Page 25 of Fools in Love

Then she realized he was walking at a fast pace across the sand.

“I’m okay,” she said, feeling the pain lessen with each moment.

“No, you’re not. I’m taking you to see Dr. Stevens.” His voice was laced with concern.

“Tom, I just put weight on it. Really. See.” She shifted slightly in his arms and motioned to her leg. “The pain is already gone. I just… forgot.” She smiled slightly.

He stilled and looked down at her. “You went white.”

She nodded. “Yeah, it was a lot of pain. I’m not supposed to put weight on it yet. Really, I’m okay.” She smiled and realized that all of the pain was now pretty much gone. At least it had returned to the dull ache that she’d felt since she’d woken from surgery.

He ran his eyes over her face and seemed to believe that she was telling him the truth.

“I left your crutches.” He motioned behind them.

“Set me down here.” She nudged his shoulder and instantly enjoyed the play of muscles under her fingers. She’d been so preoccupied with what his mouth was doing to her, she’d forgotten to enjoy them earlier.

She vowed not to make the same mistake next time. He set her down softly in the sand and crossed the sand quickly to pick up her crutches and her bag from where she’d left them.

When he came back to her, instead of handing them to her, he shifted them under his arm and easily lifted her back into his arms and carried her to his car.

She didn’t complain because it gave her more time to explore his arms and shoulders as he walked.

“Kate,” he said when they reached his car. “You’re killing me.” He tossed her crutches in the car and then let her slide down between him and the car.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and, this time, made a point to stand firmly on her good leg.

“Good,” she said with a smile, right before she leaned up and kissed him again.

She enjoyed herself until another car pulled into the parking lot, then he took a step back and helped her into his car.

They drove the few blocks to Baked in silence. When he parked, however, he turned to her.

“This…” He motioned between them. “Is your brother going to beat me up?”

She laughed. “No, Nick knows I kiss and other things.” She reached over and took his hand. “He’s not a psycho protective brother. At least not when it comes to me and men.”

“Good, because I was hoping we could do more of the kissing and possibly other things.” He smiled and leaned closer to her. But before he could kiss her, someone honked, and they both looked up and saw Nick and Brook walk into Baked.

“Think they saw us?” she asked him, and he sighed.

“Let’s go find out.” Before she could move, he leaned over and kissed her quickly. “If I’m going to get in trouble for this, then I might as well enjoy it beforehand.”

Since it was Friday night and they lived in a small town, Baked was completely packed. If not for luck, they would have had to stand in line and wait for a table or booth. But when they walked in, Corey waved them forward.

“Disabled people get first seating,” Corey said, quickly.

Of course, this caused everyone in the line to groan, especially her brother and cousin.

“We’re with them,” Brook said quickly. She took Kate’s arm and followed them to a booth.

“You’re lucky we like you,” Kate joked as she sat down. Brook took her crutches and leaned on the table.

“I hope you didn’t mind. It’s not like we’re interrupting a date,” Brook said quickly. She motioned to their attire. “You two look like you just got back from the gym.”

“Tom is teaching me how to box,” Kate chimed in as Tom sat next to her, leaving Brook and Nick on the other side of the booth.

Tom reached under the table and took her hand in his. Just the simple touch had her smile doubling.