Unable to think of a snappy retort, she stuck her tongue out and trounced off to her room to shower before meeting Grey—er, going to work. Work, dang it.
Grey arrived at therapy in a shitty mood. The miraculous recovery he’d counted on wasn’t happening. Throughout his years of skiing, he’d broken a collarbone, suffered two concussions, bruised ribs, and torn a rotator cuff. That rotator cuff hurt like a bitch, but this knee worried him more than anything.
When Avery came to the reception area to get him, he didn’t greet her with his typical smile. “Let’s get started. I feel like I should be stronger than this by now.”
Avery’s eyes widened. “Grey, you’re doing great. You’re still compensating a bit with your good side, but that’s not uncommon this early in your recovery. You need to be patient and trust the process.”
Grey loathed being lumped into the “average” recovery zone.
Avery proceeded to put him through the paces, working on gait education to minimize hip hikes and drops, doing a series of lateral box steps with TheraBand resistance, quad work on the TRX.
Throughout the exercises Grey’s mood fell further, but not because of his knee. Normally Avery gave him one hundred and ten percent of her attention. Normally she was hands-on, touching him to correct his body alignment. Normally he enjoyed being the center of her universe for the hour they spent together.
Not so today.
Today she maintained physical distance. Her manner remained polite but impersonal. At times, she seemed almost distracted.
“What’s up with you today?” Grey’s direct question surprised him, but didn’t seem to affect her.
“Nothing.” She crossed her arms while intently watching his knees and hips as he completed a set of lunges. “Focus on your balance, Grey. You’re still compensating.”
“Am not.” He watched her worry the hell out of her lip. Something he’d be happy to do for her if she’d let him. In fact, he’d like to drag his mouth all over her hot body, watch desire light up the gold flecks in those blue eyes, and confirm his suspicion she’d be as forward in bed as she was everywhere else. Quit it.
“I’ll grab the video and prove it.”
Avery went to get the camera, but Grey suspected she’d also walked away to shove aside whatever was bothering her. She might think she’d fooled him, but she hadn’t.
While she set up the tripod, she casually asked, “So, how’s your friend Trip?”
“Fine.” His stomach dropped. Why was she asking about Trip?
“How many new hearts has he broken since I met him?” Her teasing voice and curiosity tunneled under Grey’s skin. Jesus, does she have the hots for Trip?
“Why? Are you volunteering to be one of his next victims?” Okay, maybe his voice snapped a little more sharply than he’d intended.
Avery’s brows shot up. “Touchy subject?”
Grey concentrated on his squats, refusing to look at Avery until his insides stopped flopping around. He forced a casual smile when he finally met her eyes. “I’m not a dating service. If you want info on Trip, you’ll have to get it some other way.”
Avery hid her face behind the camera. “Just making small talk.”
Grey frowned, feeling stupid and exposed. He ran through the series of planks they’d incorporated to improve core stabilization.
Didn’t she feel any of the tension he felt in her presence? His entire body ached with need whenever she came close. Every brief touch provided him a little relief from his yearning. Her withholding, physically and emotionally, felt like some kind of punishment, though for what, he couldn’t say.
Neither said much during the remaining exercises. When he rolled onto his back, he pressed his palms against his eyes. Dammit. He’d been acting like a baby for the past twenty minutes.
He opened his eyes once he felt her standing over him. She reached down. “Up you go.”
Although he didn’t need help getting up, he’d never turn down an opportunity to grab hold of some part of her body when offered—any part would do. Once upright, he forced himself to release her hand. She mindlessly rubbed it with her other hand.
“Let’s take a quick look at this footage so I can show you how you’re compensating.”
Grey grunted an acknowledgment, mostly because he’d become distracted by the scent of her skin. The light aroma made him guess she wore some kind of fragrant body lotion instead of perfume. An image of her slathering creamy lotion on her damp skin after a shower made him groan—aloud.
“Does your knee hurt?” Her concerned expression made him feel doubly asinine.
“I’m fine.” He waved her off. Idiot, get a hold of yourself. The girl is off-limits.
She pulled an extra chair beside hers, and then hooked the camera up to the computer. Initially he concentrated on the monitor, but then he began noticing everything else about her having absolutely nothing to do with his therapy.
Her forehead creased in concentration. Her slim fingers pointed at the screen to illustrate whatever she described. Her hair fell across her face, forcing her to push it behind her ear—the one with two earrings, by the way. One little gold hoop and one small pink gemstone. He could almost feel the scrape of metal as he imagined capturing that little hoop with his teeth.
Avery’s dimples deepened whenever she spoke, giving her a perpetually flirtatious appearance. He could barely keep from running his hand along the length of her thigh. Then, in the midst of his sexual fantasy, a horrible thought resurfaced.
What if she really was interested in Trip? She wouldn’t be the first. Grey had no more right to stop the two of them from dating than Kelsey had to stand between him and Avery.
That recognition prompted a genuine pang of empathy for how bothered Kelsey might be by his pursuit of Avery. He didn’t like to hurt anybody, especially not a girl who’d been nothing but nice.
“Are you even paying any attention to me? You look about a million miles away.” Avery elbowed him. “What’s going on?”
Not paying attention? I’m paying too damned much attention to you.
“Nothing.” Grey looked at his feet. Complications!
Avery sat back into her chair. “This probably—this definitely—isn’t my place, but I’m guessing you’re worrying about your business. Kelsey says you have plans for expanding Backtrax by offering summer climbing tours. Since you won’t be able to participate for a while, that’s another financial blow, isn’t it?”
Grey raised an eyebrow. “Yeah.”
Avery pursed her lips and rubbed her hands over her thighs. Her tight expression radiated anxiety. “Are you planning to sue Andy?”
Aw, shit. He didn’t want to have this conversation. Definitely not here or now. He pushed back in his chair. “We shouldn’t be discussing legal stuff, Avery. Let’s keep this”—he gestured between them—“separate from all of that, okay? We have to avoid all the conflicts of interest, right?”
“Just tell me why you wouldn’t accept the insurance payout.”
He noticed the additional creases marring her forehead. “Because twenty-five grand doesn’t cover my losses. Medical bills, lost wages and tips, extra business expenses because I had to hire a replacement, and more.”
“Twenty-five grand?” Her eyes widened in surprise. “That’s all the liability coverage Andy carries?”
“It’s the state minimum.” Grey couldn’t even criticize the guy, considering he’d lived most of his life by the same philosophy when it came to car insurance.
“Well, how much do you need?”
Grey crossed his arms, closing his eyes so he didn’t have to see the panic in hers. How had he thought he could keep his personal feelings out of this mess?