Isn't It Bromantic (Bromance Book Club #4) by Lyssa Kay Adams

            He looked at Madison and switched back to English. “Elena is staying.”

            “Great,” Madison said, grinning in an oddly victorious way, as if she’d known all along this would happen or, at least, had hoped for it. “Shall we go over the rehab plan together?”

            Before either of them could answer, Madison whipped out a single sheet of paper from the folder she carried. “This is just a basic outline. It will change as needed, but this is what we’re looking at for the next few months.” Madison handed Vlad the paper. Elena inched closer to his bed to read over his shoulder.

            The plan was broken down week by week, but that was almost the only thing Elena understood. Simple instructions like ice and elevation were complicated by clinical terms and acronyms. Six weeks in a brace with full extension. Ice to reduce pain and inflammation. Gait training with crutches, NWB.

            She looked up. “What does NWB mean?”

            Madison and Vlad answered at the same time. “Non-weight bearing.”

            “The next few days, you need to take it easy,” Madison said. “You can obviously get up to use the bathroom, to bathe, and to stretch, but for the most part, you need to stay off your feet and keep the leg elevated above your heart.”

            Patella mobility drills. Multi-plane open kinetic chain straight leg raising. Week two, begin proprioception drill emphasizing neuromuscular control.

            “Is he supposed to know what any of this means?” Elena asked, not even trying to hide the rising alarm in her voice.

            “That’s what we’re for.” Madison smiled.

            Vlad absently scratched his jaw, the scrape of his fingertips against his thick whiskers drawing Elena’s attention. Transfixed, she studied the pop of a vein atop his hand that wound all the way up his forearm. As if feeling the weight of her stare, Vlad suddenly looked up. Their eyes collided, and she felt a kick in her chest. The reality of the close quarters they were about to share became its own presence in the air between them.

            Elena tore her eyes away to find Madison watching them with a curious, amused glint in her eye.

            Elena’s cheeks grew hot. “What about nutrition? Will you put him on a special diet to help him heal, or can I make him anything he wants?”

            “Lots of fruits, vegetables, and protein,” Madison said. “And, of course, gluten-free.”

            “Why gluten-free?”

            “I was diagnosed with a gluten allergy late last year,” Vlad answered quietly in Russian.

            “You never told me that.”

            “I planned to, but . . .”

            But she broke his heart instead.

            Madison cleared her throat. “Well, we’re going to leave you alone now so you can get ready to go home. We’ll be in touch tomorrow, but call tonight if you need us, okay?” She spoke with the quick cadence of someone anxious to leave. She all but pushed the two grad students toward the door.

            “I have no idea how to cook gluten-free,” Elena said, nibbling her lip. “I’ll have to do some research on how to adapt recipes.”

            “I don’t need anything fancy.”

            “But I want to make all your favorites from home.”

            Vlad shifted against his pillows to sit up straighter. “You’re sure you don’t mind doing this?”

            “I’m sure.” She swallowed and hugged her chest. “But can I ask you something?”

            He nodded tentatively, as if he feared the question.

            “Why did you change your mind?”

            He gave a one-shouldered shrug. “You were right. It will be nice to not have a stranger in my house.”

            It was an ironic answer, since she felt like a stranger around him. But maybe this time together was exactly what they needed to correct that, so that when the time finally came for her to leave, they would part, at last, as friends again. It was the best she could hope for, and more than she deserved, but she wasn’t going to waste this opportunity to start making things right between them.