Page 45 of Fluffed and Folded

Eli reached for the remote and turned on the television. When his hand was done with that motion, it settled on her shoulder. She sighed again, relaxing further into the couch. His heart kicked, and he made a solid effort to stop it. Sometimes lately he’d begun to feel like he was the one dissociating from reality, the reality being his undeniable attraction to Darby. But hesworeto her that he wouldn’t hit on her, that he wouldn’t be yet another man who was swayed by her beauty, who onlywanted her for one thing. If he couldn’t set that attraction aside and be a friend to her when she had no one else, what kind of man was he? But the constant struggle between his nobility and his base male instinct left him exhausted. So far nobility had won the battle every time, but for how long could it continue? Especially with her soft and tumbly hair spilling over his leg, his hand making soothing passes on her shoulder and back?

He took a deep breath, trying not to fill his lungs with her, aiming for a point of sanity on which to center himself. The television wasn’t much help. Darby favored reality TV, and Eli couldn’t make himself care about the dating habits of self-involved and shallow strangers.

“Your tea is going to get cold,” he croaked, because caring for her physical needs was something he could latch onto. She needed to eat and drink, to be made comfortable and have her pain eased. That he could do, in the most basic sense. She proved how much she needed his care when she struggled to sit up on her own, wincing when pain stitched her abdomen. He put his arm around her, gently levering her to a sitting position before handing her the tea. She sipped it, eyes on the TV.

“This is some mindless drivel,” she noted.

“Yup,” he agreed.

“You’re judging me, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Nah,” he said, and he wasn’t. He and his friends played stupid, pointless games. As a teenager, he’d had a fairly serious video game addiction, before he got it under control.

“I’m judging me,” she said. She drained the tea and set it aside. “I’m getting quite the view of my sad life, through your eyes. How pathetic is it that I watch these shows because it makes me feel less alone? Like these are real people, and I’m vested in their lives.”

“They are real people,” he pointed out. “Real, awful people.”

She laughed, but it was a sad, tremulous laugh. “I thought I was doing so well, thought I had it all together, but my life is a disaster, Eli.” She sniffled, and tears began to leak slowly out of her eyes and trickle down her cheeks.

Eli stood and retrieved a box of tissues for her, noting that it was a girlie thing to keep tissues on hand. His sisters and mom always had tissues, too. He pulled one from the box and put it in her hand. “Listen, you’re going through some big life stuff here. A tumor, surgery, delusions. It’s okay to feel bad, maybe even to fall apart.”

“But it’s about so much more than that,” she said, dabbing at tear-stained cheeks that did nothing to detract from her appeal. “I think I’m seriously messed up.”

“Darby, last week I had dinner with a woman who has a layaway plan for guinea pig medical devices. Please believe me when I tell you that you are winning at life right now, okay? Seriously, if you’ve never dropped magic mushrooms with the therapist you’re having an inappropriate relationship with, you are on top of the world.” He gave her an encouraging smile, congratulating himself on keeping his emotional distance.Friend, friend, friend,the little mantra in his head chorused, and he thought it was winning because he was doing it, he was sitting close to her, comforting her, and staving off the desire to haul her close and kiss her senseless.I can do this, I can totally do this. I can be a friend to Darby, and nothing more.

“How do you kiss with those things on?” Darby asked, pointing to his braces, and it was all Eli could do not to jolt. Was she in his head? Did she know it was taking every drop of willpower he possessed not to kiss her in this moment?

“Very carefully,” he said, swallowing hard. Why did she have to go there? Was he really doing that poor a job disguising his attraction, or was she genuinely curious how a grown man handled kissing, while wearing braces?

“Huh,” she said, and then she did the impossible by slowly tipping forward and kissing him senseless.

He very carefully kissed her in return, until she gave one of those contented little sighs and leaned, ever so slightly, into him, surrendering to the kiss. Then it became harder to be careful, to tread lightly, to remember the pain in his lips from the press of his braces. Only her surgical wound and fragility held him back from hauling her into his lap and kissing her properly. As it was he kept some distance between them, kissing her with the chastity usually reserved for Victorian maidens, and also women who’ve just had abdominal surgery, apparently. His fingers eased into her tumbly hair, reveling in the feel of it, when the sound of shattering glass lurched them apart.

They stared in dismay and confusion at the broken window and the giant rock now resting on the floor.

CHAPTER 26

Tristan stood in the center of the room, staring at the rock. All eyes were on him, awaiting wisdom. He studied the stone for a long time before he finally said, “And what were you doing when it was thrown through the window?”

Eli and Darby made fleeting eye contact before their gazes skittered away. Josie, who saw the exchange, stifled a laugh that she tried to turn into a cough. Apparently she and Eli were close enough for her to interpret the truth, and Darby was not bothered by that, not at all. She certainly was not jealous of the friend of a man she barely knew, not even a little. The oddly painful clog in the back of her throat must be for some other reason entirely because never, not even when she was married, had she been jealous of another woman. Certainly not a woman whose hulking boyfriend stood in the center of a room, staring at a rock.

What has my life become?It was not the first time she’d asked herself that question lately, and it would not be the last.

“What?” Tristan asked, eyes on his girlfriend.

She stood on her toes to whisper in his ear, but he still had to bend down to make the connection. To his credit, his stoic expression didn’t waiver when Josie whispered what she musthave discerned, that Eli and Darby were making out when the rock flew through the window. “Hmm,” was all he said.

“Where do we go from here?” Eli asked. Somehow his tone was neutral, too, and Darby was baffled by that, baffled by him, really. He looked like an ordinary guy, cute with his sandy hair, nice guy face, and braces. He looked like someone’s little brother, all adorable and sweet. Darby didn’t have much experience, before Ham. Guys had liked her, and she’d flirted with them, but she’d been reserved, too skittish to commit. When Ham swept her off her feet and carried her away, it had been a relief because it took her out of a game she never understood. And then he died, and in the midst of her grief she felt another sort of relief because that part of her life was over; she would never have to worry about men or dating again. And now here was Eli with all his kind sweetness, tender care, and disarming humor. What was she to make of him?

She realized he’d spoken again and forced herself to tune in. “What?” she said.

“I said should I take you to my apartment,” he repeated, focusing his gaze on her. He seemed remarkably unruffled, given the current circumstances, and she realized she liked that about him, too. He was a different type of man than Tristan, but no less masculine. He might not be bulky or overtly “manly,” but he made her feel safe and protected, more than anyone ever had. That was a startling revelation she tucked away for another time.

“They can find you there, as well as here,” Tristan said.

“Oh, good, thanks. We’ll both sleep well tonight,” Eli deadpanned.

Tristan’s lips pressed together, which was probably as close as he came to showing annoyance. “If only you had another location, somewhere in the country, perhaps.”

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