by Jill Shalvis
“I…nailed them to the roof by accident.” She tried to say it with a straight face, but laughter bubbled up from her throat, and Ryan couldn’t help laughing, too.
“That must be the polka-dot surrender flag over there flapping in the wind,” he said, nodding to the bit of pink fabric ten feet away.
“Yeah.”
“Take my raincoat,” he said, unbuttoning it as he spoke. Before she could protest, he shrugged it off and handed it to her.
She put it on, and sure enough, it was long enough to cover her to midthigh. “Thanks,” she said, still shivering as she eased herself across the roof and turned so that she could go down the ladder.
He placed a steadying hand on her back, but his gaze was fixed on her bare legs, thin and shapely. He got a flash of heat in his groin as he imagined her thighs spreading for him, imagined those legs wrapped around his hips…
Whoa, there. Time to remember his purpose, which was to help her off the roof, and then maybe, if he dared, apologize to her for his asshole behavior in high school.
They made quick work of the ladder, and at the bottom, Ryan picked up a blanket that someone had brought and left on the ground, and wrapped it around Lorelei.
“All’s well,” he said to Kyle. “I’ll help her back to the house while you get the ladder.”
“Sure thing, man.”
Ryan followed Lorelei around the side of the house to the back door. Once she was inside, she turned to face him, took off the blanket, and unceremoniously removed her jacket. He took them when she held the stuff out, and then his mouth went dry as he took in the sight of her stripping off her sweatshirt and grabbing a towel to dry off.
He watched as she toweled off, transfixed at the way her panties pressed against the flesh at the apex of her thighs and her nipples showed through the thin fabric of her wet pajama top. And before he lost all good sense, he shrugged on his raincoat again in the hope of hiding his growing erection.
She had a woman’s body now, with heavy breasts and a narrow waist, smooth skin and a shapely ass. She looked glorious there in her tiny white panties and pajama top, wet hair clinging to her cheeks and shoulders-not like any teenage fantasy he’d ever had, but like a totally grown-up one.
He would have loved to reach out and touch any part of her-hell, every part of her-to confirm that she was not a figment of his imagination. Then he’d pull her close and warm her against his naked body-
“Thanks,” she said. “You can go now.”
Right. Of course he could.
“I hope you’ll, um, wait until after the storm to do any further nailing of clothing to your roof.”
She grinned sheepishly. “I’ve got a leak. I was trying to cover it with a tarp.”
“Looks like you’ve got your hands full with this place, huh?”
“My mom let it fall into disrepair. She hasn’t lived here for years. I thought I could move in and renovate it, but, yeah, it’s turning into quite an ordeal.”
“I used to work construction-maybe I could help,” Ryan blurted before he could stop himself. What the hell was he thinking?
He wasn’t thinking, at least not with the head he should have been using. His brain was too clouded by erect nipples and wet panties to think clearly now.
“Oh. Wow, um, thanks, but I couldn’t ask that of you. I mean, maybe if you know any good contractors or carpenters or roofers, you could recommend someone?”
“Absolutely. But seriously, one of my hobbies is carpentry. It would be my pleasure to help-anytime.”
It occurred to him then that maybe while she was standing there in her wet panties wasn’t the best time to be having this conversation. There-a sensible thought.
She gave him an odd look.
Ryan felt his cheeks burning. God, all he was supposed to do was apologize, not try to insert himself into her life. Why was he being such an ass?
Because she was a beautiful, nearly naked woman, and he was a guy. It wasn’t any more complicated than that. Besides, she looked even hotter soaked with rain than she did dry.
He forced his mind off the wet-naked-Lorelei fantasy that was threatening to overcome him and back to reality.
“Listen, I know it’s late, and you’re cold, and I have to get back to work. Maybe we could talk about this later. I’d be happy to give you some names of people to call, if nothing else.”
“Sure, thanks. That would be great.”
“How about tomorrow? Will you be around for me to stop by?”
