Accidentally Hers (Sterling Canyon #1) (6 page)

“It’s okay. I’m good.” When Avery’s eyes met his, she’d buttoned up all traces of emotion, like the heat that had been building between them today never existed. “See you on Monday.”

“Thanks for the ride.” Grey waved as she exited his apartment.

The second the door closed, Trip covered his heart with both hands and collapsed on the sofa. “Now I know why you’re always in such a good mood when you come home from therapy. Even her voice is cute—so feminine. Wonder what it sounds like when it gets low and throaty?”

“Hands off, Trip. I mean it.” His deadly tone brooked no argument.

Trip raised his hands. “Oh, this
is
good.”

“Just lay off and stay away from her. Your Boomerang remark did enough damage for the rest of the year.”

“Hey, Grey, you’d better be nice to me. After all, you’re gonna need help getting rid of Kelsey, and I may be the only guy who can do it for you.”

Grey shook his head. “You’re a man with no shame.”

“No, I wouldn’t cross any lines. But—”

“But nothing. Seriously. If you end up hurting her friend, I’ll be doubly screwed.”

Trip tapped his hands on the arms of his chair. “I haven’t seen you this worked up in . . . well, maybe never. You’ve got it bad for this girl.”

“I like her enough to protect her from you. And whatever I might feel, I’ve still got my priorities.” Grey held up his hand and ticked off his fingers. “My recovery, for one. Launching summer climbing programs, for another. And then,
maybe
, if she doesn’t hate me when the dust settles between her brother and me, I’ll figure out what to do about Avery.”

“Well, looks like you’ve got it all worked out.” Trip stood up and started to walk away, then stopped. “Of course, that’s assuming no one else makes her their
first
priority.” Then he whistled and wandered into his bedroom.

Grey filled an ice bag before slumping into the sofa cushions and turning on the television. Sure, someone else might catch her eye while he dealt with the fallout from the accident.

Time wasn’t on his side, but he had no choice. It would be impossible to get involved with her and stay objective when it came to her brother. Even if he
might
be willing to risk his heart again, he couldn’t afford to risk his entire future.

He twisted his bracelet, wondering what Juliette would think of Avery. His phone rang, rescuing him from his cloudy thoughts.

“
Hello?
”

“Grey, it’s Warren. Wanted to give you an update. I have some good, if incomplete, news about Randall’s assets. Apparently he and his sister own a house in town. Based on tax records, its market value is now probably somewhere north of five hundred thousand dollars. Once we win at trial and get a judgment, we’ll file a lien against the property to secure payment. If Andy can’t come up with the money, you can foreclose on the house.”

“You said he
and
his sister own it, so how is that good? Can we even force him to sell it when she owns half?”

“The short answer is yes. They own the property as tenants in common, so any judgment lien can be enforced against his share of the house. It looks like their parents transferred the title to them a few years ago, so maybe they made an outright gift. In that case, Andy could get a bank loan or possibly work out some other arrangement with his parents’ help. But that’s his problem, not yours.”

“If he needs to sell his interest to raise the money, it’s his sister’s problem, too.” Grey scratched his head. “I’m not interested in making her pay for his mistake.” Dammit, his feelings were already affecting his judgment.

“Grey, you’re the victim. You’re the one whose business is at stake. Andy’s criminal behavior is the sole cause of any loss experienced by his family.”

“Maybe, but it doesn’t feel right. It’s complicated.” Hadn’t Grey identified Bambi as being a complication the instant he’d seen her? “Let’s hope he has some other assets, so I don’t need to hurt his sister just to get what I need.”

“I’ll get back to you once I have a full report.”

Grey pitched the phone onto the coffee table. Business loans, living expenses, therapy and medical bills, new programming and marketing budgets—real obligations that were piling up quickly.

If only Avery’s interests weren’t tangled with her brother’s. Then again, if her parents were rich enough to give their kids a house, maybe they had money to cover their son’s debts, too.

