Page 43 of Caught Up In You (The Monroes 2)

Braxton laughed, though he hated to admit he’d been outed by a teenager. Damn, getting older sucked. Thirty-four wasn’t geriatric region, but he certainly ached more than when he’d been twenty. Maybe he’d been in the classroom too long.

“I need to get back home anyway,” Braxton stated. Surely, he could get himself home, crawl into his house, and lie in misery the rest of the day. “I have a past student who is swinging by later for a textbook he wants to borrow.”

“Can you drive?” Sophie asked as she crossed her arms and continued to study him.

Leaning forward, he gave her a brotherly kiss right in the middle of her drawn brows. “I promise I’m fine.”

“I’ll drive you home,” Brock volunteered.

Braxton shook his head. “Nice try. You’re on cleanup crew.”

Deflated, Brock muttered something under his breath and turned to pick up the fallen ladder. Braxton shot Sophie a wink and a grin, hoping to reassure her he truly was fine. He’d walk to his SUV and drive himself despite the pain. No way in hell was he admitting it was actually getting worse.

“I’ll walk you to your car,” Cora told him.

Without waiting on him to agree or disagree, she gripped Heidi’s collar with one hand and reached out to him with the other. Braxton shifted closer so he could offer his arm, the one that didn’t hurt. Instantly inhaling her signature jasmine scent, Braxton wondered if he’d ever associate that smell with anyone or anything else other than Cora.

“Tell me the truth,” she said softly once they were away from the others. “Are you hurt?”

The fact that she’d lured him away to ask only told him she cared, possibly more than she wanted to admit. If she didn’t, she would’ve taken him at his word when he’d told Sophie he was fine. He wanted her to care, damn it. He wanted her to think of him when he wasn’t around. He wanted her to be going insane with want and need the same way he was.

Getting sympathy, though, because he’d gotten hurt was definitely not the way he wanted to go about capturing her full attention.

Despite the pain, he couldn’t help but mess with her.

“My arm is dangling at an awkward angle and I can’t breathe.”

Cora bit on her bottom lip as if she were trying not to laugh. “You’re such a smart-ass. You can’t be too hurt.”

“Honestly, my back hurts like a bitch and my left shoulder isn’t much better. Nothing a little ibuprofen won’t cure once I’m home. I’ll be sore tomorrow, but it could’ve been worse.”

Sure. He could’ve fallen off a ladder while daydreaming about a sexy, mesmerizing, violet-eyed beauty. Oh, wait. That’s exactly what happened. Nope. Couldn’t have gotten much worse.

“I think you need to be seen,” she told him. “Please have someone drive you to the urgent care.”

Braxton ran his hand up her arm, then down. He laced his fingers with hers. “I’m fine, Cora. I would know if I need to be seen.”

“Please,” she begged softly. “If I could see, I’d take you. It wouldn’t hurt. I mean, what if you did something internally?”

Braxton completely understood where her concern was coming from. She was thinking back to her own fall, how they’d discovered her sight was going. But the fall hadn’t caused her blindness. Still, she was emotionally scarred from what had happened and her worry was misplaced.

“Rest and ice, that’s all I need right now.”

When he reached his vehicle he turned to keep his back to the cottages. “What were you doing here today?”

“Sophie and I were going to work on pricing and the specials I could offer. She wants it all in the main computer so when clients check in, they can get things scheduled. She said once they see full packages, they can plan the full experience of their trip.”

Braxton watched one strand of hair dance around her cheek. When he tucked it behind her cheek, she stiffened.

“You need to stop jerking when I touch you.”

“I’m trying. It’s just . . . hard for me.” She let out a sigh and stared just over his shoulder. The worry in her eyes more evident now than moments ago. “You need to get to the urgent care, but I know I’m fighting your ego and stubborn male pride.”

Braxton laughed. “You’re not fighting anything and if I didn’t think I was fine, I would go.”

Cora chewed on her bottom lip and stared over his shoulder. “Well, I’m just glad you’re okay.”

She gripped Heidi’s collar and started to head back toward the cottages. Watching the sway of that dress around her toned legs was absurd. The way the fabric slid over that creamy skin was going to be his undoing. When the hell did he start watching how material moved?

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