“It’s my day off.”
“Great, I’ll see you then,” he said, then turned and walked away before he said anything else stupid in the face of her panties.
He needed to get a grip. But dammit, he wanted her. His whole body was so pent-up with frustrated desire, his dick pressing against the front of his pants, his mouth parched…it was a minor miracle he hadn’t grabbed her and made love to her right then and there.
No, he wasn’t going to behave like a Neanderthal. Not again. Not when he had a chance to make things right. He’d help her with her house, if she’d let him, and when the time was right, he’d tell her how sorry he was for his behavior in high school. His self-respect depended on it-he couldn’t walk around in the world knowing he’d been a jerk without making amends for his actions.
That was it. He’d apologize, and all would be right in the world again.
He absolutely wasn’t going to sleep with her again. Well…not unless she really wanted to.
5
A S SHE WAITED for someone at Monroe Brothers Roofing to pick up the phone, Lorelei stared up at the growing water stain on the ceiling and muttered a curse. Living in a house should not be so hard. She was beginning to think the hut she’d lived in in Kenya had not been such a bad idea. At least when a thatched roof leaked, no one was surprised.
Finally the phone was picked up, but it was only a recorded voice explaining, “Monroe Brothers Roofing is currently unable to take on new roofing jobs for the immediate future, due to high demand for roof work. Please call us back in February if you need an estimate for new work. If you are a current customer-”
Lorelei hung up the phone and muttered a curse at the phone book. The other two roofing companies she’d already tried were not working during the winter months. She was beginning to feel as if she were starring in a bad movie version of her own life, in which the hapless, overeducated doctor meets her match in a house determined to fall down rather than be renovated.
Her brooding was interrupted by a knock at the door. As she went to answer it, she did a quick check in the mirror and saw that she hadn’t yet brushed her hair, and her face, untouched by makeup, bore the puffy, dark-circled evidence that she hadn’t slept much the night before.
Whatever. Anyone who dared to knock on her door at nine in the morning after an epic thunderstorm would get the frightful sight they deserved. It was probably a neighbor knocking to ask if she had electricity-the answer was no, she didn’t-or to tell her that some of her belongings/tree branches/whatever had blown into their yard and needed to be removed.
But the moment she jerked the door open, she regretted having answered it at all. Ryan Quinn stood on her doorstep, still wearing his uniform.
Him again. Was fate trying to beat her over the head with him or what? She said a silent Fine, you win to Kinsei and gave in to the truth of the matter. He was right. She was going to have to sleep with Ryan to get rid of him from her life for good.
“Hi,” he said, grinning sheepishly. “Sorry to bother you so early-”
“I’ve been up for a while,” she said, cutting him off. She didn’t want to stand here engaging in niceties right now, not when she looked like this.
How was she supposed to conquer the ghosts of her past with bad hair and raccoon eyes?
Her gaze dropped to his hand, and the bouquet of red and yellow daisies he held. He presented them to her.
“These are for you,” he said.
“Oh,” she said dumbly, taking th
e bouquet. “What for?”
“Can I come in for just a minute?”
“I’m…kind of busy right now,” she said, torn between not wanting to be rude to her future conquest and not wanting him to get any more of a look at her poorly groomed self.
“Sorry, I just need a minute to talk to you. Please?”
He might have been the source of her worst teenage angst, but that was then, and right now, he looked so earnest, she couldn’t manage to feel the least bit cold and hostile.
He flashed a weak grin, and she looked down at the flowers in her hands. Flowers? Really?
Curiosity nearly overcame her desire to send him away.
How could she refuse? Kinsei would probably curse her if she did. But the old man didn’t understand a girl’s need to prepare herself for seduction.
“Um, sure, I guess.” She stepped aside and opened the door wider for him to enter. Upon doing so, she got a view of all the leaves, tree branches and debris from the storm that would now need to be cleaned up, adding to her ever-growing list of household tasks.
