Love and Other Surprises

by Robin Wells

  But of course Matt would never do anything about it. He was too logical, too rational. And too hung up on the misguided belief that he was some sort of surrogate big brother.

  Ali banged down the lid of a half-empty paint can with her fist. Well, let him come back. She couldn’t wait to give him a piece of her mind. She had a thing or two to tell that mule-headed, thick-skulled… business partner.

  Her hand fell motionless at the thought. I can’t tell him off. I have to work with him.

  Deflated, Ali crossed the room and flopped onto the sheet-draped sofa in frustration. She’d never met such an exasperating man—a man who made her feel insulted and angry and completely unsettled. But because he held the final say over her designs, she had to be nice to him.

  If not nice, at least civil, she thought begrudgingly. Civil, calm, self-controlled and rational.

  Ali heaved a sigh and kicked off her shoes. How was she going to manage that when her insides were twisted like a licorice stick? It didn’t help that she was hot and tired and hungry and dirty.

  A bath—that was just the ticket. A nice, hot bubble bath always lifted her spirits. A good warm bath could make any situation more tolerable.

  She rose from the sofa and quickly finished her cleanup tasks. Five minutes later, the tub was filling with warm water. She’d give herself the royal treatment, she decided, fetching her portable CD player and a pair of candles from her bedroom.

  Soon the room was bathed in soft candlelight and gentle music. She’d take a whirlpool first, then add bubbles later, Ali decided.

  She flipped the switch and the water began swirling around the tub. Peeling off her paint-splattered clothes, she stepped in and stretched out, luxuriating in the sensation of the warm water jets caressing her body on all sides. Ali closed her eyes— and immediately envisioned Matt’s face.

  His lips had looked so firm and demanding and hungry when he’d helped her down from the ladder, she thought dreamily. His breath had brushed her face and the faint scent of his shaving lotion had teased her nostrils. He’d wanted to kiss her; she’d seen the gleam of unmistakable intent in his eyes.

  A surge of heat that had nothing to do with the water temperature began coursing through her, and she shifted restlessly in the water. One of the water jets now hit her side, exactly where Matt’s hand had rested earlier.

  What if his fingers had drifted slightly upward, just like the stream of water was doing now? It would have grazed the bottom of her breast. The thought caused a shiver to chase through her and Ali leaned back in the churning water, letting her imagination run as wild as the swirling whirlpools.

  No! she thought suddenly. She switched off the jets and shot out of the water. Clutching her arms around herself, she stood in the tub, dripping and shivering in the cool air. She refused to allow herself to indulge in any more fantasies about Matt. It was foolish—beyond foolish.

  It was reckless. Dangerous, even.

  She didn’t want to get involved with Matt. It would never work out, and a failed romance with him would devastate all of her plans. Not to mention what it could do to her heart, she thought grimly. She was in too deep as it was.

  Ali grabbed a jar of bubble bath and sat back down in the water. Turning on the faucet, she poured a generous amount of the scented soap into the stream of water, then leaned back as the tub filled with bubbles.

  She lifted a handful of bubbles and absently let them sift through her fingers as her thoughts meandered over her limited romantic experience. None of her past involvements had lasted very long. She had a knack for picking the wrong type of man—either posturing macho types who fled when she spoke her mind or spineless wimps.

  Matt didn’t fit either category. He was independent, strong-willed and very much his own man. And as much as it infuriated her, she had to admit that it also pleased her in an odd, secret way. Matt was cut from a different cloth.

  “Nonsense,” she said aloud, reaching up to shut off the faucet. “He’s just ten times more stubborn.”

  She rubbed herself down with a loofah, then leaned back in the tub, bending her leg and thoughtfully tracing one of the water jet outlets with her toe. She would do well to follow Matt’s lead in one area, she decided; she needed to ignore their physical attraction. After the development was completed, they’d divide up the profits and she’d never have to see him again.

  The thought left her depressed and restless, and she decided to get out of the tub. She sat up in the water, pushed her foot against the side of the tub, and accidently jammed her toe into the water jet.

  She tried to pull it out, but it wouldn’t budge. She tried again. She leaned forward, grasped her foot with her hands and yanked.

  Nothing. She was stuck!

  Panic rising in her chest, she gingerly felt her foot. The joint of her big toe was firmly wedged in the outlet. She squirmed and tugged and pulled for several long, uncomfortable minutes. Her efforts only succeeded in making her toe throb.

  Oh, merciful heavens, what was she going to do?

  “Ali?” Matt’s voice came from the living room.

  Matt—oh, no! Her heart thudded against her rib cage. She couldn’t let him find her like this! She tugged at her toe again, creating a wrenching pain.

  “Ow!” she yelped.

  “Ali, are you all right? Where are you?”

  You’re stuck, she told herself grimly, and you need help.

  But she was completely naked! Ali desperately looked around; the towels were out of reach and she’d left her robe in the bedroom. The only things at hand were a bar of soap and the bottle of bubble bath on the edge of the tub.

