The Best Man Read Online Free

can clean up the broken glass in here and cancel my appointments for this afternoon. Reschedule them for later this week.”
    Tony nodded eagerly and Beth walked back to Colin. She slipped her tote over her shoulder and placed her hand on his arm. “I’m going to help you stand up. Nice and slow, okay?” She draped his arm over her shoulder as he rose.
    “I can walk without assistance.”
    “Let me help, just in case.”
      He gave in with a sigh and slid his arm around her waist.
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    BETH GLARED AT THE television playing cartoons in the emergency room waiting area. Someone else could’ve spent an hour fighting the traffic. Someone else could be stuck in a chair with giant cracks in its vinyl seat. Beth crossed her legs and shifted her weight to the side. It didn’t help.  It was literally a pain in the ass.
    If someone else had brought him, she wouldn’t have embarrassed them both by trying to join him in the exam room. The memory of his chuckling brought heat to her cheeks again. Something about Colin Pratt made her act like a silly girl.
    She pulled out her phone and checked her updated schedule. Tony had moved all her appointments, so she worked on notes for the next day.
    “You stayed.” Colin sounded surprised.
    Beth nearly bounced out of her seat.
    Colin, freshly bandaged, stood in front of her with a slightly bewildered expression. “I’d have gotten a cab back to my hotel.”
    “You were injured in my office. It’s my responsibility to make sure you get back to the hotel safe and sound.”
    “Or you like me.”
    “I —”
    “Fancy me.” He smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m every bit as surprised as you are.”
    Beth dropped her phone in to her tote. “Are you on sedatives again?”
    “Nothing fancier than Tylenol. It’s a minor concussion. No real concerns, although I should wait a couple days before flying. Possible headache or something.” He held up the informational printout the nurse had given him.
    Beth took the paper from him and quickly scanned it. Someone was supposed to keep watch for changes in behavior, slurred speech, or a dozen other signs of a more serious injury than the doctor currently suspected. “Who else is at your hotel?”
    “There are hundreds of rooms, Miss Chase. I didn’t ask for a roster.”
    “I meant to ask if your father or a friend from the wedding was staying there.” She handed him back the papers. “Do you have someone to check in on you?”
    He hesitated, then grinned. “Have dinner with me. You can check on me yourself.”
    “Colin.”
    “My father and everyone else--I believe--flew home yesterday. I stayed in hopes of doing a bit of sightseeing and to avoid even the slightest chance of sharing an eleven hour flight with Hunter’s mother.” He shuddered as though the mere thought was enough to give nightmares.
    “You can stay with me.” The words were out before she fully considered them and once they were, she worked hard to justify the plan, if only to herself. The poor man looked pale and exhausted beneath the large bandage on his forehead. He needed a friend to keep an eye on him for a day or so. It wasn’t a big deal. She was just being a good person. “I have a guest room.”
    “I appreciate the offer, but I can’t put you out that way.”
    “You won’t be,” she assured him with a smile. “The paper says you need to rest. You can do that at my place. It would be easier for me, really. I won’t have to keep calling the hotel to remind them to check in on you.”
    “If I stay at your place, will you have dinner with me?”
    “Yes.” She grinned. “But it won’t be a date.”
    “Of course not.”
    Damn, he was cute, standing there all bandaged up and smirking like he’d just won. Beth swung her bag over her shoulder and headed towards the exit. She needed to make it clear that she’s wasn’t interested in him romantically. It would be great if at least one of them believed it.
    She paused and looked up