Adler was right about him deserving adequate compensation. This injury limited every part of his life right now, and disrupted his sleep to boot. And as much as he couldn’t allow himself to even think it, it could keep him from the out-of-bounds ski areas for quite some time.

Grey laid his head back and closed his eyes, recalling the unspoiled minute of his day when he’d held Avery’s hand in the park. That had been nice.

Uncomplicated.

Real.

Maybe, if he were very careful and brave, he could end up with everything he needed
and
everything he wanted.

Chapter Five

The sun was peeking over the trees when Avery turned onto her street, her feet padding along to the beat of an old Justin Timberlake song. She entered the house whistling, thanks to the invigorating four-mile run and the fact she’d be working with Grey today.

“You’re awfully chipper.” Andy sat at the counter, drinking coffee and reading the paper. “Mind sharing your secret?”

“Spring is finally arriving. Mom and Dad have gone back to Arizona for a while.” She set her phone and earbuds on the counter and poured herself some water, conveniently omitting any mention of Grey. “Life is good.”

“Maybe for you.” Andy raised his coffee mug toward her, silently requesting a refill.

Frowning, she refilled his cup and sighed. Andy’s legal troubles were never far from his thoughts. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be insensitive.”

“It’s okay. Not your fault my life’s a mess.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “Just got a lot on my mind. If I’m convicted of the felony, I’ll lose my job as a ski instructor, which I understand because of the background checks they do to protect clients. But I didn’t think these charges would cost me my off-season job, too.”

“You won’t be painting?” Avery picked a strawberry off his plate and popped it into her mouth. Surprisingly juicy for this time of year, so she stole another.

“Rob’s wife is a MADD volunteer. She doesn’t want him to keep me on the payroll.”

Avery’s eyes closed briefly.

“I’m sorry. I know things look bleak now, but it will get better.”

“Before or after I go to jail?” His sarcasm failed to conceal his anxiety.

Instinctively, she reached out and stroked his arm. “Can’t your lawyers negotiate a reduction of the charges?”

“Not yet, apparently.” Andy slid off the stool and took his empty cup to the dishwasher. After staring at the drain for a few seconds, he looked at Avery, his brow furrowed. “They’re telling me to go to AA, and to talk to kids about the dangers of drinking and driving. So, I’ll do that and hope Grey Lowell doesn’t want to see me fry.”

“He won’t go to the DA with guns blazing.” Avery gulped the rest of her water.

“Why not?” Andy turned toward her, his eyes scanning her face. “You think he’s your friend now because you’re his PT?”

While she wouldn’t admit it aloud, she couldn’t ignore the truth. She did feel friendship and more for Grey, and she suspected it was mutual.

“A little bit, maybe. Just trust me; he’s not the type who’s out for blood.” Avery pictured Grey’s intense gaze, which made her body thrum. “He’s a ‘live and let live’ kind of guy.”

Andy stepped closer and narrowed his eyes. “You’re blushing. What exactly is going on between you and Grey? I thought Kelsey liked him.”

Only because Avery didn’t tell her about “Boomerang.” She’d considered it, but chose not to humiliate her friend. Yet, despite Avery’s gentle dissuasions, Kelsey continued to hold on to hope.

“Nothing’s going on! You know I can’t get involved with a patient.” Avery ran her fingers through her ponytail. “We’re friendly. He’s a good guy. He’s got a lot riding on his recovery and I want to help him.”

“You know I rarely agree with Dad, but I’
ve gotta admit, I
’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to be involved with Lowell until the business between him and me is finished.” Andy turned one palm upward. “Show some loyalty, for God’s sake.”

“You’re part of the reason I decided to work with him.” Her hands went to her hips. “If I can help him recover more quickly, it’ll reduce his damages. In fact, maybe you should consider offering to help him out, too. That might go a long way with a judge.”

“Lowell probably doesn’t want much to do with me.” Andy shrugged. “Despite your
opinion
, he could make things worse for me with the DA. Plus, my lawyer says the only reason Lowell hasn’t filed the civil suit yet is because his lawyer can’t assess damages until they can reasonably determine the full extent of his recovery. So it’s not a question of if, but when. You and I both know that means trouble for our whole family.”

