Erin was settled on the sofa, her injured ankle propped on a pillow, when she heard a rapping on the door downstairs. She groaned at the thought of having to answer the door.

“Don’t get up,” a voice from downstairs called. “It’s me, Slim. Is it okay if I come up?”

“Sure,” Erin said, giddy that he’d come back.

His footsteps pounded up the metal stairs, echoing through the lighthouse. He burst into her living room, grinning from ear to ear, looking ridiculously handsome, carrying something behind his back and a bike tire hooked over his shoulder. “What’d the doctor say?”

“I saw Victoria, the nurse practitioner, because David was at the funeral. They did an X-ray and determined nothing is broken, thankfully. Just a bad sprain.”

“Glad nothing is broken, but sprains can hurt worse than breaks sometimes.” From behind his back, he produced a bouquet of flowers. “Oh damn, I forgot to get a vase. You don’t have an extra one lying around, do you?”

“Under the sink. And thank you. The flowers are gorgeous. Sunflowers are my favorite.”

“You’re welcome.” He found the vase, filled it with water and stashed the flowers, still bound, in the water in typical guy fashion.

She’d tend to them herself in the morning. “What’s up with the tire?”

“I grabbed it for you on the mainland today so we can fix your bike.”

“That’s really nice of you.”

He brought the flowers to her coffee table and plopped down in the chair across from her, resting his long legs on the table. His dark hair was tousled from the wind or his fingers, and his brown eyes took a measuring look at her that made her skin tingle with awareness. “How long are you going to be laid up?”

“I have to take it easy for a week and wear this glamorous brace, but at least I should be off those evil things in time for the wedding.” She gestured to the crutches on the floor beside the sofa.

“Ahh, a week on crutches. That sucks. Have you ever needed them before?”

“Nope.”

“You’ll hate them after two days.”

“I already hate them. They hurt my hands and my armpits.”

“Poor baby.”

“I know I’m pathetic, so don’t pile on.”

“I’ll try not to,” he said with a grin.

“What’re you doing here anyway?”

“You’re here.”

“I’m not quite sure how to take that.”

“I guess I could be more clear. You’re here. You’re lovely. I want to get to know you better, and you never said whether you’ll go out with me.”

Erin swallowed hard at the “you’re lovely” comment. “No, I didn’t, did I?”

Slim stuck out his lip and shook his head. “I had to fly all day not knowing whether I was going to see you again after we spent the whole night together.”