She glanced over to see him holding a mystery. “I love it,” she told him. “Nothing like escaping your problems and reading about someone else’s.”
Noah laughed. “Too bad that’s not possible in real life.”
She wanted to question him but realized that was prying again, so she remained silent and waited for him to come back with a band.
“How do you want it?” he asked.
Glancing over her shoulder, she laughed. “Seriously? You tell me it won’t look good and you think I’ll give you specifications? I’m just happy you combed it and it won’t look like a nest.”
He gathered the sides back and pulled her hair together in the middle at the nape of her neck and wrapped the band around her hair. “I think we’ll do the most basic. By the time these weeks are over I may have you wearing a French twist.”
“You know what a French twist is?” she asked, surprised.
“I’m not a moron,” he joked. “Just because I know the term doesn’t mean I know how to do one. But maybe I’ll look up hairstyles since I’ll not only be your doctor, I’ll be your beautician, as well.”
Callie laughed, came to her feet and stared down at him. “Yeah, if this plastic-surgeon gig doesn’t work out, you can add stylist to your resume. I’ll be a reference for you.”
He grinned up at her and her heart flipped. She didn’t want to enjoy being here this much, because this was temporary. Not only that, if she liked it, she’d have to think of the reason she was actually staying here, and it wasn’t pleasant.
“Are you hungry?” he asked as his eyes floated down from her face, landed on her perky nipples and back up.
Oh, she was hungry, and she had a feeling he wasn’t just referring to food, either.
She cleared her throat. “I could eat.”
“Let’s head down to the kitchen and see what we can find.”
Yeah, getting out of this bedroom was an excellent idea. Her hormones had obviously not taken a hit in the accident, because they were working just fine.
* * *
Noah pounded his heavy bag and tried to block out the image of last night when Callie came from the bathroom, skin still dewy, wet hair clinging to her—no, his—shirt, making the material thinner, making those unconfined breasts all the more enticing…
These next few weeks were going to kill him. Literally flat-out kill him.
As if his sexual pull for her hadn’t been strong before, now being under the same roof with her was really testing his willpower.
She’d been here such a short time and already she’d left her mark. Her floral scent filled every room, making him realize having a female in his home was a major milestone.
Callie was the first woman Noah had brought home since the death of Malinda. He’d been on a few dates, but he’d never brought another woman here. This was the home he’d planned to share with his wife, and bringing other women here just didn’t seem like the right thing to do.
But Callie’s situation was different and he refused to feel guilty for helping a friend…even if she was a friend he was fighting an attraction to. Fighting and failing.
The burn in his knuckles with each punch only helped slightly to keep his mind off the fact his house wasn’t selling, the fact that Thelma might or might not be getting the proper meds, and the fact that his new housemate was sexy as hell and walking around wearing his shirt, no bra and shorts that showcased her tanned, toned legs and dainty feet with pink, polished toes. Even the bandage, sling and spattering of purple bruises didn’t diminish her beauty. Oh, all of that dulled the light in her eyes, but he’d find a way to put it back.
r /> His cell rang, cutting off the image of Callie parading barefoot through his home as if she belonged. Yanking off his boxing gloves, he moved to the weight bench and grabbed his phone.
“Hello.”
“Hey, you busy? You sound winded.”
Noah took a seat on the bench and rested his elbows on his knees. “Beating the heavy bag. What’s up, Max?”
“Calling to check on Callie. How’s she doing?”
Noah sighed. “She’s only been here a day. Her injuries were making her sore yesterday, and this morning when she woke she was pretty stiff.”
“And you stayed home to play doctor?” Max joked. “Sorry, bad pun. Seriously, dude, are you staying with her today?”