Okay, don’t think about that.
Cameron sighed again. “Out,” he told her.
Audrey continued to ignore him as she finally spotted a first-aid kid. She actually hadn’t been sure he’d have one of these. At first she’d just been going to look for some Band-Aids. She stood with a victorious smile, but her grin slipped when she was confronted with his deep scowl.
She’d learned quickly that Cameron Shaw scowled a lot. But paired with the black eye and split lip, it was downright scary.
“You’re not putting anything on me,” he told her.
She set the kit on the bathroom counter. “Don’t be such a drama queen. It’ll get infected if you don’t treat it.” She actually wasn’t sure about that, but she needed something believable so he didn’t kick her out.
They were both silent as Audrey dug around the box and found some antiseptic wipes. She started on his eye first. “So this cliff,” she said as she dabbed the towelette to his bruise, “did it have fists and an ego as big as yours?”
Cameron’s brow furrowed as he attempted to narrow his eyes at her. At least that’s what Audrey assumed he was doing, because he winced and closed his eyes. The smartass in her wanted to chastise him, but the softie in her felt bad. Kind of.
“Sorry,” she muttered. “You don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to.”
Cameron cleared his throat, and Audrey attempted to back up, to give the man some space. But she soon realized there was nowhere to go. Her butt rested against the counter, because Cameron had refused to give her extra room, so she’d squeezed in as best as she could. Unfortunately, that left them standing closer than she wanted. Close enough to pick out the purple among the blue in the bruise coloring his left eye.
And to count the stubble shadowing his jaw, which still managed to look sexy with a cut lip and puffy eyebrow bone. Even so, Audrey steadied her breathing, because if she inhaled too hard, her breasts would brush against his chest. Bad enough they were in his bathroom, with a box of supersized condoms.
No joke, the man wore supersized condoms.
Because life was just that unfair.
She hadn’t really been able to tell, but the box had only felt about half full.
She blew out a breath. “Oscar de la Renta,” she muttered to herself.
“What’s that?” Cameron asked, his voice all husky and stuff.
“I said your eye’s all red,” she lied.
His deep blue gaze bore into hers from beneath half-lowered lids. “I didn’t ask you to come in here.”
“Quiet,” she ordered.
They were both silent for a moment while Audrey snagged another wipe for his eye.
“Where’s Piper?” Cameron asked.
Audrey carefully dabbed the bruise. “Eating dinner at a friend’s house.”
Cameron’s response was a grunt, a sound that was more a rumbling from deep within his chest.
“His name’s Drew,” Cameron stated.
Audrey shook her head as she set aside another wipe and moved to his mouth. “What is it with you and this guy?”
“He’s an ass.”
Audrey gave Cameron a droll look as she rewet the washcloth. “Lots of people are assholes. I don’t see you getting into fights with all of them.” She wrung the excess water from the cloth and dabbed away the dried blood on his mouth. “Hold still,” she told him when he winced.
“We don’t like each other.”
Audrey snorted. “Ya think?”
Cameron successfully narrowed his eyes this time. “Most nurses aren’t this rude.”
Audrey held the washcloth from his mouth and smiled at him. “I never claimed to be a nurse.” She touched the cloth to his mouth again. “I knew you wouldn’t do a good enough job cleaning this, and my OCD couldn’t handle it.”
“That’s the only reason, huh?” he countered.
“Yep.” After she finished cleaning away the dried blood, she dug for more antiseptic wipes to disinfect the cut. “So you got into a fight with this guy Drew,” Audrey concluded.
Cameron snorted. “You could say that.”
“Isn’t he, like, your boss?”
Cameron’s hand whipped up and snagged Audrey’s. “If you’re going to take his side, I’ll pick you up and toss you out of here.”
Audrey held her breath as Cameron’s fingers held her wrist in a tight grip, the damp washcloth dangling from her fingers. “Calm down,” she reassured him. “I’m just trying to understand.”
“Maybe I don’t want you to understand,” he muttered.
She felt an inexplicable need to help him, to soothe whatever war was battling behind those blue eyes of his. He looked like shit, sounded like shit, and she wanted to comfort him. But she knew when to back away, and Cameron was at a breaking point.
She held her hands up, dropping the washcloth to the floor. “Fine. Clean your own wounds, then.”
He muttered a curse as she turned and stalked out of the bathroom, trying to squash the hurt that unfurled in her belly. Audrey would be the first to admit that she could be a little meddlesome sometimes, and seeing Cameron hurt had touched her in a deep place that she couldn’t name. A place she’d locked away when she’d decided to keep people at a distance.
She bit back the sting of tears as she cleaned the dinner dishes while the meatballs continued to cook. Hell, she wasn’t even hungry anymore. Maybe she’d leave the dinner to Cameron and retreat to the guesthouse.
Then she heard him coming into the kitchen. She felt him standing behind her as she washed a bowl and set it on the rack to dry.
“I’m sorry,” he told her.
Audrey didn’t acknowledge him, because she wasn’t entirely confident she could keep herself together.
“There are things about me I haven’t told people,” he continued. “And I’m not used to someone caring so much.” When she still didn’t respond, he sighed. “I feel like I’ve spent half my time apologizing to you.”
“Maybe you should stop being an
