Page 59 of My Heart Before You

His face wrinkled. “I know what R.I.C.E. is.”

Once they ducked into the warm car, they idly chatted with the man until the small talk whittled away to companionable silence.

Emilie leaned over. “I’m just helping you to get back to your place. I don’t want you to get any ideas.” Her low voice did exactly the opposite of what her words dictated.

Pointing a hand to his bad foot, he said, “How could I, in this condition?”

A small chuckle escaped those beautiful lips. “I’m serious, Colin.”

“Scouts honor.” He made the familiar salute.

She rolled her eyes. “You probably were a boy scout.”

“Eagle scout,” he corrected her.

A huff of breath preceded “Naturally.”

“We are here, Miss Emilie,” the kind man interrupted their conversation.

“Thank you.” She was out of the car and over to his side before Colin could get all the way out.

He gave her a disgruntled look as she closed the car door behind him. “You’re killing me with this. I’m supposed to be the one that helps you out of cars.”

“Harness your male pride for one day.” She acted as his human crutch again, pulling him toward the lobby doors. “You can’t be smart, and skilled, and strong, and talented, and sexy all the time.”

They skipped the revolving door and went through the side entrance. “You think I’m sexy?”

An irritated huff came from under his left shoulder. “What floor do you live on?”

They reached the elevator bank, and she pushed the up button as he answered, “Fifth.” He couldn’t help himself. “And talented?”

“I will step on your ankle,” she said slowly.

“Okay. Okay. I’ll be good.”

He was pretty sure he heard her mumble “you better” under her breath.

?Chapter 23?

If he was going to keep poking at her, then she was going to leave him at his doorstep. That was the lie Emilie told herself as she helped Colin to his condo floor. Truthfully, she was very curious to see what his place looked like. She always thought you could tell a lot about a man based on how he lived.

They stopped in front of a door. “This one’s mine.”

Easing himself off her shoulder, he took out keys from his jeans pocket. She rolled her shoulders, grateful not to be his crutch anymore. Colin was as solid and heavy as he looked.

When he entered the condo, he automatically put his keys on a hook on the wall that also had a small wooden slot where he placed his wallet. It was sweet to watch him do this simple daily action without thinking about it.

The short hall he hobbled down was just like the one in Ash’s condo, but that was where the comparisons ended. Emilie hadn’t noticed in the hall that they were in the corner of the building.

Windows wrapped around the large room, letting the bright winter sunlight stream in. To her right was the same industrial kitchen that was in her friend’s condo, only bigger. Beyond it was a doorway that she assumed led to the bedroom and bathroom. Straight ahead a familiar walnut piano was nestled between floor to ceiling windows. She smiled seeing it in his home, glad that even in their small time together, she’d made an impact on his day to day life.

To her left, two sets of low bookshelves were under another two banks of windows. Between the bookshelves there was a gas fireplace and a wall mounted TV over the mantle. By way of furniture, there was only an old recliner, except for the same counter height stools that came with Ash’s kitchen. For what it was lacking in personal touches, it made up for in cleanliness.

Colin seemed self-conscious as she scanned the open concept room. “I didn’t know you’d be coming over today. My place isn’t really set up for visitors.”

“It’s okay. Let’s get your foot elevated.”

He tried to fight her, saying that he could take care of his ankle himself, but she just tucked herself under his arm and helped him across the room. Once he’d sat with a defeated sigh, she pushed the creaking wooden lever for the old chair to raise its footrest. Striding to the kitchen, she opened the freezer side of his refrigerator to look for an ice pack or a bag of frozen vegetables. It was completely empty except for the ice in the icemaker.

---