But the problem vanished from her head almost immediately, because when she turned to face Ryan again, she was struck by just how damn attractive he really was. Still. After all these years.
He filled up the space in her entryway, and the flowers-what was with the flowers? She smelled them. They were a lovely contrast to the dreary morning sky outside.
His expression turned to a mixture of serious and sheepish. “I wanted to check on you, first, and make sure you’re okay after your ordeal last night. And bring you those references you asked about.”
Lorelei blinked. This concern was in sharp contrast to her long-held belief that he was an insensitive jerk. “Other than being a wee bit sleep-deprived, I’m fine.”
“Good.” He handed her a list of names and numbers. “These are my recommendations of people to contact for work on the house.”
“Oh, thanks,” she said, and took the paper. She looked at it, and the roofers were ones she’d already tried. Her heart sank.
“What’s wrong?”
“Any chance you know of a roofer who isn’t booked solid with work right now?”
“Oh, you’ve already tried them, huh?”
Lorelei nodded.
“Well, that’s perfect. So you don’t have any choice but to let me help you repair the roof-and remove your pajama bottoms from their rooftop imprisonment.”
“No, really, I can’t ask you such a big favor. We don’t even know each other.”
“I’d really like to help. I feel like I owe you,” he said, his gaze steady on her as if he was hoping she’d understand another level of his meaning.
“You don’t owe me anything,” she said too quickly. Was he thinking of what had happened in high school? Did he remember?
The flowers, the offer of help, the early arrival on her doorstep…it was all adding up to…what? Was she really going to get laid that easily?
Following Kinsei’s advice usually involved much work and sacrifice. Success didn’t crawl into her lap like a lovesick puppy.
“The other reason I’m here is a bit more awkward. I…” He hesitated. “I owe you an apology for what happened when we were teenagers.”
Lorelei blinked again, her brain refusing to catch up to his words. “What?”
“I behaved like a total jerk when we were in high school together. I know that now, and I’m very sorry. I wish I could go back and change my actions, but I can’t, so the best I can do is offer amends now. I was hoping you’d let me make it up to you by helping you with the house repairs.”
An unexpected surge of anger rose up in her, and she blurted, “So it’s like a trade? You take my virginity and fifteen years later you fix my house as repayment?”
He went pale, and she could tell by his pained expression that she’d hit him where it hurt.
Good.
She wasn’t finished.
Screw Kinsei’s advice. She was pretty sure telling Ryan Quinn to go to hell was exactly what her soul needed to heal from the past.
“That’s right, asshole! I was a virgin. Did you even know that? Would you even have cared? I gave you my virginity, and you repaid me by treating me like I didn’t exist for the rest of the school year.”
“Lorelei, I’m really, really sorry. I deserve whatever you’d like to say to me.”
She knew she was supposed to be gracious in the face of his heartfelt apology, but did he really think he could show up here fifteen years later with a sad little bouquet of flowers and a chagrined look and make all her pain go away?
She’d never felt so angry in her life. It was as if all her teenage angst was welling up again, only this time, she was strong enough to do something about it.
She thought of Kinsei again. He’d never steered her wrong. She was suddenly sure of what she wanted to do. She’d let him make amends, if that’s what he wanted to call it-he could amend his way right into her bed and relieve all the sexual tension that had been building up in the months since she’d last gotten laid, and then she’d drop him like a hot potato, and this time let him sit around wondering what the hell had gone wrong.
Some little adolescent voice that dwelled deep in her heart let out a victorious battle cry at that thought.
“Wow,” she said. “This is certainly an unexpected turn of events. I never thought getting stuck on the roof would lead to this…”
“I know an apology and a bouquet of daisies can’t begin to make up for what I did to you, but-”
“I appreciate the gesture,” she forced herself to say without sarcasm. “And…what the hell. I’d be happy for you to help me with the house repairs, if it would make you feel like we’re, um, even.”
