She shows me all the rooms upstairs and the bathrooms, too. She talks nonstop about everything she wants to do, and her excitement is clear. This is her dream project, and seeing how happy she is makes me want to do all of it. Today. But everything needs work. Every inch of this house needs love, but something about it feels like home. Like this is a place for a family.
“This place is perfect,” I say, leaning against the master bedroom doorframe. “And it’s just you all by yourself?”
“Yep, just me. My sister and I used to live together in an apartment, but she and Neal got married pretty quick and then I started looking for a house. I always wanted to own my own home, and this place popped up and it was meant to be. I just love it so much. It feels like a home, doesn’t it? Like a place to raise a family?”
Her words echo my thoughts like she was reading my mind. I smile back at her as we go down to the kitchen.
“Would you like a drink?” she asks, going to the fridge. “Sorry, but all I have is water.”
“Yeah, that would be great,” I say, thinking of an excuse to stay.
She grabs a glass from the cupboard and goes to the sink to fill it up. When she twists the tap, there’s a loud groan from the pipes and then dirty brown water comes out of the tap.
“Shit,” she curses, trying to turn it off.
She struggles with the handle, then it breaks off in her hand. Water suddenly sprays out of the snapped pipe, and she screams as she gets soaked. I run over to the sink and open up the space under it, then turn the valves to shut it off.
It takes a second for the stream to stop. When I turn around I’m staring at her white T-shirt, completely drenched, and it leaves nothing to the imagination. Her pink nipples are hard and pointy against the see-through material, and I can make out the delicious curves of her breasts. All I can do is stare at the erotic scene in front of me with my mouth open.
“Shit,” she hisses embarrassedly and crosses her arms over her shirt.
“Sorry,” I say, and I lick my lips to keep from drooling. But I’m not sorry in the least. That was a sight a priest couldn’t look away from, and it’s burned into my mind for eternity. “Why don’t you get cleaned up and I’ll take care of this?” I offer, trying to protect her modesty in some way, even though all I want her to do is pull that shirt up and let me suck her nipples dry.
“I’ll be right back,” she says angrily as she stomps from the room, and I hate myself for how I reacted.
I should have been a gentleman about it, and maybe I should apologize when she gets back. But I didn’t have the strength not to look. She’s too damn beautiful and has the body of a porn star. Not to mention the sound of her voice has been driving me crazy. I can’t get enough of it.
I grab some tools out of my truck and get to work on fixing the pipe in her kitchen. If I can’t bring myself to give her a real apology, the least I can do is fix her sink so it doesn’t happen again.
Chapter 3
Genevieve
I run up the stairs as fast as I can until I get to my bathroom that’s attached to my bedroom. I look down at my shirt and groan. My nipples are clear as day. I should have seen this coming. From the moment I spotted Barrett, all I could think was, holy crap he’s hot. I should have known something would go awry. That’s the story of my life when it comes to dating. But this isn’t a date. Maybe my problem is men in general.
I pull the shirt off and toss it in the bathtub. Next, I take my thin bra off and hang it up to dry. Why couldn’t I have picked a thicker bra today? Or at least something sexy? I swear I’m cursed. Also, freaking Gabi could have warned me that the man who worked on her home was the hottest thing alive. I swear to Christ, I had to do a double take to make sure he didn’t have the hammer of the gods with him, because he looks like Thor. Gabi is going to get it. My sister can go on and on about random things, but never once did she mention anything about a hot contractor. She’s always trying to set me up and never once has she hooked me up with the beefcake downstairs.
Digging through my dresser, I find another bra and put it on, then go over to my closet and grab another shirt to wear. I make sure this one is black just in case anything else explodes all over me. When I’m done I brush my hair the best I can, then dig for my makeup bag that has to be around here somewhere. I’ve unpacked most of my room and the bathroom, but I’ve forgotten where it all went.