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Mac smiled at his bloody knuckles.
Worth it.
THREE
Jodie floated up out of vague but very pleasant dreams. Her brain had been kind enough to conjure up images of Mac. But why were they standing on top of a mountain?
Hang on. Was that actually a dream?
Her eyes fluttered open as she tried to remember where she was. Okay, I’m in my bed. She lifted the sheets and looked at herself. In my clothing. She looked to the side, hopeful.
“And…I’m alone,” she said, disappointed.
Her ankle throbbed, reminding her that she hadn’t taken any pain medication since…what, yesterday? What time was it? Hell, for that matter, what day was it?
Jodie sat up carefully, noting the light coming in from behind her blinds. Late morning. Is it Monday? Am I late for work? No, today was Sunday. And yesterday had been an absolute debacle.
It all started coming back to her. The horrible date with Dale. The fall. Mac carrying her down the mountain—wow, that hadn’t been a dream. The clinic, the sprained ankle, the pain meds. Then Mac carrying her into her house. She vaguely remembered him asking if she wanted him to set her up on the couch or in the bedroom, and in her drugged-up, blissed-out state, of course she’d said bedroom.
Oh God, did I say anything else? What kind of fool did I make of myself? Oh God.
Well, at least he wasn’t there, lying next to her. Naked…sweating…hot.
Disappointing.
No. Stop thinking that way. Any one of the bodyguards at Watchdog would have done the same thing if they’d found her. Besides, Mac had said it himself yesterday—he was just a friend helping her out.
She sighed heavily. Of course the nicest, sweetest, hottest man I know thinks of me as a friend. What else is new?
Her ankle was really barking at her now, so Jodie carefully eased her legs over the side of the bed and tested her weight.
Ouch. Yeah, that really hurts. She sat back down on the edge of the mattress. Maybe once she got some more pain meds on board it would feel better.
She heard a sound in the other room. Was that someone moving around? Was it Mac?
“Hello?” she called out. “Anybody there? If you’re a burglar, just take what you want and leave, please. I’m in no shape to fight you.” That was probably really stupid of me to say, wasn’t it?
Laughter greeted her in response. Familiar laughter, warm and comforting.
Mac.
She heard footsteps coming down the hall toward her closed bedroom door, followed by a light knock.
“Morning, Jodie,” Mac said through the closed door. “Sorry, I’m afraid I’m late with your pain pill, but I wanted you to get some sleep. Are you, uh, decent?”
Jodie laughed. “Well, that’s a matter of opinion, but I am dressed, so there’s that.”
The glorious sound of Mac’s laughter filtered through the door. “Hang on, let me get your medicine and a glass of water. I’ll be right back.”
“Hey, Mac? Wait a minute.”
“Yeah, Jodie? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, really. I just wanted to say thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
His footsteps faded down the hall.
