Callie’s eyes filled with tears, and she cursed that constant state of vulnerability she’d felt in the past twenty-four hours. Still, no one had ever said such things to her before.
“I don’t deserve you as a friend,” she whispered. “I’m going to be a complete jerk during this process. I’m pretty angry and I don’t want you to bear the brunt of that anger. I can be my biggest cheerleader, but I can also be my own worst enemy.”
“I’m not worried about myself.” He placed a kiss on her forehead. “And I’m not worried about you, either, because I’m not going to let you beat yourself up for something that wasn’t your fault.”
She leaned into his touch, not caring if she appeared defenseless or weak. Right now she was both and there was no point in hiding the fact.
“I just keep replaying the accident in my mind,” she admitted as she sniffled against his shirt. “I saw all the brake lights. I started to get over and that semi literally came out of nowhere.”
His hand roamed up and down her back, his chin resting on her forehead. “You don’t have to relive it now, Callie. You’re safe.”
Safe? She’d had nightmares last night while she’d been in the hospital; surprisingly her cries hadn’t woken Noah up as he’d slept in the chair near her bed. She prayed the dreams wouldn’t visit her again tonight.
“It’s impossible not to replay it,” she told him, lifting her head to look back into his eyes. “My life changed in literally seconds. There were so many cars in the accident. I heard there were no fatalities, but I feel as if a portion of me died.”
“You can’t mean that.” He cupped her jaw and leaned down closer to her face. “Don’t even think like that.”
His face was a breath away and he was so angry. She’d read somewhere that passion and anger were similar and one could change to the other in the blink of an eye.
But she was a fool for thinking of passion and an even bigger fool for believing Noah would take this moment and turn it into something sexual.
The muscle ticked in his jaw and Callie knew he was angry so she just nodded.
“I’ll go get the supplies.”
He stalked out and Callie sighed as she sagged back against the counter. This was going to be a long six weeks of recovery.
Six
Callie took a seat on the small stool in front of the vanity. She wanted to get this doctor/patient time over with. Their bonding moment wasn’t something she was comfortable with because she certainly didn’t want to give him any more ammunition to fuel his pity.
She’d not only been so close to her dream of landing a role, she’d finally gotten Noah Foster to see her as a desirable woman. Now she didn’t even want to know what he thought when he looked at her.
“Sorry.” Noah came back in with supplies and a shirt. “I ran to my room to grab this for you.”
She eyed the shirt and glanced up at him. “A shirt?”
“It’s a button-down,” he explained. “You can’t keep your one arm tucked beneath a T-shirt for six weeks. This way you won’t have to lift your arm over your head. You can just slide it through the sleeve.”
That would be more convenient, but if she needed to change, then…
“I can help,” he offered.
“No.” She sat up in her seat, eyes on him. “I can do it.”
“You’re going to be stubborn, aren’t you?” he asked. “I’ve seen naked women before.”
“Not this naked woman.”
His eyes roamed over her, then back up. “Do you think the way we were headed a few days ago that I never would’ve gotten you naked, Callie?”
Chills spread over her; her skin tingled. She knew exactly where they’d been heading.
“Do you think I wanted to just kiss you like that and leave it?” He stepped closer, just enough for her to have to tilt her head up to keep hold of his warm gaze. “I don’t choose lovers on a whim.”
“Noah…”
He held up a hand, took a step back and shook his head. “Sorry. That was completely out of line. Let’s see what your face looks like.”