“Thank you,” he said, nodding solemnly. “I’d love to help.”
“Why don’t you stay and have some coffee with me, tell me what you’ve been up to all these years, and I can tell you what needs to be done to the house.”
He smiled. “I’d like that a lot.”
Lorelei led him into the kitchen, where a pot of coffee had just finished brewing. At least the gas stove was still working, even if the electricity wasn’t. With its own fireplace that she’d gotten going as soon as she’d woken up, the kitchen was the warmest room in the house.
On the far side of the room, her pet rabbits, Thor and Lucia, were huddled together, taking in the warmth of the stove from a safe distance. They had free rein of the house, since they were litter-box trained, but they tended to like staying in the kitchen near their food.
“Have a seat,” she said, nodding to the table. “Have you had any breakfast yet?”
“Actually, no. I came straight from the end of my night shift, to the flower shop, to here. I wasn’t planning to, but…” He paused awkwardly, as if he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure if he should. “But I really don’t want to trouble you.”
Lorelei ignored him as she put the daisies in water then started pulling out ingredients to make a breakfast frittata with mushrooms, peppers and cheese. She’d never been good at this small-talk stuff. She much preferred getting to the heart of matters. It made her bedside manner alternately loved and hated, depending on the patient.
“Hey, you have rabbits.”
“Meet the new king and queen of the household. Thor is the brown one with the ever-disdainful expression, and Lucia is the white one.”
“You just got them after you moved in?”
“Yep, from the local bunny rescue place.”
He crossed the room, knelt down and attempted to pet the rabbits, who studiously ignored him until he came too close, and then they fled into the imaginary safety of their litter box.
“They don’t like strangers. Ignore them and they’ll come check you out in their own sweet time.”
He smiled and sat down at the table again. “I always thought you’d become a veterinarian.”
“I thought about it, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a doctor. I
still love animals as much as I did as a kid, though.”
“I always liked that about you. Didn’t you have a python or something in high school?”
“Yep, and a couple of lizards, and the rats, of course, and a scorpion and…”
“You must have driven your parents crazy.”
“They made me find new homes for most of the animals when I left for college. It was devastating.”
“Yeah, I know how you feel. I had a dog until last year when she died of old age. It’s like losing your best friend.”
Lorelei went silent as she found all the ingredients she needed, thinking of the animals she still missed. The rabbits were a good fresh start though. She loved their bratty little personalities, and they kept her company in this drafty old house, their presence a constant fuzzy reminder to be Zen about all things.
“Want to hear something totally crazy?” Ryan said as she began shredding parmesan cheese with a grater.
“How could I not?”
“When I picked up those flowers for you at the flower shop in Santa Rey? There was this Christmas tree with little cards all over it, and a sign that said if you buy a card, the proceeds would go to charity.”
“Oh, yeah, I think I heard about that on the radio the other day.”
“So I bought one of the cards, and…this is going to sound really weird, but…I think you’ll understand why I felt like I had to come here right now and apologize when you hear this. And I swear, I didn’t know what was on the card before I bought it.”
“What was it?”
“It’s a gift certificate to Linden Rock Hot Springs.”
Kinsei’s face appeared in her mind. That sneaky little man…She might be a doctor with a scientifically trained mind, but the medicine man had taught her to believe in the inexplicable.
In a soap opera, this would be the part where Lorelei would halt the cheese grating and turn slowly to stare at Ryan. A weighty, emotional moment would pass between them as they contemplated the significance of his words, of the way fate-and one wily old Kenyan medicine man-had twisted and turned to make their lives intertwine again.
Linden Rock Hot Springs was where they’d had sex all those years ago. Back then, it hadn’t been the luxury spa and retreat it was now. It had just been the hot springs located on undeveloped private property where teenagers and hippies loved to hang out naked. But its location overlooking the Pacific, among sheer cliffs down to the ocean and majestic cypress trees, had guaranteed that sooner or later it would be commercially developed.