He spins me out and back in before attempting to dip me, but I stumble slightly and feel the sharp twist of my ankle before I can catch myself. I gasp, bracing for the fall, but Brendan grabs me around the waist, his palm holding me against him.
For a second, I’m only aware of how close we are, his fingers brushing over a sliver of bare skin where my top reaches my jeans. The contact wakes up every nerve ending inside me.
His gaze drops to my mouth, and his jaw clenches before he sets me on my feet.
If it had been anyone else catching me, I would have stepped away immediately and laughed off my clumsiness. But this is Brendan.
“You okay?” he asks, studying me.
I swallow. “I honestly don’t know yet.”
If he’s talking about the damage he’s doing to my heart, thenno, I’m not okay.
Brendan glances at my ankle. “We need to get you back to the hotel and put some ice on that.”
“Now? What about our milkshakes? I can’t abandon perfectly good food.”
“You’re hurt, and you’re worried about a milkshake?”
I shrug. “Priorities, Marco.”
“You’re impossible,” he says, pulling out a chair for me off to the side. He helps me sit before boxing up our order and paying our bill.
When he returns, he hands me my shake. “Happy now?”
I take a sip of what’s now a half-melted chocolate drink. “Completely.”
He glances down at my bare feet, spins around, and searches for my shoes. Grabbing them from where I tossed them earlier, he kneels in front of me.
I frown as he takes my foot. “What are you doing?”
He doesn’t even look at me. “Helping you get your shoes back on.”
“But my feet are filthy now. Remember your lecture about the floor and all the questionable spills?”
Without flinching, he slides a shoe on. “You can’t walk back to the hotel barefoot.”
Then he does the same for my other foot, being extra gentle around the tender ankle, and all I can do is watch him silently.
“Thank you.” I catch his wrist, stilling him. He touched my disgusting, bar-floor feet without flinching.Nothingstops this man.
He looks up at me from where he’s still kneeling. “Only for you, Scarlett.”
For a moment neither of us moves. Then he grabs my elbow to steady me, and I wince slightly as I put weight on my foot.
“You’re pale.” He searches my face. “Don’t tell me you’re fine.”
“I’m totally fine,” I say, trying to mask the pain.
“Let me see you walk, then.” He nods. “Go ahead.”
I attempt a step, but it’s more like a poorly disguised limp I’m pretending doesn’t hurt.
He watches me, then steps in front of me. “You call that walking?”
“Give me a few more steps to walk it off.” I try to sidestep him, but the pain shoots through my foot as soon as I try to move.
He catches me around the waist before I can get past him. Even in pain, his touch is enough of a distraction to dull the throbbing. “I’m not arguing with you about this, even if you are too proud to accept help.”