  Ali grabbed the bubble bath and poured half the bottle into the water, then splashed furiously.

  “I’m in here,” she called over the music. “I’m stuck in the tub.”

  She heard footsteps in the hall. “You’re what?”

  “I’m stuck.” Frustration raised her voice a full octave. “My toe is jammed in the whirlpool jet. I’ve tried and tried, but I can’t get it out.”

  The announcement was greeted with a silence so profound that Ali was afraid he’d turned around and left.

  “I’m coming in,” he finally said.

  “Just a moment!” Ali sank low in the water, covering as much of herself as possible with a thick blanket of bubbles. She wrapped her arms across her breasts. “All right.”

  She watched Matt open the door cautiously and pause in the doorway as his eyes adjusted to the candlelight. Oh, mercy— she’d forgotten about the candles! Ali longed to just slide all the way under the water. What must he be thinking? She prayed he didn’t think she’d staged some sort of seduction setup.

  “I’m over here,” she called out in a hoarse voice.

  “I need to turn on a light so I can see you,” Matt replied.

  “No!” Ali gave her toe another yank, splashing water over the side of the tub. “I mean, I’m…I don’t have on any… would you throw me a towel?”

  Matt muttered an oath, then fumbled around until he found one.

  Ali reached out and grabbed it. “Could you please turn around for a moment?”

  Matt complied and Ali dragged the towel into the water, trying to cover herself with it. Maybe between the towel and the bubbles, she’d be able to maintain some semblance of decency.

  “Okay,” she finally said. Her mouth was so dry she could hardly swallow.

  “I’ve got to turn on a light so I can see your toe,” Matt told her.

  The sudden glare made her wince. When she opened her eyes, Matt was staring at her. She met his gaze and quickly looked away. A wave of heat suffused her body despite the fact that the water was beginning to cool.

  Matt knelt by the tub and gently touched her leg, sending shockwaves reverberating through her. She saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. “The first thing we need to do is drain some of this water out so I can see your foot.”

  Ali hesitated, then nodded as she clutched the wet towel.


  Matt pushed up his sleeves and plunged his hand into the water to open the drain. As the water receded, she slunk down further and further.

  “Don’t let out all the water—that’s enough,” she said abruptly as soon as her foot was in sight.

  Matt turned his attention to her toe. “It’s stuck, all right,” he commented. “I’m going to get some ice.”

  A moment later he returned with a plastic sandwich bag filled with crushed ice. “This should make the swelling go down,” he said, “but it won’t be very comfortable.”

  “I’m not exactly lolling in luxury right now,” Ali remarked.

  Matt looked pointedly around the room and gave her a wry smile. “You could have fooled me,” he said,wrapping the ice around her foot.

  “Yikes!” Ali hollered. The shock of cold made her jump, causing the towel to slip. Ali struggled desperately to readjust it, hoping Matt hadn’t noticed she’d just fully exposed her chest.

  No such luck. When his eyes finally slid up to meet hers, they sparkled with amusement and… arousal. He quickly turned his attention back to her foot, and Ali clutched at the towel as if it were a life raft.

  “We need to leave the ice on for a few minutes.” He sat back on his heels and leaned an arm on the side of the tub. “While we’re waiting, why don’t you tell me just how this happened?”

  “I was taking a bath,” Ali said.

  “I figured out that much,” Matt said dryly. “What’s with the candles and mood music?”

  Ali tried to muster as much dignity as the situation would allow. “A woman’s bath rituals are her own private business,” she said haughtily, trying to hide her mortification with a show of bravado. “I was simply trying to unwind.”

  Matt readjusted the ice pack and lifted an eyebrow. “Uh-huh. And I suppose jamming your toe in a water outlet seemed like a good way to do that?”

  “It was an accident,” To her chagrin, Ali’s voice cracked. “I suppose you find this all very amusing.”

  Matt’s smile faded as he met her eyes. “Hey, I didn’t mean to make fun of you. I’m sorry.” His voice was sincere, his brown eyes warm. “I was just trying to lighten up the situation.”

  The last thing she’d expected from him was sensitivity; the second-to-last thing was an apology. She squirmed under the towel, unsure how to respond. “It’s okay,” she finally muttered. “I appreciate your help.”

  Matt returned his attention to her toe. “Why don’t we see about getting this little guy free?”

  He removed the ice pack, reached for the bubble bath and gently worked a generous amount of the slippery liquid around her foot. “Okay. Let your foot go completely limp. I’m going to try to work your toe out.”

  Clutching the towel, Ali leaned back, closed her eyes and tried to relax. It wasn’t easy; she was far too aware of her state of undress, the sensuous setting and Matt’s fingers on her feet.

  His touch was surprisingly gentle-—so gentle that Ali was startled when her toe suddenly slid out.

