Raf's words echoed in Eddie's head as he unwrapped his burger and he had to fight the urge to justify his actions to the two men. It was none of their business if he'd chosen to eschew the perfectly good burger place around the corner in favor of making a twenty-minute round trip to bring Blue her favorite burger in all of Melbourne. If he wanted to spoil her a little, he was perfectly within his rights to do so, and the rest of them could all taking a flying leap.
Beside him, Blue made pleased noises as she chowed down on her burger. "God, yes. So good," she groaned, licking burger juices off her thumb.
Eddie got caught for a moment as she closed her eyes, savoring the flavors, her expression rapturous. She was such a little hedonist, absolutely unashamed of her animal appetites. He'd never met another woman who was as honest about what she wanted and needed, be it sex, food, money, or anything else.
"All right, all right. We get the message. Greasy burger trumps virtuous sushi," Renarto said with a very Italian wave of his hand.
"Every time," Blue said, stuffing a handful of fries into her face. "Suckers."
Renarto laughed before scrunching up his take-out container and lobbing it toward the trash can. Yuri followed suit then the two of them drifted outside to play some one-on-one in the parking lot.
"You want a Coke?" Eddie asked.
Blue made an affirmative noise around the last of her burger and he got up to snag two cans from the fridge. He was about to pull the tab on her drink for her when he stopped himself. He could practically hear Raf's sarcastic voice in his head, asking if Blue's injured leg prevented her from popping the top on a can of Coke. Slipping his finger free of the tab, he set the drink down in front of her, feeling as though he'd made a major concession.
"Man, that was awesome," Blue said, leaning forward and popping her can open with a well-practiced move. "Thank you. I feel like my whole body needed that. It was almost a religious experience."
She tilted her head back and chugged and he watched her throat work, marveling that she could be so damned earthy and indelicate yet somehow so compelling and sexy at the same time.
Because Blue was sexy. Always had been, always would be.
It was an irrelevant thought, and he buried it, the way he always did, before gathering up their lunch debris and ferrying it to the trash.
Blue was checking something on her phone when he finished, and he watched her for a moment, noting the changes the accident had wrought - the paleness of her face, the tiredness around her eyes.
She glanced at him, catching him staring, and the words came out before he could stop them.
"Am I crowding you too much? Getting in your face?" he asked.
Her eyebrows lifted as she considered him for a beat before answering. "Why would you ask that?"
"Raf told me I was smothering you."
"Huh."
He noticed she hadn't answered his question.
"So am I?"
"A little." She shrugged. "But I don't mind."
Fuck.
"It's all right, Eddie. I get it. You want to make sure I'm okay."
He ran a hand through his hair. "I'll back off."
"You don't have to. I mean, it's kind of nice, having you hovering. As long as you don't spit on a hanky and wipe my face, I can deal."
Jesus. She'd made Raf's puppy analogy look flattering, something he'd considered impossible until a few seconds ago.
"Never going to happen," he said, very firmly.
Blue's mouth was twitching at the corners. It didn't take long for her to lose the battle and start laughing.
"Fine. Laugh at me," he said.
"I'm not laughing at you."
He gave her a look.
"Okay, I'm laughing at you. But only because you looked so appalled that I might think you actually carry a hanky."
She pushed herself to her feet, and he had to lock his legs in place to stop himself from rushing to her aid. When she leaned to snag her crutch from where she'd left it against the wall, his hands twitched at his side.
She was too fragile. He'd seen her thrown through the air, heard her body smash into the ground. He wanted to wrap her in cotton wool and ensure that she never suffered pain or hurt ever again.
"I'm okay, you know," she said. "Getting better every day. A few more weeks, I won't even need this thing." She indicated her crutch.
"I know. I just … I never want to go through that again," he said quietly.
"I've already made a deal with Maggie that I'll only cross at the lights from now on."
It wasn't even close to enough. He wanted a solemn promise from her that she'd never get behind the wheel of a car, or ride a bike, or go on a ride at the fair. He wanted her to swear that she'd chew every mouthful carefully before swallowing to avoid choking, and never go out without a warm jacket, and that she'd make sure all her shots were up-to-date, even the ones for diseases that were unknown on the Australian continent.
He wanted her to be safe and well and whole. He needed it.
"Just … look after yourself," he said lamely.
"I am. I can. I don't need you to do it for me. But it's okay if you feel you have to for a little while longer. I'm sure it'll wear off in a week or so. In the meantime, I am totally comfortable with you going to Huxtaburger every day to buy me lunch."
Her grin was utterly unrepentant and he couldn't help but smile, too.
"As long as you're not above milking my moment of weakness."
"I'm five foot tall. There aren't many things I'm above," she said.
She headed back to work. He considered it another sign of progress that he only took a half step forward when she got to the door. He watched as she managed to open it and walk through all on her own. A minor miracle.
Man, he hated it when his brother was right. His fly really was down. But there wasn't much he could do about the way he was feeling right now. He figured he'd forget the sound of the motorbike slamming into her body eventually.
In a decade or two, once it had sunk into his bones that Blue was going to be okay.
Three weeks later, Blue waved to Maggie as she made her way across the deep green grass of Edinburgh Gardens toward the spot Maggie had snagged beside the soccer field. Around her, families picnicked, threw Frisbees, and walked their dogs, and Blue paused for a second as a teenager bolted across her path in pursuit of a ball. The last thing she needed right now was to take a fall.
Her leg was healing well - stupendously so, her doctor had told her earlier this week. Soon, she would be brace- and crutch-free and walking with the aid of only a cane. After that, how soon she could walk without a limp would be down to how hard she worked on her physical therapy - and she planned to work hard. She was fed up with being an invalid. She wanted her life back. Her independence. Her freedom.
And she wanted - needed - Eddie to finally get the message that she was all right and that he could stand down from Freaked Out Mode and resume being his usual casually neglectful self where their friendship was concerned.
God, how she needed that.
"Just in time," Maggie called out as Blue approached, her crutch sinking into the soft earth as she crossed the final few feet of generously shaded grass. Maggie patted the empty director's chair next to her, and Blue sank into it with a grateful sigh.
"Bless you," she said, tossing her crutch onto the grass.
"I figured it would be too hard for you to get up from a picnic blanket," Maggie said.
"You figured right." Even though it was better than a cast, the brace still made a lot of everyday activities impossible. Driving, for example.
She couldn't wait for the day when she could get behind the wheel of her car again. Eddie picking her up and dropping her off every morning and night meant that she began and ended her day with the smell of his aftershave and the sound of his voice.
"It looks as though they're ready to kick off. Or whatever they call it in soccer," Maggie said, her gaze on the field.
Blue turned her attention to the loose pack of men ranged across the field, her gaze quickly finding Eddie amongst them. Dressed in black workout shorts and a pale grey T-shirt, he was stretching his hamstrings and as she took in his lean, powerful legs, she knew that it had been a mistake to come today.
The last thing she needed right now was to watch Eddie run around looking muscular and hard and gorgeous on a soccer field. She was already on Eddie overload. She was only human. She could handle only so much temptation and provocation.
"I'm so glad you decided to come," Maggie said, smiling at her happily. "Perving isn't as much fun without a partner in crime."
"I thought we were here to support the Ink boys in their struggle for supremacy against the smart-asses at the local café," Blue said.
"Well, sure. It'll be lovely if they win. But watching Raf run around in little shorts for an hour is more than enough incentive to get me here," Maggie said, her gaze glued to Rafel as he talked briefly with a player from the opposing team.