“Believe it or not, I was raised with manners. Sometimes they fail me.”
She met his gaze. Green eyes stared earnestly back at her. She wasn’t getting any alarm bells from this guy, though she also didn’t trust her judgement anymore. Still, he seemed sincere. And it didn’t hurt her to proceed as if he was. She wasn’t going to go out with him even if he did decide to try.
“Where are you from?” she asked, moving the conversation onward.
“Galveston, Texas.”
“I’ve never been there. What’s it like?”
“Flat. But the weather’s beautiful and we’re on the Gulf, so lots of fishing and water sports. And great food.”
“Sounds nice.”
“It is. My mom and dad are still there. Still live in the house I grew up in.” He looked at his leg and frowned. “I need to call them.”
“You haven’t told them you were hurt yet?”
He shook his head. “Didn’t want them to worry.”
She couldn’t say anything about that since it wasn’t her call to make. But if she had parents still living, she felt like she’d tell them everything. Maybe, if her parents were still alive, she’d have never fallen for Josh’s slick charm. She knew she couldn’t really say that, but it was nice to think if she still had a daddy, he’d have been there to protect her.
“What about you?” he asked. “Where are you from?”
Scarlett’s heart thumped. “Florida.”
“Just Florida?” he asked when she didn’t say anything else.
“Fort Walton Beach.”
He nodded. “That’s near Eglin Air Force Base. There’s a special operations unit there.”
She really needed to learn how to lie better. She should have said Miami. But what if he knew Miami like the back of his hand? No, the truth was always better. Or some of it anyway. “Have you ever been there?”
He grunted as she moved his leg. “No.”
“I worked with military from that unit.” She didn’t usually talk about her time at the hospital in Florida to anyone, but the words had popped out before she’d realized what she was saying. Too late to call them back now.
“How’d you end up here?” he asked.
She manipulated his leg carefully, not meeting his questioning gaze. “I decided it was time for a change. Better opportunities at this hospital.”
“Riverstone is pretty amazing. It’s my first stay. Hopefully my last.”
She stood and reached for the e-stim equipment. “Yeah, better not make a habit of this.”
He snorted. “Don’t intend to. Is that all you got today? We’re done?”
She hooked up the leads to his leg. “Unless you’d like to sign up for the 5K we’re running later this afternoon? I’m sure I can find a team spirit T-shirt for you.”
“Nah, I’ll pass. But thanks anyway.” He grinned at her and her heart flipped. Why did he have to be so damned beautiful? Josh had been attractive, but not like this guy. This one was almost too good-looking.
Really, Scarlett? Is that even possible?
“Let me know if you change your mind.”
“Pretty sure I won’t.”
She turned on the current and let the electricity work his muscles. “I’ll come back and check on you in a few minutes.”
“I’ll be here,” he said wryly. “Got nowhere else to go.”
Chapter Four
“You’ve come far in a week,” Scarlett said as Mal lifted his leg so she could measure the degree of movement.
He was ridiculously pleased with her praise. He’d been working hard to improve his range of motion. Doing all the exercises he was given and trying not to push it too far. He wanted to push it, but Scarlett had impressed upon him the dangers of straining the muscles too much. If he overdid it, he risked setting back his progress by weeks. Not something he wanted to do.
“I want to be able to go home,” he told her. Though, oddly enough, he thought he’d miss seeing her every day. When he was home again, he’d come in for PT three times a week.
She smiled at him. She had a nice smile. It was a little cautious, but it was there. “I think that’ll happen sooner rather than later. You just keep doing what I tell you.”
“Yes ma’am.”
She laughed. “You’re learning. Quite a difference from the man who growled at me a week ago.”
He lifted his leg and did the exercises she’d given him while she watched. “I’m grumpy, not stupid.”
“Brawn and brains. Nice combo.”
“Careful or I’ll think you’re flirting with me,” he said, grunting as he completed the exercise. He looked up in time to see her pale. Alarm flared in his brain. “Hey, it was a joke. I’m not planning to report you for harassment or anything. Honest.”
She turned away to fiddle with the big elastic bands she had him use sometimes, refolding them even though they weren’t messed up. “I know you’re kidding. I’m not worried.”
“Hey.” She didn’t turn around. “Scarlett, please look at me.”
She spun with a smile on her face. Another cautious one. “What? We’re cool, Mal. It’s fine.”
“I’m not trying to upset you. It was a joke, and I guess a bad one. I know you aren’t flirting with me, and I’m not flirting with you. I’m, uh, kind of hung up on someone, so you don’t have to worry about me.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Really? A woman?”
He blinked. “Of course a woman. I’m not gay.”
“Not that there’s anything wrong with being gay,” she said coolly. Testing him.
“I didn’t say there was! One of my best friends from high school came out a few years ago. Shocked the hell out of me since I never had a clue, but he’s still like a brother to me. I mean I don’t get it or anything, but I damn sure support him.”
She nodded. “Good. I’d hate for you to be the kind of asshole who thinks they have a right to tell other people how to live and who to love.”
“I’m not. And how did we get to my opinion about gay people when I’m trying to tell you I’m not flirting with you?”
“We just did. So tell me about this woman.”
His heart thumped. “Not much to say. She’s not interested in me.”
Scarlett’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding.”
“I’m not. Are you mocking me?”
“No, definitely not.” She scratched behind her ear. Her cheeks seemed to redden a little. “It’s just that, well, you have to know you aren’t unattractive. I mean some of the nurses have been….” She cleared her throat. “Well, let’s just say that you attract attention. And speculation.”
“It’s complicated,” he said. “But she’s not interested and she’s not going to be.” He didn’t add that he was in this hospital because he’d thrown himself in the line of fire to protect the man she loved. He wasn’t noble or anything and he didn’t deserve praise. Far from it.