Chapter 40
I looked up and saw Hayden’s rugged, chiseled face. He not only caught me but also snagged the watermelon from my hand. This surreal scene, straight out of a TV drama, was actually happening.
He steadied me and let go, but the moment I moved, pain shot through my ankle. Grabbing his arm, I said, “It hurts…” Following my gaze, he saw my ankle already turning red. “It’s sprained?”
Hayden was very close, his deep voice sounding especially sexy and comforting. I nodded, and the next second, he handed me the watermelon and scooped me up in his arms. In all the years I was with Jace, he never held me like this. Hayden carrying me made my heart race, and even my nose started to sweat. That was my thing; whenever I got nervous or excited, my nose would sweat.
I heard gasps around us—it was the neighbors and passersby. In a small town like this, such behavior between a guy and a girl wasn’t common. Hayden seemed unfazed by the onlookers, carrying me briskly into the yard. As we entered, I saw Molly, holding a spatula, looking at me with resentful eyes.
“Wow, you’re carrying her in your arms! You two are moving fast,” Macy teased, her eyes gleaming.
“She’s hurt,” Hayden said as he set me down on a bench in the yard. He crouched down and took off my slipper, holding my foot. His hands were cool, and as his palm enveloped my foot, a strange sensation spread from my sole, making my toes curl instinctively.
“Don’t move,” Hayden said, holding my swollen ankle.
“Ouch, that hurts…” I whimpered. But he didn’t let go. He pressed on my ankle bone and asked, “Does it hurt here?” I shook my head. He pressed around some more and then said, “Looks like a muscle strain, not a bone injury.”
“How can you be so sure?” I blurted out.
Hayden shot me a sidelong glance, and Macy jumped in, “Because he was in the army. He knows everything.”
Does being in the army turn someone into a jack-of-all-trades? I wondered.
But Hayden had already stood up. “Don’t move. I’ll get some ointment.” With quick strides, he walked off. That’s when I noticed his black fitted T-shirt and dark blue cargo pants—looking straight out of Mission Impossible.
“How’d you twist your ankle?” Macy asked, seizing the opportunity. I pointed outside. “There seemed to be something on the road, and I slipped.”
“Where exactly?” Macy pressed.
“Right past Molly’s place,” I replied. As soon as I finished, Macy was already heading out.
Hayden came back with some pain relief ointment. He knelt beside me, putting my foot on his knee. I knew what he was about to do. “I can handle it myself,” I said quickly.
He gave me a look. “It needs to be massaged in to work. You don’t have the strength.” With that, he rubbed the ointment between his palms and started working it into my swollen ankle. The pain mixed with a faint numbness, spreading from where he was rubbing.