Which kind of told her where she ranked on his priority list, didn’t it?
“Oh, it was a night to remember, all right.”
Now that her initial anger had passed she was more pissed at herself than Scott. He was oblivious, of course, but she shouldn’t have been so harsh. Was her reaction any better than the way he’d gone about things?
He should have told her about the job offer before accepting it, that was true. However, ignoring him all through dinner and then leaving him on the doorstep without so much as a farewell wasn’t earning her any maturity points either. They needed to talk. They really did.
It was just going to be a little while before she could deal with talking to him in a calm and rational manner.
The phone rang again in her hand and she recognized Georgia’s number. She silenced the call and went back to the kitchen to get her cup of coffee. She couldn’t hide forever, but she needed caffeine and a shower before she could be expected to deal with the real world.
* * * * *
PENNY KNEW SHE should be thinking about what she was going to say to Scott tonight. She’d agreed to meet him at the bar across the street after work to talk. They’d been together for three years. That wasn’t something you just threw away because you were angry.
However, when she looked up to see Matt standing in the doorway to her office Monday afternoon, the frantic beat of her heart told her several things she’d been trying to deny since she’d watched him walk away the prior week. One, he truly was as gorgeous as she’d remembered. Two, her body responded to him in ways that were both exhilarating and embarrassing. And three, she was happy to see him. Purely, simply happy.
Which made absolutely no sense.
They weren’t friends. She wasn’t even sure she liked him. He was definitely going to be a challenging patient. By all accounts, she should be dreading this.
But her heart rapped a steady beat that to her ears sounded nothing like dread. It sounded like excitement. It sounded like anticipation. It sounded like trouble with a capital T.
“Are you ready to get started?” She rose and came from behind her desk. As soon as she got close, his scent reached her nose. It was subtly masculine, like wood smoke and evergreens.
Matt shrugged. “I hope so. Do I need to undress again?”
“Uh, no. Not exactly.” Her eyes traveled over the loose sweatpants and tee shirt he was wearing.
“How’d you get the tee shirt on?”
He shrugged again. “Very carefully. I figured I’d better dress to sweat.”
“You were right. Come on, then.” She led him down the hall to one of the treatment rooms. “First thing I want to do is get a baseline on you. I’m going to lead you through a series of motions. All you have to do is move your arm and tell me what hurts.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“You might not say that by the time we’re through.” It sent a little pang to her heart. Despite his behavior that first day, she didn’t relish the thought of causing him any pain, but Penny knew from experience that what followed likely wouldn’t be pleasant.
They spent the next twenty minutes going through a range of movement. She had him hold his arm out as high as he could, lift it and rotate his thumb up and down. She noted where he grimaced and where he physically couldn’t move his arm anymore. By the time they were done, Matt had a fine sheen of sweat on his brow and his eyes were pinched with pain.
“You can rest back against the wall now. You must be exhausted.”
Matt let out a disgusted sound and leaned back. “I shouldn’t be this tired from doing nothing.”
“You weren’t doing nothing. Every motion requires the use of not only the active muscles but also the rest of your body. I suspect you’ve been compensating for the injured areas so long, you don’t even realize how much of a strain it’s putting on your other muscles.”
“That’s why I need to get this figured out. I should have been healed long before now.”
Penny glanced up from her notes. “I know it’s really important to you that you stay in shape. I’m curious how you’ve managed to do that while compensating for your injury. You’re in near-perfect physical condition.”
“You think so?” He turned to look at her, his dark eyes holding hers. The tips of her ears felt like they were on fire, so she knew her face was probably red, too.
“The musculature on the uninjured shoulder doesn’t seem to have been impacted in any way.” She ignored his smirk when she didn’t respond to his innuendo. “How long did you wait after your surgery before you resumed working out?”
Suddenly he didn’t look so smug. Matt glanced at her and then down at the floor. “A few weeks, I guess. I’m not exactly sure. I didn’t do anything with that arm for a long time, though.”
Exactly as she’d suspected. He’d probably been working out all along. That would explain why he’d never healed properly after the first surgery and also why he was still experiencing pain almost a year later. He could have easily caused new injuries to himself in the months since without even realizing it.
Penny picked up one of the stress balls on the table and wrapped his right hand around it. “Lift this. Higher.”
He complied and she put her hand on his injured arm. “See that, right there? Even though you’re using your uninjured hand, you can feel it in your injured shoulder, right?”
