“I can’t even…” Callie turned her head, swallowed back tears and met his gaze again. “I can’t begin to tell you what this means to me, to my family.”
Noah swiped her damp cheek and kissed her gently. “I didn’t want this to happen. This relationship we have. I fought against it, but you do something to me, Callie, and when you need anything, I want to be the one who provides it for you.”
Oh, God. Did he mean…
“I’m glad I could help,” he went on. “But I do have to get back to L.A tomorrow. I plan to meet with Blake very early Monday morning so we can go over his pre-op plan.”
Callie nodded, cupped Noah’s face and slid her lips over his. “Get back to work.”
As he walked away, Callie couldn’t help but wonder where his feelings had landed him. Did he love her and was just afraid to say it?
She knew one thing for sure, though. When they got back to L.A. they had a major talk in their future.
When she’d first had her accident she thought for sure all was lost, but in some weird, twisted way, had this damage to her life opened her eyes wider to what was really important? Had this tragedy brought her and Noah together more strongly than would have been possible before?
For the first time in weeks, Callie had a new hope for her future, and that fighter in her was back full force.
“Callie.”
She glanced up to see her mother coming around the side of the house.
“Hey, Mama.”
Erma smiled. “Why don’t you come inside with me and we can start preparing a nice, big lunch because our men will be ready to eat in a couple hours?”
Callie shook her head. “Oh, Noah’s not my man, Mom.”
Reaching out, her mother smoothed her hair off her forehead and nodded. “Oh, he is. You wouldn’t have slept downstairs with him and he wouldn’t be here helping if he weren’t yours. Besides, I saw the way he looked at you. That man has much more than lust in his eyes, Callie Ray. He has love.”
Callie stared at her mother, unable to speak. Love? Dare she hope?
“Now, come on in,” Erma said, looping her arm through Callie’s. “And tell me all about your hunky doctor.”
Fourteen
Noah had taken off as much time as possible and Callie’s arm was healing nicely, though he still managed to find reasons to assist her and he was pleasantly surprised she let him.
But he’d gone back to work today with his regular hours and the load was full, which meant he left the office later than he wanted to. Marie was wonderful, but he missed seeing Callie’s bright, chipper smile at the front desk.
Truth was, he missed Callie. Period. Their relationship had changed the last time they’d been intimate. A change he wasn’t ready for and certainly couldn’t define. But there was another level of trust, of caring. And that was a place he couldn’t visit, couldn’t think about and couldn’t get wrapped up in. This had to be just sex.
Tonight, though, he had a surprise for his houseguest.
When he finally pulled into his garage, he nearly sighed with relief. He loved his job, truly he did, but after two and a half weeks of staying home with Callie, he found he’d spoiled himself.
He was anxious to see Callie’s reaction to her gift. Though the pool table might have been his best gift ever, he was still eager to see how she would react to something more…personal.
When he stepped into the house from the garage, he didn’t spot her right away.
“Callie?” he called as he walked through the foyer and headed up the stairs.
He didn’t find her in the living room or her bedroom. Curious, he went outside, and sure enough she was lounging by the pool wearing a loose halter top and matching shorts. The sun had kissed her skin, and her nose was a subtle shade of pink. He assumed she’d put her antiobiotic ointment on her scar, so she should be fine, but if she turned red, he’d have to get her inside.
“Getting some sun?” he asked, coming to sit on the foot of the chaise longue.
She’d been reading and she put the book across her stomach. “Trying to. I was starting to look pretty pale.”
His eyes traveled down her legs and back up. “Looking pretty good to me.”