She stood in awkward silence, her feelings bruised and her spirits drenched in cold water and guilt. ‘She’s very upset.’
‘Yes.’
‘Er—is she coming back?’
‘I sincerely hope not.’
Lily wanted to say that he was well rid of her, but decided that protecting her job was more important than honesty. ‘I’m really sorry—’
‘Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault.’
Knowing that wasn’t quite true, she squirmed. ‘If I hadn’t had an accident, I would have had my clothes on when she walked into the room.’
‘An accident? I’ve never considered my shower to be a place of danger but apparently I was wrong about that.’ He eyed the volume of water on the floor and her drenched clothing. ‘What happened?’
‘Your shower is like the flight deck of a jumbo jet, that’s what happened!’ Freezing and soaked, Lily couldn’t stop her teeth chattering. ‘There are no instructions.’
‘I don’t need instructions.’ His gaze slid over her with slow, disturbing thoroughness. ‘I’m familiar with the workings of my own shower.’
‘Well I’m not! I had no idea which buttons to press.’
‘So you thought you’d press all of them? If you ever find yourself on the flight deck of a Boeing 747 I suggest you sit on your hands.’
‘It’s not f-f-funny. I’m soaking wet and I didn’t know you were going to come home early.’
‘I apologise.’ Irony gleamed in those dark eyes. ‘I’m not in the habit of notifying people of my movements in advance. Have you finished cleaning or do you want me to show you which buttons to press?’
Lily summoned as much dignity as she could in the circumstances. ‘Your shower is clean. Extra clean, because I wiped myself around it personally.’ Anxious to make her exit as fast as possible, she kept her eyes fixed on the door and away from that tall, powerful frame. ‘Are you sure she isn’t coming back?’
‘No.’
Lily paused, torn between relief and guilt. ‘I’ve ruined another relationship.’
‘Another?’ Dark eyebrows lifted. ‘It’s a common occurrence?’
‘You have no idea. Look—if it would help I could call my employer and ask her to vouch for me.’ Her voice tailed off as she realised that would mean confessing she’d been caught half naked in the shower.
He gave a faint smile. ‘Unless you have a very liberal-minded employer, you might want to rethink that idea.’
‘There must be some way I can fix this. I’ve ruined your date, although for the record I don’t think she’s a very kind person so she might not be good for you in the long term and with a body that bony she won’t be very cuddly for your children.’ She caught his eye. ‘Are you laughing at me?’
‘No, but the ability to cuddle children isn’t high on my list of necessary female attributes.’ He flung his jacket carelessly over the back of a sofa that was bigger than her bed at home.
She stared in fascination, wondering if he cared at all that his date had walked out. ‘As a matter of interest, why didn’t you defend yourself?’
‘Why would I defend myself?’
‘You could have explained yourself and then she would have forgiven you.’
‘I never explain myself. And anyway—’ he shrugged ‘—you had already given her an explanation.’
‘I don’t think she saw me as a credible witness. It might have sounded better coming from you.’
He stood, legs spread, his powerful shoulders blocking the doorway. ‘I assume you told her the truth? You’re the cleaner?’
‘Of course I told her the truth.’
‘Then there was nothing I could have added to your story.’