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She wrinkled her nose. “I smell like a hospital. I really need to wash my hair.”
He carried her down a hall, into a surprisingly large living room. The cabin had looked small from the front but she now saw that it became much bigger at the back.
The living area had double-high ceilings with big wooden beams and white walls. There was an enormous stone fireplace with a hearth that was just made for Christmas stockings to be hung from it. She’d never done that before. Or decorated a tree. Her mother always got someone in to decorate and she was pretty sure only did that to keep up appearances with her friends. They’d never hung stockings or drunk eggnog or hot chocolate and sung Christmas carols.
“Georgie-girl? You okay?” he asked as he settled her on a leather sectional in front of the fire. He added a log to the fire. There were two bookcases on either side of the fireplace. But her eyes moved towards the wall at the end of the room where huge glass doors showcased the gorgeous lake and beyond. A kitchen was tucked in around the corner.
“Yes, I’m fine. This place is amazing.” It was like nothing she would have imagined he’d live in. She’d kind of expected something like where she lived. A barren, lonely apartment.
This was a house for a family. There was a lot of stuff, but it looked lived in.
“Thanks, I bought the cabin years ago then added on this extension when I had the money.”
“You did a great job. Do you not have any neighbors?”
“No, not for miles. I own several acres. I like my privacy.”
“You’ve got that.” She’d always lived in the city, so it was a bit daunting. But she couldn’t deny how peaceful and beautiful it was.
“While you’re here, I don’t want you to go beyond the yard, okay? You could easily get lost out here.”
She nodded. That was something she could agree to.
He smiled at her, crouching down, and squeezing her hand. He frowned. “You’re cold. I’ll get a blanket.”
“I’ll be fine in front of the fire.”
But he stood, and soon returned with a blanket. Kneeling, he reached for her sneakers and undid the laces.
“I can do that,” she protested, trying to pull her feet away.
“I assumed that you could, but I want to do it.”
“Why?”
He stared up at her. “Because I enjoy taking care of you.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. Not used to someone looking after you, are you?”
She shook her head. “I can’t remember the last time anyone took care of me. Bossed me around, interfered in my life, yes. But looked after me, no.”
“What about when you were sick? Your parents must have taken care of you.”
“My dad worked a lot and my mother was a germaphobe. If I was sick, usually a nanny took care of me.” But she’d been doing it herself since she was twelve. All of her brothers had been gone by then. And the nannies.
And her father.
Ed had her shoes off by now. He raised her feet, placing them on the sofa. Then he tucked the blanket around her. It was overkill. But she wasn’t going to tell him to stop.
Honestly, she was lapping this up like a dry sponge in a downpour.
Why couldn’t she let him take care of her? Especially right now, when she really wasn’t sure that she had the energy to do things for herself. She had no idea how she’d thought she was going to pack up and drive home.
To her surprise, he lifted her legs and settled himself under them, so her feet were in his lap. Then he started rubbing them. Holy hell. Her eyes closed.
She actually thought she came a little. Just from him touching her feet. But that would be super weird, right?
