He was so content, so sure of himself that he could happily tell me he loved me and not need me to say it in return.

I knew I would eventually. But when I said it, I wanted to truly mean it with every ounce of my being. Anything else would be a cop-out, and he deserved more.

The man deserved the world for all the good he put into it. Just last night he’d gone on a house call, just to sit with a patient who’d been having a tough time. He might have made light of some of the more trivial aspects of his job, but when it came down to it, Grayson cared. He was there when someone needed him. No questions asked.

He also looked really good in shorts.

“Did you plan to go hiking today?” I eyed his muscular legs, nicely tanned, despite the fact the weather had been cold lately. “Or do you just carry your hiking gear around with you in case someone wants to ogle your legs?”

Like I was doing right now.

He glanced down at himself. “They’re just gym shorts. They’re all I had in my car.” He winked at me. “But you’re not going to be self-conscious, and neither am I. Right?”

I made a face at him. “Your legs look like they could do modelling campaigns.”

“Your legs look like they need my face between them. So shall I do that to stop this little spiral of self-doubt? Or can we go hike?”

I fought a smile. “We can go hike.”

For now. But later, I might consider taking up his generous offer.

16

GRAYSON

Istared at Hawk, who was apparently ready to go hiking. “What are you wearing?”

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