Immediately, my muscles relaxed, and I refocused on Bill.
“…like a bloody hurricane as it bolted through a different window to escape.” Bill picked up his beer and took a hearty gulp, his cheeks flushed and eyes bright. His gaze took us in, and he bobbed his head before asking, “If you blokes like to fish, there’s a good spot along the Maranoa River, just a few kilometers out at Fisherman’s Rest. You can get bait over at FoodWorks. You say you’re staying at Stuie’s place?”
“Yeah, just off Homebush,” Sutton answered.
Bazza pitched in, “Look in his shed. There’ll be everything you need there. Rods, chairs, the lot.”
Sutton squeezed my neck once before dropping his hand. But rather than moving it completely, it settled on the bar, right at my back, offering me the slightest of touches. “What do you think?” He angled to look at me. This close, his eyes seemed lighter, with tiny flecks of varying shades of brown in their depths.
“Sounds good,” I agreed, still not sure how long we actually intended to stay in Australia, let alone Mitchell, before we headed back.
Bazza explained to Sutton where we could find the fishing spot, but I zoned out. I’d had one beer and a soda, all while having a good time, especially escaping the four walls of the house. But two hours of straining to work out the words hidden beneath a thick accent and my head ached, and once again, tiredness beat at me.
The concern in Sutton’s tone caught my attention when he said my name.
“Huh?”
When my gaze connected with his, it took barely a second before he stopped leaning against the bar, saying, “Good to meet you all, but it’s time we get going back.” He reached out and shook the men’s hands, and I followed suit.
It didn’t take long before we could extract ourselves and make our way back to the house. Almost immediately, Sutton glanced at his phone as we entered. “Time for your meds.”
I didn’t hold back my smile when he headed to collect them. It had been a long time since Sutton cared for me like this. It was something he’d always done—this season not withstanding. The man looked out for me, cared for me. He was a natural caretaker, something I’d never challenged, just happily accepted, especially considering my own level of neediness.
I’d missed this,him,a lot. Heck, that didn’t come close to just how much I’d missed the man.
He returned with a bottle of water and the pain meds that’d target my headache and the pain in my chest from the seat belt, which I’d sort of ignored until yesterday since my attention was so focused on my head.
“You need me to break them in half for you?”
“Screw you, wiseass.” I grinned and accepted the drink and pills. After swallowing and washing them down with the cold water, I settled on the sofa. “Thanks.”
A chin lift was sent my way, and my stomach flipped over at such a normal, casual gesture. That, as well as the warmth in his gaze, hadn’t been directed at me in such a long time. I focused on him being here and just how long I could keep him. The thought of us finally getting back to how we were was a huge driving factor.
“So another two weeks of hanging out, and then you can keep me company on the flight back. I like this plan.” Apparently, I’d decided this between… okay, just this second.
Sutton quirked a brow at me. “When did we decide that?”
“When you couldn’t bear to be apart from me any longer, so headed all this way to see me. I thought we’d make the most of my recovery in the quiet before we’re hit with the mayhem.”
“That’s totally the reason I jumped on a plane,” he deadpanned. “Nothing at all to do with Nate pleading with me to come. He must have heard what a pussy you are when you’re ill or have an injury.”
Lightness settled in my chest. “Uh-huh, keep telling yourself that.” This time I grinned. Fuck, I’d missed him, missed this. “Tomorrow I think we can make a break for it, go and explore. Visit that fishing spot, maybe cause a bit of chaos along the way. What do you think?”
He eyed me, a slight frown settling between his brows. That look I knew. He wasn’t convinced I would be okay exploring.
True, my head hurt something fierce—it felt like a jackhammer went off in intervals. But at least with the pain meds I was sleeping, and they mostly kept my pain away.
“If you can jump up and down ten times tomorrow, maybe exploring is an option. If not, sitting in a couple of camping chairs fishing is maybe more your speed.”
“The fuck!” Just the thought of that movement had my stomach clenching. “My version of mayhem doesn’t involve bouncing up and down.”
He quirked his brow. “So no kangaroo riding tomorrow?”
The pain meds had kicked in enough that I was finally able to roll my eyes at him. “Not tomorrow. And I know I can be a douche, but the thought of any sort of activity like that is enough to make me hurt.” Sutton was one of the few people I’d ever admit that to.
Concern etched his features, and a slight movement of his hand had me glancing down. He fisted his hand and placed it on his knee. Curiosity had me wondering exactly why that was. Why had he held back, especially since in the pub he’d touched me so openly? After a beat, my attention returned to his face. His expression was weirdly neutral. I swallowed down my sigh, hating he still had moments of holding himself back.
“How about we do the fishing thing, then you can buy for lunch?” he suggested.