“He won’t take the house.” The words sprang forth without a moment’s hesitation. Why, she couldn’t say. Intuition? Or was she turning into Kelsey, making major assumptions based on her gut, or worse, her heart?

“How can you say that? He’s got a business to keep running, Avery. A business he can’t participate in as long as he’s hurt. Trust me, that’s more important to him than his ‘friendship’ with you.”

She scowled, unwilling to acknowledge Andy’s warning. Was it really too much to ask to be able to enjoy one or two days of peace?

“
I don
’t want to talk about this anymore. You’re ruining my good mood.” Her stomach growled, so she grabbed a banana yogurt and spooned it into her mouth. “Stop borrowing problems. Let’s take things as they come. In the meantime, try to enjoy the peace and quiet here for a change.”

“About that.” Andy’s expression turned sheepish. “I should warn you, I spoke with Matt yesterday.”

“Did you?” She threw the empty container in the trash. Her spoon hit the sink with a resounding clang. “Why?”

“He’d gotten wind of the accident. Wanted to check and see how I was doing.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell him to go to you-know-where. Really, Andy, where’s
your
loyalty?”

Andy’s forehead creased before he wrapped one arm around Avery’s shoulder and kissed the top of her head.

“He acted like a jerk, but he was my friend for five years before you two got involved—against my advice, if you recall. Right now I’m a little short on friends, so I wouldn’t mind reclaiming one.” He stepped away and leaned his butt against the counter. “Besides, you never seemed all that broken up when he left.”

At the time, Avery had put on a brave face so no one, most especially not Matt, could see how deeply she’d been hurt. But she’d privately broken down when, despite her best efforts to make him happy, Matt suddenly turned away from her and into the arms of some other woman. When he’d upended the future they’d been discussing. When he’d confirmed all her worst suspicions about men and relationships.

“I’m your sister. Aren’t you mad at him on my behalf? He humiliated me in front of the whole town.”

“You know I hadn’t spoken with him since. But we talked about it yesterday, and right now I know how it feels to screw up and need forgiveness.” Andy rubbed his jaw, as if weighing his next words. “He’s sorry, Avery. In fact, he asked whether you were involved with anyone. I got the feeling he misses you. He’s not happy with Sasha What’s-her-face.”

Sasha Grossman. Only child of a wealthy movie executive from Hollywood. A twenty-two-year-old girl who looked like the quintessential Californian. Silky blond hair, perfect tan, double-Ds. Not that Avery didn’t have a nice figure, but Sasha’s body—long, leggy, lean—resembled a supermodel with a boob job. Plus she was loaded and happy to spend her money freely on Matt. She’d booked him as her private instructor for the week. Unfortunately for Avery, the bumps Sasha enjoyed with Matt weren’t located on the slopes. Given Matt’s track record, perhaps Avery shouldn’t be surprised he’d tired of his young plaything already.

“You better have told him I’m having the time of my life.” She placed her hands on the counter and leaned toward him. “You tell him I’m being pursued by a dozen guys or something.”

Andy chuckled. “Or something, all right. Of course, if I’d have known Grey Lowell gets you all hot and bothered, maybe I’d have mentioned that to him.”

“I am not hot and bothered!” Avery wadded up a napkin and tossed it in her brother’s face to cover her lie. “There’s nothing romantic going on between Grey and me.”

“Well, Matt will be delighted to hear it.” Andy grinned, goading her.

“I couldn’t care less what Matt thinks or does.” She crossed her arms.

“I hope that’s true, because he’s coming back soon.”

“How soon?” Avery rubbed her forehead to stave off a headache.

“Couple of weeks.”

“Raspberries!” She stomped her foot. “Well, that’s just fan-freakin’-tastic.”

“Raspberries?” Andy shook his head, unlike Grey, who hadn’t judged her dislike of cursing. “You’ve really got to get over your thing against swearing, or come up with better fake curses. You’re not twelve, Ave.”

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.