Fortunately, Jessa remembered to make the introductions before shooing her friends back to what they were doing. "It's all right, guys. We got this," Jessa said.
Kane led her to the nearest bench and helped her sit down. He squatted before her, gently picked up her left foot and took off her shoe. He lightly caressed her swollen ankle and oddly enough, his touch made it feel a little better.
"Do you girls know how to treat a sprained ankle?" he asked Jessa and Faye, who stood on either side of him.
"You need to put ice on it and bandage it up," his sister responded. "But I don't think we have bandage."
"We have ice!" Jessa went to the portable drink cooler and gathered ice cubes. When she walked back to them, Kane held out his hand for the cubes, wrapped in a tea towel.
"You want to do this?" Jessa asked in surprise.
"Sure. I'm already holding her foot," Kane responded, taking the makeshift ice pack from Jessa.
Jasmine flushed at the meaningful look exchanged by Jessa and Faye. She wondered what they were thinking. Would they have a problem if she and Kane dated?
Whoa, Jasmine, slow down. You're getting ahead of yourself here.
At twenty-seven, she had dated plenty of guys. But even though her family thought she fell in and out of love too often, the truth was she hadn't fallen in love with a single one of her past boyfriends. She didn't see the point in extending the relationship when she was sure it had nowhere to go.
With her sister's upcoming nuptials, her desire to find that special someone had become stronger. But finding that one guy might have become harder due to her fear of exposing her little secret—a secret only two other people in the world knew about. She hadn't even told Jessa, although there were times she had wanted to open up to her only sibling. But she still wasn't prepared for the repercussions.
She had a mental picture of people—of Kane—finding out about her secret activity and shivered at the thought.
"Too cold?" Kane asked, his concerned look quickly warming her up.
She shook her head and smiled at him.
"So did you two meet outside the bathrooms?" Faye asked.
"I heard Jasmine yell so I went back in and found her on her bottom. Then we introduced ourselves to each other," Kane answered, his eyes still fully on her flushed face.
"Back in?"
Kane grinned while her face reddened even more. He raised an eyebrow at her. She shrugged and gave a resigned chuckle.
"Jasmine slipped in the men's room," Kane stated.
"What?" Faye and Jessa exclaimed.
"The nearest ladies' room was out of order and I was desperate to go," Jasmine explained. "So I used the men's. I slipped as I was about to come out and Kane heard me. He was waiting outside to make sure no one else went in while I was in there."
"That's so sweet of you, Kane," Jessa said. "Thank you."
"Aww, it was nothing. I'm just glad I was there or one of your bridesmaids might not be able to walk down the aisle on your wedding."
"If Jaz is still in pain next week then she doesn't have to walk. Things don't always work out as planned," Jessa said pragmatically.
"Don't say that, Jess! I want to be fine for your wedding," Jasmine insisted.
"Well, then, you have to make sure you rest your ankle until it's recovered. It doesn't look too bad but we'll stop by a medical centre on our way back home."
"If you're going to sit around for the rest of the afternoon, you better sit on a picnic blanket so you can keep your ankle raised," Kane suggested.
"Good idea," Jessa agreed. "You can lie down and read a book or something so you won't get too bored while the rest of us play games. But I'll sit and chat with you most of the time."
"Don't be silly, Jess. I'll be fine reading. You guys should be enjoying yourselves with Rob and not worrying about me. It's his birthday, and all I have is a sprained ankle."
"Okay. We better help you move to the blanket, then."
"I'll carry her," Kane said. With easy movements, he scooped her up in his muscular arms and sauntered towards one of the picnic blankets under the shade of a tree.
Good heavens, this man is literally sweeping me off my feet.
*******
Kane's heart thundered in his chest and his body hardened. There it was again, that delicious reaction to Jasmine. He'd known her for less than twenty minutes and he already craved being close to her. What was this called? Instant chemistry?
He pressed her closer to him, wanting to bury his face in her long black hair that smelled like some exotic flower.
He was glad he had stayed behind and waited for her while she used the bathroom. He'd always been a sucker for damsels in distress, especially when the damsel was as beautiful and attractive as the one in his arms.