Page 28 of Cabin Fever Baby
He tried to get out of my way as I turned off the burners, but we kept bumping into each other. When I went on my toes for a platter on the top shelf, he came up behind me to help, his thighsbrushing along my butt for a moment before he stepped back and handed me the bright red dish.
“Thanks.”
“Sure.”
His gaze met mine, his eyes so dark that I could barely discern a difference between his pupil and iris. I licked my lips, then I turned away to busy myself with transferring the food.
“Want me to set the…” he trailed off as he noticed that I’d already set the breakfast table of the corner booth. It shared the river rock wall from the fireplace, letting the crackling flames show through both rooms.
There was a larger formal dining room beyond the kitchen at the back of the cabin. Watery gray light spilled over the space with a view of the endless white layered over bare trees. Snow was still coming down with no end in sight.
“You can grab the juice out of the fridge.”
Happy to have something to do, he busied himself with pouring as I brought the bowl of scrambled eggs to the table.
I wasn’t sure if it was nerves or attraction thrumming inside of me. My skin prickled and my clothes felt too tight. Hudson was a stranger, but he didn’t seem like one after last night.
He’d been unaware of most of my tending the night before, but I remembered every bit of his warm skin since I’d had to keep getting up to cover him with the stupid throw blankets. I should have gone upstairs for a larger blanket, but I’d been afraid to leave him for too long.
I was lucky he hadn’t ended up with any other complications with the concussion I was pretty sure he had.
Not that I knew anything beyond the roughhousing my brothers did on the ice while playing hockey. Taking a puck to the skull had been a common occurrence since Rio had been training to be a goalie since he could glide on the ice.
There wasn’t much to do in Rawlings, New York. We were close enough to the Catskills that we weren’t terribly bored, but there wasn’t much to do in the surrounding small towns except duke it out on the ice.
And with the ice came lots of injuries. Which was why I knew Hudson hadn’t been terribly hurt.
At least I’d been reasonably sure.
But his fitful sleep on the couch that was slightly too small for him had left me up and down most of the night, worrying over him. In between the worrying, I’d busied myself with over-decorating even more than I’d planned.
I glanced into the living room as I went back for the food I’d put in the warmer. The cabin looked like Christmas had thrown up on every inch of it. I loved it, but it was definitely overkill now.
It had been a damn long time since I’d been worried about anyone other than my siblings. Traveling non-stop for the last four years had left me with few friends who survived my life on the road.
“Here, let me get that,” he said over my shoulder. He took the large platter of bacon and French toast. “It looks amazing.”
“Thanks. I don’t get much time to cook anymore.”
“Yeah? What do you do?”
I opened my mouth, but the internal protective streak for my famous brother had me hesitating. “I’m a personal assistant. My boss keeps me very busy.”
“Must be a pretty amazing boss if you can afford this place.”
“He is.” I smiled at him, then I grabbed the syrup I’d warmed and the plate of butter. It was easier to just say nothing if Hudson didn’t press.
He seemed satisfied with the answer, so we sat to eat.
“Sounds like both of our bosses are winning medals. You said you got some extra time off?”
“I earned it.” He slid off a pile of bacon and egg-soaked bread at my urging. Then a healthy scoop of fluffy eggs before he poured syrup over all of it. “I swear, I barely took time off this year. I had plenty of available personal time even if Mr. Eden hadn’t shut down the offices.”
I grinned as he cut off a corner of French toast then added butter. “Corporate?”
“Kind of. Eden Advertising based in Chicago.”
“Oh, wow.”