“Unfuckingbelievable,” she whispers, groaning as her small, delicate hand rubs her forehead. I’m slightly taken aback at her comment, seeing as she’s the one who’s found herself on my doorstep.

“Good morning to you, too, sweetheart. If you came looking for Jace, you’re the most delusional broad I’ve ever met.”

Glaring at me, she places her hands on her hips. “First of all, we’ve never had the pleasure of meeting. I’m pretty sure I introduced myself and you blew me off. Second of all, I’m not here for Jace, although I wouldn’t mind telling him he’d be better off giving you a lesson in manners rather than cleaning up after you.”

“Who is it?!” Cohen yells from the living room, and Charlotte takes it as an invitation. She picks up the briefcase that’s sitting at her feet, shoving past me and into the house in the direction of voices. God dammit, I do not need this right now, I think as I shut the door and follow her into the living room. Apparently her entrance is worthy of a game pause, and both Jace and Cohen are looking back and forth between the two of us, watching the show playing out before them.

“Charlotte?” Jace asks hesitantly, slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position on the couch.

She gives him a wave as Cohen questions, “You know her?” Jace gives a slight shake of his head and then reminds my brother that she was at the bar the night before. Cohen’s eyes widen, and I know he remembers the mood I was in after our encounter.

Before anyone can speak, I spout off, feeling more than irritated. “What the hell are you trying to pull, J. Mac?”

Crinkling his nose, he looks at me, at Charlotte, and then back at me. His eyes light up as if something’s magically popped into his head, and he falls back against the couch in a fit of laughter. Glancing at Charlotte, I can see that she’s trying to suppress a grin as she watches him, and I feel a bitter pull of jealousy over the fact that he’s been able to make her smile when all I get are glares.

“Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you?” I ask, breaking his fit of hysteria. His laughter dies down and he meets my eyes, his grin spreading like crazy across his face.

“Knox, this is Charlotte… Charlotte, meet Knox,” he says, waving his hand between the two of us.

She slowly turns and looks at me, but I notice I don’t get the same grin from her that Jace does. I tip my head towards her, pretending that I’m not wanting to drown in those deep brown eyes.

“God, you’re a fucking idiot,” Jace says, breaking my concentration.

“Umm, what the hell?” I ask, but I’m interrupted by a sweet, Southern drawl.

“Excuse me, boys, but I need to get to work. Now that we’ve done the introductions, I need the details on his injuries, his needs, and what I can do to accommodate him.”

Cohen’s mouth drops open at her statement, and my one-track mind is moving right along with him. I may not be in the market for a relationship, but I’m suddenly ready to allow her to accommodate me anyway she wants.

Jace clears his throat, grabs his crutches, and gets to his feet. He quickly asks Cohen for a ride back to his apartment, and Charlotte and I are left standing in the room alone as they head towards the front door. I want to protest, not wanting to be left alone with this girl for a single second, but I know Jace is determined to make it happen. She frowns after the guys as they go to leave, and we both follow to see them out. Cohen’s out the door first with Jace right behind him, and I’m mentally cursing the fact that my brother packed his car already. Before he gets off the porch, Jace turns towards us, a stupid shit-eating grin flashing across his face.

“Knox, meet Charlie. Charlie, this is Knox. Take good care of him. You two have fun getting acquainted,” he says, tossing her a wink.

Charlie

“YOU’RE CHARLIE? Volunteer, be-my-pain-in-the-ass-babysitter-for-the-next-few-weeks Charlie?”

I have no idea what the hell is going on as I look back and forth between Jace and the guy that I now know as Knox. A dark scowl spreads across his face as he finally makes the connection. I’m not sure who he was expecting, but apparently it most definitely wasn’t me. Shrugging my shoulders, I hold out my hand, hoping that he’s in a better mood than he was last night.

“Charlotte Davenport. But yes, most people call me Charlie for short,” I inform him, wondering what the big deal is. He stares at my hand, which I promptly drop as his eyes reach mine and I can see something flicker in them. Something that looks like anger or frustration, and it confuses the hell out of me. When he looks at Jace, his scowl deepens.

“Did you know about this?” he asks, prompting Jace to hold up his hands, shaking them in denial.

“She introduced herself as Charlotte to me, too. It wasn’t until she started talking about needing to know how to take care of you that it clicked that she was probably the Charlie you were expecting. Look on the bright side, man. Now you don’t have to worry about some creepy guy changing your boxers for you,” Jace says, grinning and shooting me a wink.

In all my volunteering, I’ve never had to change the clothes of any of my assignments, and normally I’d draw the line at it. That’s what nurses are for. But the thought of seeing his muscular body without any clothes on makes crossing the line seem that much easier.

Taking the moment to check him out, I already know I’m in trouble. He’s wearing nothing but athletic shorts, and those are riding low on his hips, showcasing those tempting V-sculpted oblique muscles every woman seems to fall in love with. A small trail of light hair peeks out of his shorts and leads up to a toned stomach, and I can see the outline of a fading six pack, presumably suffering from his lack of physical inactivity. My eyes continue their exploration and I notice that his pecs are the same way. They’re certainly defined, but I can tell that some of the muscle tone has gone away since he’s been unable to exercise. I have a feeling that this probably has something to do with his less than sunny disposition as I know how these guys love to use physical exertion to let out their frustrations.

I make a mental note to research his injuries and talk to Dad to find some way to allow him to do physical activity that won’t hurt him further but that will let him expend some energy. A throat clears, and I’m pulled out of my thoughts. I realize that the two of them are staring at me, and I notice that the other one has joined them.

“Hey, Charlotte. I’m Cohen, the better-looking Wellington brother.” He grins as his brother scowls at him, and I’m wishing his personality would rub off on Rugged Man. “Listen, thanks for doing this. As much as I’d love to stick around and take care of his cheery ass, I’ve got finals. I left my number on the kitchen counter, so if you need anything, just give me a call. Make sure he wears his back brace until the doc says he doesn’t have to.” He pauses, frowning when he notices that Knox isn’t currently in the brace he just mentioned. “He doesn’t have to sleep in it, and we didn’t put it on before you got here. Come on inside and I’ll show you how to do it.”

The four of us make our way back in the house, and I still find myself in shock that I’m here with these guys. Jace sits down on the couch and props his leg up as Cohen leads Knox and me down a hallway into what I’m guessing is Knox’s room.

“Cohen, I was fine last night. I don’t need it. I’m not going anywhere anyway until my appointment next week. As long as I take it easy and sit in the recliner, I’ll be fine,” Knox says in protest, and upon seeing the huge contraption he’s supposed to wear, I don’t blame him for protesting.

Shaking his head, Cohen doesn’t seem to agree. “That was a one-time thing to get your grumpy ass out of the house. You’re not getting out of this, and you better not be an ass to Charlie either when I’m gone.”