The Nearness of You

Chapter 2

The next morning when she awoke she was alone, and it took her a minute to remember where she was and what had happened. Had Declan really swooped in and saved her last night? She felt an overwhelming sense of relief that he had, as she realized just how badly she wanted to go home.

Declan, she thought about him once more. He was an enigma. To her, he had always been a stodgy, older, friend of her father's. What did she really know about him? Should she marry him? If she did, she could get her money then divorce him and do whatever she wanted to.

Marry Declan, she turned the idea over in her head and, as if she had conjured him up, he appeared as the bathroom door opened.

He looked at her, an eyebrow raised in question.

"My clothes?" It was all she could think to say as she stared at him, wondering if she could really marry him. He was wearing a dress shirt, slacks, and a tie, which hung untied around his neck, and it appeared as if he was freshly shaven.

He nodded to the hook by the door. "I sent them out to be dry cleaned after you fell asleep, they delivered them about an hour ago."

She nodded throwing back the covers, wincing as she moved her leg too quickly.

"Do you need help?"

She did, there was no way she could bare weight on the leg. "Yes, please." Livy was suddenly mortified, she had been so rude to him last night and now she needed his help. If she was him, she wouldn't help her.

He walked over to her and easily picked her up just as he had the previous night, but this time, instead of throwing her over his shoulder he cradled her against his chest, and he was a little too close for comfort. He took her into the bathroom, which smelled like aftershave and soap, and sat her on the toilet.

She couldn't look at him, embarrassed that he was having to help her, but she was dying for a shower and it had been awhile since her last one so she wasn't going to push him away.

He handed her a towel before starting the shower.

"Although it seems a little late after your overt display last night, let's see if we can do this and save what little modesty you have at the same time."

Any regret she felt fled as she started a slow simmer at his words, there was no need for him to be so nasty about it. But, she managed to keep the thought to herself as she bit her cheek and nodded, knowing that he didn't have to help her and she wouldn't put it past him to walk away if she became, once again, ungrateful or rude. He had always liked to put her in her place.

"Get undressed and wrap the towel around you." He turned his back unfastening his cuffs and rolling up his sleeves.

"O.K.," she said when that was done.

He picked her up and put her in the shower then closed the curtain. "Hand me the towel." He reached around the curtain for it. "There is a handle to hold yourself up with if you need it."

The hot water running over her skin felt sublime.

"You O.K.?"

"Yes," she said quickly, getting to the point and grabbing the soap. It shot out if her hand and rattled around the bottom of the tub and she closed her eyes embarrassed by her clumsiness.

Declan's hand came around the shower curtain with another bar of soap. "Try to hang on to this one."

She did, but when it came time to do her hair it was a little more difficult.

"You having problems?"

"I need both hands to do my hair."

"Well, let go of the handle and use both hands." He sounded exasperated by her incompetence.