Working It Out (8 page)

Not that Seth was much different. He’d dated his fair
share of girls and still hadn’t found one he cared to settle down with either,
which was fine with him. He wasn’t ready to be tied down when there was still
so much to experience. Now, if there was a woman out there with a sense of
adventure—someone who preferred experiencing sports to watching them on TV—well,
maybe he’d reconsider.

An image of Grace came to mind, and Seth found himself
wondering what type of person she was. Would she care if he went paintballing
and mountain biking with his friends? Would she be the type to want to come
along or hold him back? Did she even like to mountain bike?

“Maybe we should give online dating a try,” Garrett
suggested. “Having a few cute girls around might make video games and movies
more interesting.”

Owen shook his head. “They’d probably make us play Just
Dance and make us watch chick flicks. Who wants that?”

Garrett grunted in agreement. Seth, on the other hand, wouldn’t
mind watching Grace play Just Dance. With her slim build and natural grace,
she’d probably dance circles around everyone else.

Seth shook his head, trying to clear his mind of all
thoughts of Grace. Why was he going there anyway? He frowned at the TV.
“There’s got to be something fun I can still do. C’mon, guys, think.”

“We could still go paintballing,” Owen said. “You’d just
be an easier target.”

Garrett laughed.

Seth rolled his eyes—although paintballing sounded much
more appealing than video games at the moment.

“I say we just follow Brandon and Ethan’s lead and ditch
Seth until he gets his knee back,” joked Garrett. “He’s going to be zero fun
for the next several months anyway.”

“Gee thanks,” said Seth. But they were right. Seth
was
zero fun to hang out with right now. He was actually incredibly grateful that
Owen and Garrett were the type of friends to stick around.

“Nah, we just need to rethink our way of doing things a
little,” said Owen, tapping his index finger against his lips. “Hey, my sister’s
the forward for her high-school basketball team. Maybe we could go to a game
sometime.”

Seth and Garrett groaned in unison. Okay, so maybe movies
weren’t last on the list anymore. Seth would take a movie over a girls’ high-school
basketball game any day.

“Give me a few days,” Seth said. “And I’ll come up with
something better than that.”

“Like
that’s
going to be hard to do,” muttered
Garrett.

“Shut up. ” Owen chucked a pillow at Garrett, who
snatched it up and threw it right back. Within seconds, a pillow fight ensued,
making Seth roll his eyes once again. His friends were great and all, but Seth
suddenly wanted more than this. He wanted something deeper. Something with soft
curves, warm lips, and deep, sea green eyes.

Seth shook his head to clear it. What was he thinking?
Grace reminded him of Lanna—the girl who wouldn’t speak to him because he’d
given her twenty grand. The last thing Seth should want was to get into a
relationship with another woman like that, no matter how beautiful or
interesting she was. It was just the medicine and boredom talking.

From here on out, the only thing Seth wanted from Grace
was for her to get his leg back in shape.

Ten minutes into his appointment, Seth had all but forgotten
about his promise. From the moment he’d struggled to get through the
self-closing door, Grace had welcomed him with rigid professionalism. Like
before, her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She wore black yoga
pants, along with a fitted white polo that had been appliquéd with the name of
the practice. Even in bland clothing, she looked good—a dressed-down version of
the beautiful woman in blue from the night of the auction. Seth still couldn’t
believe he hadn’t recognized her right away. She had the same piercing green
eyes, high cheekbones, toned body, and impassive expression.

Was she happy to see him again? Annoyed? Seth couldn’t
tell.

“Looks like you’ve made some progress,” Grace said as she
checked how far he could bend and straighten his knee. Even though the movement
pained him, her cool fingers on his leg felt good. Really good.

“I take my physical therapist’s orders very seriously.”
Seth grinned, hoping for an answering smile that didn’t come.

“Good,” she said. “That means we can start working on
strength. How’s your pain level?”

“Fine right now. But then again, I haven’t ticked you off
yet,” Seth teased, attempting to coerce a smile from her. But all he got was a
raised eyebrow.

“Are you planning to tick me off?” she said, releasing
his knee.

“Not on purpose.”

“Oh. It just comes naturally then.”

“Something like that.”

Grace seemed more on guard and careful today, as though a
simple smile would somehow breach that professional/personal line she didn’t
like to cross. Come to think of it, Seth had never seen what her smile looked
like.

That would have to change.

Grace studied the paper on her clipboard, tapping it
lightly with a pencil. “Since your mobility is improving, I’d like you to start
with some leg lifts—both on your back and stomach. Then we’ll do some heel
pushes, calf raises, and end with the bike. Sound okay?”

“Bike?” Seth perked up. “So soon?” He loved to bike. In
fact, the sooner he could strap his mountain bike to his SUV and hit the
trails, the better. Maybe this recovery wouldn’t be as bad as he thought.

“The revolutions on the bike will get your legs bending
and straightening, which is the best thing for your knee,” Grace explained.

“So mountain biking’s okay?”

She shot him a confused look, as though she didn’t know if
he was joking or not. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.” Seth’s knee was feeling much better, and if riding
a stationary bike wouldn’t hurt it, why would a mountain bike?

She shook her head. “No, you can’t go mountain biking. It
will jar your knee and very possibly torque it as well, which would land you
right back in the operating room. For now, stationary bikes only.
Please
.”

