Page 55

Fifty-Five

SUNNY

I put my hand on the passenger side handle, but Rhodes clears his throat from the driver’s seat.

“Rhodes, I can open my own door.” I laugh softly because if I laugh too hard, it’ll hurt. The soreness set in as soon as Rhodes showed up and acted all hero-like. It was like my body refused to feel anything until he was there, and Ellie was fully taken care of.

“I know you can,” he says. “Doesn’t mean you have to.”

Warmth spreads to my cheeks. I stay unmoving in the passenger seat while he climbs from the truck and rounds the front of it. When he gets to my side, he opens the door and leans inside so closely that his arm brushes the front of me.

He unbuckles my seatbelt, and I playfully roll my eyes. “Don’t even think about carrying me.”

He grumbles something under his breath but settles for my hand, helping me down to the sidewalk.

“It’s slippery,” he warns. “So hold onto me.”

“I really am fine, Rhodes,” I remind him. “It’s just a mild concussion and a few scrapes.”

Marco had the worst of it and is required to stay in the hospital overnight for observation. Two broken ribs, a concussion, and some stitches. He’s reassured us that he’s okay, but Rhodes is still planning on checking on him tomorrow.

“I don’t care.” Rhodes shuts the front door behind me, and to my surprise, he bends down and starts to unlace my shoes. “Just be quiet, and let me take care of you.”

The dip in my belly shuts me right up.

His hand on my calf is warm, and when my shoes are off and to the side, we’re greeted by Scottie.

“Oh my goodness, Sunny.” Her hand goes to her mouth. “Are you okay? What do you need?”

“I’m fine,” I reiterate with a smile. “I promise.”

She looks at Rhodes.

He scoffs. “She’s just like you.”

Scottie, with her blonde hair piled on top of her head, places her hands on her hips. “He doesn’t mean that as a compliment. He means that you’re acting as independent as I do when it comes to someone taking care of me.”

I frown.

He isn’t wrong.

“I still take it as a compliment,” I say.

Rhodes rubs his hand over his scratchy face. He looks exhausted. His hair is tousled, like he’s run his fingers through it a million times, and he’s wearing nothing but a thin Blue Devils hoodie and a pair of shorts.

“Do you want to stay?” Rhodes asks Scottie. “It’s late, and the team won’t be back until morning. You can take Sunny’s bed.”

“Wait, what?” I ask.

“You have a concussion,” Rhodes reminds me. “I have to keep an eye on you.”

Scottie looks at me, and we catch each other's eye.

Call it girl intuition, or whatever you want, but it’s clear that she knows something neither Rhodes nor I have admitted to anyone.

“Yeah, I probably should.” Scottie tries to hide her smile. “If it’s okay?”

My thoughts of Rhodes and his attentiveness scatter. “Of course.” I slowly walk toward the stairs. “You can use any of my stuff if you want to shower?—”

“Where do you think you’re going?” Rhodes’s hands fall to my hips, and I pause.

I glance over my shoulder and meet his intense gaze.

“To get Scottie settled?”

He flicks a brow. “Taking care of others still, I see.” He looks over at Scottie. “You know the way, yeah?”

She laughs and slides past us. “Yeah, I’ll see you two in the morning. Come get me if you need something.”

I say goodnight to her, and when she’s out of sight, Rhodes gently scoops me up into his arms and begins to carry me up the stairs. I snort quietly. “Rhodes, you are being ridiculous. I can walk!”

He shushes me and follows it with, “Tikho.”

My lips clamp together, and I do as he demands and stay quiet.

Stopping in front of Ellie’s room, we both peer through the crack of the door and see that she’s peacefully sleeping in her bed with her nightlight on.

“She doesn’t have a scratch on her,” Rhodes sighs in awe.

“That’s because she has a guardian angel.” Her mother.

“I think you do too,” he says.

My own mother comes to mind—and Gramps. I smile at the thought of them both.

Bypassing his bed, he takes me right to the bathroom and slowly sits me on the vanity counter. He keeps the light off and brushes my hair away from my face, careful not to touch the butterfly strips on my cheek from my cut.

“Does your head hurt? I figure keeping the lights off is best.”

“A little,” I admit. “But I’m?—”

“If you say you’re fine…”

Even through the darkness, I see the severity in his gaze. I sigh and glance away while nibbling on my lip.

I’m not used to someone taking care of me. Sure, my grandparents gave me a wonderful childhood full of love and nurturing, but I haven’t been a child in a very long time. As soon as Gramps started to go downhill, I had to step up to the plate and take care of them.

“Do you want to shower?” Rhodes asks. “The warm water might help loosen your muscles.”

“You’re tired,” I say.

He chuckles. “So?”

I shrug. Oh, my muscles are tight . “I feel bad. You played a full game of hockey and then flew home to this mess . You should get some sleep.”

Rhodes grinds his jaw and walks over to the shower and turns it on. When he comes back, he lowers his voice. “You’re gonna make me say it, aren’t you?”

I peek at him through the darkness. “Say what?”

“Do you understand the fear that flew through me when I heard there had been an accident?”

“Of course,” I say. “That’s why I made sure Ellie was okay before anything else.”

Rhodes chuckles darkly. He drops his head, placing both of his hands beside my thighs on the vanity top. “You don’t get it. I wasn't just worried about Ellie.”

My stomach flips. I’m too tired to fight the irrational thought that he was worried about me too. He should be worried. I take care of Ellie. That makes sense.

Rhodes slowly raises his head. The look he gives me brushes against my soul. His neck bobs with a swallow, and I wait with bated breath to hear his next words.

“I was scared out of my fucking mind that something happened to you.” He exhales slowly and grips the hem of my shirt. “And it isn’t only because you take care of my daughter.”

“Rhodes,” I whisper. “I think you’re still in panic mode, and that’s why you feel that way.”

I will admit, things seem more serious than before, when we were giving in to attraction. But that’s probably just the lingering panic speaking, right?

Even if it isn’t, I’m not sure I have it in me to push him away and force us to think rationally. I don’t want to.

“I’m going to take care of you, and you’re going to let me, okay?” The way he looks at me sends chills to my arms, despite the bathroom filling with steam.

I bite my lip and nod.

Rhodes strips the shirt from my body, careful when pulling it over my head. His hands move deftly to my jeans, and he slowly pops the button through the hole and slides me off the vanity to stand. My jeans fall in a pile beside my shirt, and next, he reaches around and unclasps my bra, slowly dragging the straps down my arms and tossing it to the floor.

He’s on his best behavior as he hooks his fingers into the sides of my panties, slowly tugging them over my hips and helping me step out of them.

I swallow and let him help me into his shower. My eyes have adjusted, so when I see him begin to strip too, I force myself to turn around so I don’t accidentally glance below his waist.

My body is jumbled, and my thoughts are messy.

When I feel his presence behind me, my breath hitches.

I don’t recognize the feeling buried in my chest when his arm slips around my waist to spin me toward him. Steam surrounds us, and butterflies make a home in my stomach.

“I have no idea what I’m doing,” he whispers.

Our bodies are flush, and I find myself reaching up on my tiptoes.

“Me either,” I admit.

Rhodes skims his nose down mine at the same time his fingers knead my back muscles. I shiver, and he pulls back slightly to look into my eyes.

“Damn, ” he mutters.

Then his mouth is on mine, and I suddenly feel like I’m his.