Page 29 of Enchanted

I cut off his babbling with a chuckle. Honestly, knowing I’d inadvertently made him nervous stripped away a little of his mystique. Rami was a normal bloke, just like me. “No, it’s good. I love this stuff. Just not used to people doing things like that, I guess.”

Rami frowned as I accepted the cracker from him. “That’s a shame.”

I groaned as I took my first mouthful. Fuck, it was nice to have an appetite again. I got so lost in the flavours that it took me a minute to realise I hadn’t responded. “What is?”

“Never mind,” Rami said, holding up another loaded cracker. God, that was embarrassing. I’d been so focused on what I was eating that I hadn’t even realised he’d made it. “Here. Have some more.”

I took it with a grin. “Keep feeding me like this and I might never leave.”

Rami’s lips curved. “Damn. You’ve foiled my plan.”

Fuck, was he flirting with me? I sucked in a breath, accidentally forcing a crumb of cracker down the wrong hole. I choked, slamming my fist into my chest as Rami hastily reached for me in alarm.

“I’m fine,” I wheezed, giving him a watery smile. “Went down the wrong way.”

Rami lowered his hands slowly as his eyes darted all over me. “Are you sure?”

“Perfectly.” I reached for one of the two glasses of water on the table. “Sorry. I should probably tell you now that I’m a bit clumsy. Broken a fair few bones.”

“Really?”

I nodded as I glugged down half the glass. “Oh yeah. I broke my left leg falling off my bike one summer. My nose the next. Again, falling off my bike.”

Rami’s lips twitched. “What I’m hearing is you can’t be trusted on two wheels.”

“Or two feet.” I sighed, holding out my left arm. “See these scars? That’s from where I had pins in my wrist when I was eighteen.”

The words died in my throat as I stared at my wrist. At the pristine skin there.

Where the fuck did my scars go?

Rami hummed as he touched my wrist, right where the scars once were. “Pins? Fuck. How’d you manage that one?”

“Slipped off a kerb,” I said faintly, distracted by both my missing scars and the goosebumps rising in the wake of his touch. What was going on with me today? Was I that touch deprived? To be fair, I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had touched me in a way that wasn’t clinical. Dave must’ve hugged me recently, right? Kissed me, even?

I wracked my mind. Fuck. The last time that I could remember was when I’d told him I’d been given the all-clear. That hadn’t been a kiss though.

When had those stopped?

I stared at Rami’s fingers. At where they lingered on my wrist. How long had things been this bad between Dave and me?

“Ethan?” Rami’s deep voice startled me out of my thoughts. “Are you okay?”

“Sorry,” I blurted out, snatching my arm back. “Went into my own world there. What were you saying?”

“Just asked if you’d had any other big injuries.” Rami’s smile was slightly tight as he settled back against the sofa. “Or if Sam should’ve arranged extra liability insurance for this shoot.”

I stiffened. “You don’t need to worry about that; I’m extremely conscientious at work. I also have my own insurance, so if anything does happen⁠—”

“Whoa, whoa,” Rami interrupted, eyes wide with alarm. “Shit, I didn’t mean that. I was making a joke, honestly. You could smash up anything in here and no one would give a fuck.”

My lips twitched. “I think Sam might have a thing or two to say.”

Rami thought about it for a second. “Yeah, you might be right. He’d be the only one though.”

“Well, like I said, there’s nothing to worry about there. I tend to pay more attention at work. Outside of it’s a different story. It’s okay though, haven’t walked out in front of a bus in a while.”

Rami rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Yeah, that one might result in more than a broken bone or two.”