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“You tamed the beast.” Ella laughed.
“She didn’t need taming.” Cami just needed someone to see past her façade.
***
Cami was losing her mind. She felt like a prisoner in her own home, and while she would begrudgingly admit that she’d enjoyed the few days off, she was ready to get back to work. She’d been away from her shop for far too long, and while Enzo, Ella, and Krissy insisted everything was running smoothly, she needed to check on it herself.
Her ankle was still bothering her, and according to the internet it could take five to fourteen days to heal. Fourteen days… She didn’t even want to think about it. She hopped on one foot, using the wall for balance until she made it to the landing. Hopping down the stairs was out of the question. She didn’t need to lose her balance, hit her head, and add a concussion to the list. She plopped on her rear, and with her good foot, she slid on her butt from one stair to the next.
She was halfway to the bottom when the door opened. She looked up, her eyes looking right at Enzo’s blue ones.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked, amusement in his tone.
“I can’t be in here anymore. I’m leaving.”
“Where are you going?”
“Anywhere but here.”
“And how do you plan on getting there?”
“I still have one good foot. I can drive.” She crossed her arms over her chest, determined to sit there all day if she had to. There was no way she was going back up those stairs.
“Where do you want to go? I’ll drive you.”
He had already done too much for her. She had a slight injury; that didn’t make her incapable. “I don’t need a chauffeur. Or a chaperone, for that matter.” Enzo looked at her, plopping onto the next stair in an attempt to go through him. She felt like a child who wouldn’t take no for an answer, but this was the longest she’d been cooped up since she had the chicken pox when she was five.
Enzo bent, his arms wrapped around her, and picked her up off the steps.
“Put me down you barbarian.”
“You want go out, don’t you? I’m taking you out.”
“I just told you—”
His kiss cut off her words, and she melted into his arms. “Now that I have your attention,” he said. “I’ll take you down to the boardwalk. Even have something for you in the car.”
“Another present? I will admit I do like being spoiled. What is it?”
“You’ll have to wait and see.”
She sighed, throwing her head back and turning into dead weight in his arms.
Enzo laughed. “You always did have a flare for the dramatics.”
They got to Enzo’s Jeep, and he placed her on solid ground. She balanced on her good foot while he ducked into the backseat. He straightened, pulling with him a pair of crutches. “Surprise!”
“Where did you get these?”
“Found them in the closet at my grandfather’s. Still there from when Marco broke his leg.”
“That was almost fifteen years ago.”
“They still serve their purpose.” He held them out to her. “Want to give it a try?”
She took them from his hand and placed them under her arms. She’d never used crutches before, but it wasn’t exactly rocket science. It took a moment to figure out a good system, but once she did, she was flinging herself all about.
“Before you hurt yourself,” Enzo said and glanced down at her ankle. “Again.”
