Reid groaned.
The twins looked at each other and sighed.
“We didn’t want to say anything in our book,” the first one said. “That would be tacky. But honestly, it wasn’t that great. I mean most guys have trouble with two women, so we expect that. Sure, it’s their fantasy, but when faced with the reality of us naked, it can be a little much.”
“It wasn’t too much,” Reid yelled at the television. “It was fine. It was better than fine. I did great.”
“The earth didn’t move,” the second one said in a low voice. “It happens.”
The reporter leaned forward. “Was it a size issue?”
Reid turned off the TV and sprang to his feet. He paced the length of the room and swore. He didn’t need this in his life. He didn’t deserve it. He wasn’t that horrible a person, was he? He should get a break.
Only no one seemed willing to give him one.
He continued to pace back and forth, but the room was too small. He had an excess of energy and no way to burn it off. He had to get out of here, but there wasn’t anywhere to go.
He headed downstairs for the one person guaranteed to distract him.
Talk about idiotic, he thought as he walked into the kitchen. Lori had made it very clear what she thought of him. Did he need to be beat up more?
Except as definitive as she’d been about not wanting him, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he got to her. If he did, she would hate that. Which, in a twisted way, made him happy. At least annoying her was interesting.
But she wasn’t in the kitchen or the living room. He headed for Gloria’s temporary bedroom.
“Where’s Lori?” he asked when he saw the nurse wasn’t there. “She’s not avoiding me, is she?”
His grandmother slipped off her glasses, put down her book and stared at him. “Amazingly enough, the whole world doesn’t revolve around you, Reid. Lori’s sister is sick and Lori took her to the doctor. She’ll be back in an hour or so. Can you survive on your own until then, or should I call 9-1-1 for emergency assistance?”
Chapter Five
LORI ARRIVED back at Gloria’s house shortly before two in the afternoon. She walked inside only to find Reid waiting for her.
Her first thought was to turn around and hide in her car. She felt self-conscious about both their last conversation where she’d claimed she didn’t want him—a big fat lie if ever there was one—and the fact that she wasn’t wearing scrubs. Jeans and a sweater might be totally casual, but there was also the chance that he might interpret them as a pitiful attempt to attract him.
Or not, she thought honestly. Chances were Reid never thought of her at all. He was too busy posing for porn.
She briefly closed her eyes. No. That wasn’t fair. Her stupid crush wasn’t his fault. Maybe she should rethink the whole self-help book issue. It was more than obvious she needed something to get her back to her normal self. Her last trip to Seattle Chocolate, while delicious, hadn’t totally cured her.
“You were gone,” Reid said as she tucked her purse on an empty shelf in the massive and mostly unused pantry.
“Yes, I was and now I’m back.”
She straightened and stared at him. Why did he have to look so good? Why couldn’t he be ugly or even normal-looking? Why did his eyes make her want to get lost in whatever he was saying and why did his mouth make her long for some sexual acts that might still be illegal in the more conservative red states?
She tried to push past him. When he didn’t move, she said, “I have to check on Gloria.”
“I just did. She’s asleep. I want to talk to you.”
Panic seized her. This was not a conversation she wanted to have.
“I’m busy. Let’s reschedule.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Busy doing what?”
“Stuff. Important stuff.” She groaned silently. Talk about pathetically lame.
She couldn’t handle him today. Not when she was still fighting the embarrassment of their last encounter and she was feeling emotionally vulnerable because of what was going on with Madeline.
Just thinking about her sister drained the last of the fight out of her. Her shoulders slumped and she stared at Reid.
“Fine. What do you want to talk about?”
“You can’t just give in like that,” he said. “It’s not right.”
“You’re complaining because I let you win? You might want to rethink your priorities.”
“Something’s wrong,” he said. “What is it?”
She turned away. “Nothing.”
“I know enough about women to know that really means there’s something but I’m going to have to work to get at it.” He grabbed her arm. “Tell me.”
She didn’t plan to tell him anything. That was the hell of her situation. There was no one to talk to. Certainly not Madeline, who had enough to deal with herself, and not their mother who was a pretty useless kind of person.
She hated that she was tempted. Even more she hated that despite everything, she was hyper-aware of his fingers on her arm. Even through her sweater, she felt heat and need and a whole list of other desires that would go seriously unfulfilled.
“Go away,” she said, able to appreciate that she was starting to sound like Gloria.
“Maybe I can help.”
“Like you’ve helped all those kids who wrote you?” she asked, twisting free and glaring at him. “I don’t think so. But, hey, if you’re so big on knowing, here’s the thing. My sister’s dying. Okay? Are you happy now that you’re well informed? She has a bad case of Hepatitis C she got from a transfusion years ago. A liver transplant could save her, but she has a rare blood type so the odds aren’t good. So I’m thinking you’re not going to be much help at all unless you happen to be AB negative and want to give up your liver to a really good cause.”
She started out of the kitchen, but before she’d gone more than a few feet, she was swamped with feelings. Maybe Reid was a jerk, but he’d never been jerky directly to her. She had no right to lash out at him. In his own shallow way, he probably had been trying to help.
She glanced back at him, taking in the stunned expression darkening his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have said that. The doctor didn’t have good news and that kind of pushed me over the edge.”
Then she shocked herself and probably him by bursting into tears.
Even as the tears poured down her face, she struggled for control. She didn’t cry—not ever. It wasn’t allowed. She was practical and logical and take-charge. She didn’t allow weakness in herself and she didn’t respect it in other people.
But she couldn’t seem to stop crying.
Suddenly Reid was there in front of her. He pulled her close, wrapped his arms around her.
As she couldn’t seem to stop crying, she let herself lean on him for a few minutes. She let herself be comforted and held.
He was tall and strong, she thought as she held on to him. For once her thoughts where he was concerned weren’t about sex. She had the oddest sense that he could be someone she could trust. Which was totally insane. He was as stable as quicksand.
Still, being held felt really nice. She gave in to weakness until the tears dried up, then