“My guess is it’s a bad sprain. Some ice, rest, and anti-inflammatories and you should be good in a few days.”

Her mouth gaped open. “Days? Gus, I have a full schedule this weekend.”

He shrugged. “We’ll get you some crutches.”

“Crutches?!” Her look was comical enough to make him laugh, but he bit down the urge, knowing she’d bite his head off and spit it back out at him if he tried.

“Luckily, you’re not going anywhere tonight, so you can rest here on the couch, keep it elevated, and focus on healing.”

“Gus, I can’t stay here.”

“Of course you can.”

“Robbie would kill you if he knew I was here.”

Gus paused. She was right, of course. Robbie wasn’t known for measured and mature responses, and he would shit a brick if he knew Brittany was on his couch, lounging, after a harrowing experience. Hell, now that he knew what it felt like to have her wrapped around him, he understood Robbie’s position even more. Brittany was soft and strong and smelled like the promise of sex and Gus really needed space before he caved to any of these thoughts.

Standing up quickly, he brushed her concerns aside as he placed the ice pack on her now-wrapped ankle.

“My condo, my rules. Besides, you’re a client. Robbie has no say in how I do my job.”

Brittany was silent at that, and he glanced up, seeing her chew her lip, her eyes wary.

“Right. Your job.”

Gus nodded, turning away before she saw what a fucking liar he was. “For now, you just need to relax and stay off that ankle. Pick a movie if you want.”

He went to the kitchen, putting away the first aid kit and setting about making them a couple sandwiches, aware that she hadn’t eaten in the rush of panel to panel. He had shoved a protein bar at her at some point, but she needed some real sustenance.

Sandwiches in hand, he headed back out to the living room, placing her plate within reach. She took it silently, staring at it.

“What?” he asked, annoyed for reasons he didn’t understand.

“You made me food.”

“It’s a sandwich. You’ve barely eaten.”

“Still.”

He didn’t know what to say, and she clearly wasn’t going to follow that comment up with anything, diving into her sandwich as she picked some asinine dating show to watch.

“This okay? I’m behind.”

“Whatever you want, killer.” He sat on the other end of the couch, gently pulling her feet into his lap and propping them on the pillow, making sure the ice pack was stable and not touching her skin directly. He settled in for the mindless show, knowing he was going to hate it but also knowing few things would keep Brittany still once she decided that she needed to move.

The show started, just as dumb as Gus was expecting.

“Gus?”

Her voice was quiet.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. For today.”

He looked at her then, and something in his look must have told her a little of what he was thinking because she was turning a delicious pink.

“You’re welcome.”