“Oh, it was a night to remember, all right.”
Now that her initial anger had passed she was more pissed at herself than Scott. He was oblivious, of course, but she shouldn’t have been so harsh. Was her reaction any better than the way he’d gone about things?
He should have told her about the job offer before accepting it, that was true. However, ignoring him all through dinner and then leaving him on the doorstep without so much as a farewell wasn’t earning her any maturity points either. They needed to talk. They really did.
It was just going to be a little while before she could deal with talking to him in a calm and rational manner.
The phone rang again in her hand and she recognized Georgia’s number. She silenced the call and went back to the kitchen to get her cup of coffee. She couldn’t hide forever, but she needed caffeine and a shower before she could be expected to deal with the real world.
* * * * *
PENNY KNEW SHE should be thinking about what she was going to say to Scott tonight. She’d agreed to meet him at the bar across the street after work to talk. They’d been together for three years. That wasn’t something you just threw away because you were angry.
However, when she looked up to see Matt standing in the doorway to her office Monday afternoon, the frantic beat of her heart told her several things she’d been trying to deny since she’d watched him walk away the prior week. One, he truly was as gorgeous as she’d remembered. Two, her body responded to him in ways that were both exhilarating and embarrassing. And three, she was happy to see him. Purely, simply happy.
Which made absolutely no sense.
They weren’t friends. She wasn’t even sure she liked him. He was definitely going to be a challenging patient. By all accounts, she should be dreading this.
But her heart rapped a steady beat that to her ears sounded nothing like dread. It sounded like excitement. It sounded like anticipation. It sounded like trouble with a capital T.
“Are you ready to get started?” She rose and came from behind her desk. As soon as she got close, his scent reached her nose. It was subtly masculine, like wood smoke and evergreens.
Matt shrugged. “I hope so. Do I need to undress again?”
“Uh, no. Not exactly.” Her eyes traveled over the loose sweatpants and tee shirt he was wearing.
“How’d you get the tee shirt on?”
He shrugged again. “Very carefully. I figured I’d better dress to sweat.”
“You were right. Come on, then.” She led him down the hall to one of the treatment rooms. “First thing I want to do is get a baseline on you. I’m going to lead you through a series of motions. All you have to do is move your arm and tell me what hurts.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“You might not say that by the time we’re through.” It sent a little pang to her heart. Despite his behavior that first day, she didn’t relish the thought of causing him any pain, but Penny knew from experience that what followed likely wouldn’t be pleasant.
They spent the next twenty minutes going through a range of movement. She had him hold his arm out as high as he could, lift it and rotate his thumb up and down. She noted where he grimaced and where he physically couldn’t move his arm anymore. By the time they were done, Matt had a fine sheen of sweat on his brow and his eyes were pinched with pain.
“You can rest back against the wall now. You must be exhausted.”
Matt let out a disgusted sound and leaned back. “I shouldn’t be this tired from doing nothing.”
“You weren’t doing nothing. Every motion requires the use of not only the active muscles but also the rest of your body. I suspect you’ve been compensating for the injured areas so long, you don’t even realize how much of a strain it’s putting on your other muscles.”
“That’s why I need to get this figured out. I should have been healed long before now.”
Penny glanced up from her notes. “I know it’s really important to you that you stay in shape. I’m curious how you’ve managed to do that while compensating for your injury. You’re in near-perfect physical condition.”
“You think so?” He turned to look at her, his dark eyes holding hers. The tips of her ears felt like they were on fire, so she knew her face was probably red, too.
“The musculature on the uninjured shoulder doesn’t seem to have been impacted in any way.” She ignored his smirk when she didn’t respond to his innuendo. “How long did you wait after your surgery before you resumed working out?”
Suddenly he didn’t look so smug. Matt glanced at her and then down at the floor. “A few weeks, I guess. I’m not exactly sure. I didn’t do anything with that arm for a long time, though.”
Exactly as she’d suspected. He’d probably been working out all along. That would explain why he’d never healed properly after the first surgery and also why he was still experiencing pain almost a year later. He could have easily caused new injuries to himself in the months since without even realizing it.
Penny picked up one of the stress balls on the table and wrapped his right hand around it. “Lift this. Higher.”
He complied and she put her hand on his injured arm. “See that, right there? Even though you’re using your uninjured hand, you can feel it in your injured shoulder, right?”
