A Step Closer to Love

“Can we talk?” Kieran asked again when she made no move.

“Hold on” she said and he heard her shuffle through the room and then a loud shout from her.

“Ouch!” she exclaimed and he became startled as if he should go through the door to see what had happened.

“What was that?” he asked.

Arabella bit her lips down as she tried to suppress the pain she felt from hitting her small toe on the corner of the chair in the middle of her room. She was embarrassed that after all this time she still did not know the complete layout of the room.

“I just hit my foot against the chair” she let out with a groan. He relaxed but was not okay with the fact that he could not see what was going on inside.

She picked up a house robe and strapped it over her body. She tightened it around the waist, stood and tried to steady her breathing. She took a deep breath with her eyes closed and then they flew open before she walked to the door and opened it.

He stood there in his pyjamas and this was the first time she had seen him in something else other than full clothing and she could not lie his image was as beautiful as always.

“You wanted to talk?” She mustered her courage to speak and not focus her mind on his body.

“Yeah,” he said clearing his throat. His eyes went down to her feet. “Is your foot okay or do you want me to get the first aid box?” he asked and she shook her head.

“Oh I am good, it’s just a little bump nothing I am not quite used to” She could not remember the last time she was so clumsy that she had stubbed her feet but he could not deny having been a witness to her clumsiness.

“But still,”

“It’s nothing,” she said dismissively so that he did not need to stress about it.

“If I don’t get a first aid box to help treat that,” he said pointing to her feet. “I would not be fine because I would keep thinking that I caused that,”

“Because you know I came here when you were already getting ready for bed,” he said trying to clarify.

“Maybe we should get the first aid box then” she said closing the door to her room and gesturing for him to lead the way.

Kieran led Arabella to a side of the house she had not been to before. It was like a study and a man cave at the same time.

“This is my little corner in the house,” he said as they walked in. She made an O shape with her mouth to show that she understood what he was saying.

“And there” he said pointing to the doors at the end of the room. “That leads to my room,” he said.

She did not know why she needed the information but she nodded anyway.

“Where did I keep that box?” he asked himself as he went to the shelve to check through it.Exclusive content from NôvelDrama.Org.

“Here it is” he said taking a box off the shelves.

“Come sit” he said tapping the sofa beside him. She looked around like she was searching for something there, she rubbed her hands on her dress nervously as she walked toward him silently.

She dropped to the sofa beside him keeping a reasonable distance between them. “Your feet” he said pointing them.

“What?” she asked folding her toes into themselves.

“I need to see them be able to know what is wrong and how to treat them,” he said and she nodded.

He was correct but how could she expose her legs to him? Since she got there she had not gone out for a pedicure and she was not sure about the state of her legs.

“Since the box is here I can do it myself” she said slipping her feet out of the slippers that had been covering the damage and lifting her legs and trying to put them in a weird position on her lap.

“That seems difficult and almost impossible,” he said as he held her ankle. He pulled her legs gently toward himself and dropped them to his lap.

“It would only take a minute” he said accessing the leg. “Thank goodness I asked that you have it treated, it seems like the wound is exposed”

She gulped as she felt his hand run across the wound. “I can do it myself” she said trying to get her feet out of his lap as soon as she could.

She was out of order by him yanking her leg back into place. “Just stay still and we will be done soon”

He took out a bottle which happened to be methylated spirits because she winced in pain as the cold liquid touched the exposed skin area and left a burning sensation on her feet.

“So sorry” he said blowing on her legs gently.

“It’s supposed to sting” she said curling her toes to stop him from blowing on it.

“Yes it is” he said as he continued to work on her feet till he was done. “All done” he said after a while and she dropped her feet to the ground and slipped it quickly into the slipper.

She could not believe that he had touched her feet and was comfortable about it. She knew her legs were in a bad state and normally she could care less about things like that but it did bother her that he had to see her like that.

“Thank you” she murmured as she tried to sit on the edge of her seat.

Kieran cleared his throat standing to his feet and walking to the shelf to drop back the box in hand. “Do you want something to drink?” he asked and she looked around.

“As long as it’s not coffee” she said and he nodded before taking out a can of beer and a packed orange juice and handing it over to her.

“I don’t get a beer?” she asked when she saw his hand.

“Do you want a beer?”

“Sure one can of beer would not kill”