By the time they'd each had a second drink and consumed most of a delicious but filling lunch, the earlier tension was all but forgotten. As they split a very fattening dessert, they were back to joking with each other and teasing, taking their time over the remnants of the meal. It was midafternoon by the time they finished eating."I'm stuffed," Kaitlyn said, rubbing her tummy."Me, too." Ryan took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "So we're all good now?"She gave him an answering squeeze. "We're good.""After that meal I don't know if I'm up for a swim this afternoon. Want to walk a bit and check out the shops? We really haven't done any of that.""Sure. Maybe I can find an addition to my collection of very bad and stupid T-shirts."Ryan laughed, a warm, full-throated sound. "I don't think you'll have any trouble. Most of the T-shirts I've ever seen would fit nicely in that category."People crammed the shops and the sidewalks, so movement was slow, but they were
He decided to turn the oven completely off, just in case. Scrounging in the freezer he found some bags of frozen vegetables—and who the hell had Walt told to stock this place who would think of that? Hurrying back to the living room, he gently molded the sack of vegetables around her ankle."Ow." She sucked in a breath."I know it hurts, honey. We're gonna get it taken care of."He pulled out his phone then realized he had no idea where to find anything in this town. But everything was out there on the World Wide Web so he punched in what he was looking for."Okay," he told her, "we're in luck. There's an urgent care center right down the road on Estero Boulevard that's open until ten. Let's go."Kaitlyn shook her head. "I'll be fine. If I stay off it for a few minutes, and ice it, I'll be okay."Ryan ground his teeth. "Trust me on this. You need an x-ray to be sure it's not broken—""But you said it wasn't," she interrupted.He blew out a breath of exasperation. "I'm not a doc
Two people were in the waiting room, but again he had his hat pulled low and most of his face was hidden by Kaitlyn."I can take care of myself," was the first thing she said when they were back in the car."You have to stay off that foot," he reminded her."We'll see," she grumbled. "Just get me home and I'll be fine."Well, he knew that wasn't the damn truth. But one thing at a time. When they got to their houses he parked and carried her up the stairs to her place and parked her on the couch. He checked her freezer, found a bag of frozen lima—lima beans?—and placed it gently on her ankle."Don't move," he ordered. "Give me a minute and I'll be right back." He grabbed a wastebasket bag from her kitchen and jogged back down the stairs.He cleaned up the mess from the salad and broken dishes and tossed the bag in his big trash bin. Then he was back upstairs, standing next to Kaitlyn, trying not to laugh at the grumpy look on her face."We can do this the easy way or the hard w
The hardest thing, Kaitlyn kept telling herself, was lying in the same bed with Ryan, both of them close to naked, and not having sex. They'd been doing this for three nights and she was about to tear her hair out.It was hard to miss the signs of his arousal, the big bulge at the front of the sweat shorts he'd decided to sleep in. But he'd apparently been struck by some sense of nobility because every time she snuggled the least bit closer to him, he rearranged them in the bed. Whenever she turned to face him, he stroked her cheek, brushed a kiss over her lips, then actually lifted her and turned her to face the other way."We have to be careful of your ankle," he kept reminding her.She wanted to argue with him but, despite the fact he'd taken extra care with her, for the first few days, every time she moved, the ankle throbbed. Sex would not be much fun under those conditions. Still, she'd had a hard time lying next to this man and not ripping off both of their clothes. But every
He winked and took a big gulp of his coffee, made a sound of satisfaction, and set the mug down. "Nothing starts the day like good, rich coffee."Kaitlyn wanted to smack him. "Pay attention. We're talking about my ankle here. It's no joking matter. How long am I going to have to be laid up like this? The doctor said three days. Today is the fourth."She could have bathed and dressed herself after the first two days. In fact, she'd even tried to convince Ryan she could handle it but he was both persistent and insistent."You'll fall and break your neck," he kept warning her."I think you're looking for a chance to get your hands all over me," she teased.He'd winked at her. "You got that right."He shrugged. "So I'm being extra cautious. That okay with you?""And if I said no?""I'd say duly noted."He grinned, his eyes filled with mischief. "You mean you don't like having your own houseboy to wait on you hand and foot?""Is that what you are?" she teased. "My houseboy?""Oh!
Four days of pent-up frustration were threatening to boil over in an explosion of epic magnitude. Lying in bed next to Kaitlyn had been pure torture for the past few nights. Ryan thought he should get a medal for his self-control, especially each morning when he helped her with her shower. Touching that toned body with its smooth as velvet skin, those breasts that fit so nicely in his hands, that delectable ass that he wanted to lick all over was pure torture. But he was determined to keep his desire in check. He wasn't one to take advantage of a woman or do crazy things, regardless of what Psycho Marlo had said.But now? Now all bets were off. He was going to make sure this was a night to remember for both of them. In the bedroom he set her on her feet, being careful how she put her weight on her bad ankle. Then he cupped her face and indulged himself in another hot, hungry kiss. Her mouth felt and tasted so good he thought he could spend hours doing nothing but exploring the differe
Ryan knocked back the rest of his orange juice, rinsed his glass, and set it in the drain. The past week had been one of the best he had ever known. Nothing beyond Ft. Myers Beach existed for him. Not, Psycho Marlo, the avalanche of bad publicity, the pressure from the team…nothing. He and Kaitlyn had been happy in their own little world. She wasn't back to running yet but she walked on the beach while he ran and waited for him to come back. Sometimes they waded into the surf for a quick swim. They played tourist, in this typical tourist beach town, strolling the narrow sidewalks, eating ice cream.The weather was so pleasant that, unless they went out, they ate each night on her porch, with a soft breeze stirring the air and the last of the sun's dying rays casting everything in a golden glow. And at night, with the moonlight streaming in through the window, they had sex so spectacular he sometimes wondered if he was dreaming it. He wondered if he'd ever been this relaxed or this hap
"First, you always need to be within cell phone contact. That's nonnegotiable.""Fine. But I can tell there's something else. Spill it."Walt nodded his head toward Kaitlyn. "Who's the broad?"Ryan could feel his blood pressure rising. "She's not a broad. She's a very nice female who happens to be renting the cottage next to me. Why?""What does she want?""Want? What do you mean, what does she want?" Breathe, Ryan."Everyone wants something, Ryan. Haven't you figured that out yet?" He took his phone out of his pocket again. "We'll have to find out what little Miss Nosy Neighbor wants.""You aren't going over there to give her the third degree." Ryan was ready to punch his agent. He wanted to keep Kaitlyn out of this at all costs."Don't have to," Walt smirked. "I snapped a picture of her. As we speak, I'm sending it to our private investigator to check her out.""You what?" Now Ryan was sure his blood pressure would go through the roof. "You can't invade someone's privacy lik