Seth frowned, his gaze moving to the crutches that rested
against the bench. “Can I at least lose the crutches?” He didn’t mention that
he rarely used them anymore. They made things awkward and
uncomfortable—especially when it came to things like getting through that
stupid self-closing door. What kind of PT office had a self-closing door
anyway?

Grace returned her attention to the clipboard. “I’d like you
to keep using them for a few more days—at least until you can walk without much
pain. Otherwise you’ll create a limp pattern, which we don’t want.”

It was on the tip of Seth’s tongue to say something about
how limps were cool or something like that. But he swallowed the words, mostly
because being cheeky wasn’t getting him anywhere with Grace. Instead, he let
his head flop down and obediently raised his leg like she’d asked—or
attempted
to raise it anyway. So crazy how something Seth could have done easily only a
week before now felt like he had twenty pounds strapped to his foot.

Grace looked down at him, her lips pulling up into an
almost smile. “Wow, I’m impressed,” she said.

“About what?” The few inches he’d been able to raise his
leg didn’t look at all impressive to him.

She shrugged. “I expected a sarcastic remark about how
limps are cool or that women find them sexy or something like that.”

As immature as it made Seth sound, he liked that she knew
him so well already. It felt like an accomplishment, as though he’d finally made
some headway with Grace. He cocked his head to return her gaze. “Do
you
think limps are sexy?”

The hint of a smile disappeared. “No.”

“Then I’ll keep using the crutches.”

At her look of annoyed surprise, Seth returned his
attention to the ceiling, holding back a self-satisfied grin. Let her stew on
that for a while.

Twenty minutes later, Seth gratefully tucked the crutches
under his arms, resting his weight on them in an attempt to ease the throbbing
in his leg. It felt as though someone had taken a mallet to his knee then
kicked it for good measure.

Maybe Seth shouldn’t have attempted to flirt quite so
much.

S
eth scribbled
his
name on the patient check-in form and nodded a hello at the
receptionist. According to Garrett, he no longer walked with a limp, so Seth
had happily donated his crutches to Goodwill the day before. As he’d dropped
them in the box, he considered taking a picture to send to Lanna. It had been
nearly a month since the night of the auction—since she’d last spoken to him—and
Seth was sick of it. Maybe if she saw that he gave to other charities as well, she’d
finally find it in her heart to forgive him.

“Grace is expecting you, so feel free to go on back,” the
receptionist said.

“Thanks.” Seth had purposely scheduled the last
appointment of the day with the hope of getting some extra time with Grace.

No longer hindered by crutches, Seth pulled the self-closing
door open and walked easily through. He headed toward the workout area then paused
when he spotted Grace near the back of the room, working with a blond guy in a
wheelchair. They were the only two people in the room, which meant Seth’s plan
had paid off. As soon as the blond guy left, he’d get Grace all to himself.
Seth smiled, admiring the way her yoga pants clung to her toned legs and the
way her shirt followed her curves. What would her hair look like out of that
ponytail? Would it feel as soft and silky as it appeared?

Seth watched her work, admiring the way her muscles
contracted as she assisted the guy with some exercise bands. Beautiful and
confident, Grace patiently coaxed and encouraged. She exuded a casual elegance
not many girls could pull off. No wonder she’d kicked off her heels the night
of the auction. They weren’t her. She was more the type to wear a pair of
comfortable shoes beneath her dress or go barefoot.

Seth smiled, remembering the night of the auction and how
her high heels dangled from her fingertips as her bare feet stalked away. At
the time, he hadn’t thought much of it. But now he wished he’d gone after her,
apologized, and found a way to get her to go out with him. Things were trickier
now that Seth was a patient. Grace had made it very clear that she didn’t date
patients—not even ones who’d already kissed her.

“Give me three more,” Grace said to the guy in the
wheelchair.

He strained to pull on the bands one more time, finally
dropping his arms to his side. Beads of sweat glistened across his forehead. “I
think I’m done for the day.”

Grace pulled up a chair and sat down. Her elbows rested
on her knees and her palms came together as she looked at the guy. “Don’t hate
me for saying this, but I feel like you’re holding back. I wanted to start you
in the pool next week because you need cardio as much as strength, but we’re
not making as much progress as I’d hoped.
Are
you holding back?”

The guy leaned forward and held out a staying hand.
“Listen, Grace, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, I really do, but you’re
right, I’m not giving it my all, because I don’t
want
to give it my all.
This isn’t me anymore, and the sooner you realize that, the better.” He paused.
“It was a mistake for me to start coming here.”

Surprise and concern reflected in Grace’s wide eyes. “Hey,
if you think I’m pushing you too hard, I’ll back off, okay? Just please don’t
give up. Not yet.”

The guy shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

He started to wheel himself away, but Grace placed her
hand on a wheel, stopping him. “I don’t understand. What do you have against
working out? There are thousands of paraplegics who live wonderful, active
lifestyles. You can do this.”

“How nice that you know so much about people like me.”

She let out a sigh, still keeping her hand on the wheel.
“C’mon, Alec, you know that’s not what I meant. I just hate to see you hide
away all the time. There’s so much more to life than staring at a computer
screen.”