  “Free at last,” he said with a grin. He held her foot between his hands and studied her toe intently. “It’s kind of red, but I think it’s okay. How does it feel?”

  Ali wiggled it cautiously. “A little tender, but otherwise it’s fine.”

  Matt rubbed her toes. “This little piggy went to plumbing school, this little piggy stayed home…”

  Ali splashed water at him, causing him to duck. “Having fun?”she asked.

  “As a matter of fact, I am.” He wiped the water off his face and ran his eyes across her. They lingered on her chest, causing Ali to tighten her grip on the towel. “It’s not every day I get to rescue a beautiful damsel in distress—especially one who’s completely naked, dripping wet and completely at my mercy.”

  Beautiful… naked… mercy. The teasing words hit Ali like waves, rocking her to the core. A shiver ran through her, a shiver of trepidation and anticipation and excitement.

  “Thanks for the help. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get out,” she said.

  Matt sat back on his beds and grinned at her. “By all means. Don’t let me stop you.”

  “You need to leave the room,” she told him pointedly.

  “How do I know you won’t get something else stuck the minute I turn my back?”

  “I promise to call you if I do.”

  Matt rose to his feet. “All kidding aside,” he said, his smile changing to a somber expression, “you better let me help you out. A bathtub full of soap is a dangerous place to experiment with putting weight on an injured foot, and you don’t have the greatest track record when it comes to luck.”

  Ali rearranged the wet towel over herself as best she could. “If you think I’m going to stand up stark naked in front of you, you need to think again,” she said stiffly.

  “I’ll close my eyes,” Matt said. He turned and rummaged in the linen closet opposite the tub. Withdrawing an enormous pink towel, he unfolded it and draped it over his arm. “I’ll even turn out the light.”

  He reached over and flipped the switch, plunging the room back into candlelit intimacy. “I won’t touch you. I’ll just hold out my hands, and you can use them to steady yourself. You need something to hang onto.”

  Ali flexed her foot. The toe throbbed and her arch had a painful cramp—no doubt the result of having been suspended in such an awkward position for so long.

  Matt was probably right, Ali thought reluctantly. “Do you promise to keep your eyes closed?”

  Matt held up two fingers. “Scout’s honor.”

  “How do I know you were ever a Scout?” she queried suspiciously.

  “You’ll just have to trust me.”

  The sensuous strains of a steamy love ballad reverberated in the small room. A tremor chased through Ali. She chose to attribute it the increasingly chilly temperature of the water.

  Whatever it took, she had to get out of that bathtub. And it looked like it was going to take Matt’s help.

  Ali swallowed hard. “All right,” she relented. “Close your eyes.”

  Matt stepped up to the tub and extended his hands. Satisfied that his eyes were shut, Ali clutched the wet towel with one hand and grabbed his arm with the other. She couldn’t stand this way, she realized; she would have to drop the towel.

  She tentatively reached out her other hand and clutched his steely forearm. Her throat constricted at the fed of his brawny muscle. Hesitantly, she pulled herself out of the water and to her feet.

  She took a deep breath, stepped out of the tub… and lurched against his chest.

  His arm encircled her, his hand resting on her bare back just above her buttocks. She froze, not daring to back away for fear of exposing herself. His chest was hard and warm, and she could feel his heart pound beneath the smooth cotton of his shirt.

  He somehow arranged the dry towel around her back. Her skin tingled with a new, heightened sensitivity as he gently dried her, sliding the terry cloth across her shoulder blades, past her waist and down her hips. She was acutely aware that the front of her, the part pressed against his shirt and faded jeans, was as naked as the day she was born. The knowledge both thrilled and terrified her.

  Ali looked up at him in the flickering candlelight. His eyes were open now, open and dark and hungry. She felt his arms tighten around her and a deep ache began to throb within her.

  “You’re trembling,” he whispered. “Are you cold?”

  She was too hot to feel cold. Ali wordlessly shook her head.

  His eyes searched hers in the candlelight. Her arms stretched up around his neck, answering his unspoken question, and the next thing she knew, his mouth covered hers.

  His lips brushed hers gently, then retreated and advanced again, finally settling firmly on her mouth in a demanding kiss. He pulled back and nibbled her bottom lip, then fully claimed her mouth once more, this time ravishing it with his tongue. The kiss sent her spiraling into a blurred world of sweet, hot yearning. Her fingers ran along the muscled cords of
his neck, across the steely ridge of his shoulder, down the solid planes of his back. She arched against him, wanting more.

  “Ali, honey,” he breathed, his fingers threading in her hair.

  He wound his other arm around her and deepened the kiss. The world narrowed to nothing but Matt, to nothing but the hard warmth of his body, the delicious slide of his lips, the intoxicating scent that was his alone. She moved against him, mindless of where they were and what she wasn’t wearing.

  She was gasping for breath when he abruptly set her from him.

  “I’d better go,” he said in a husky voice.

  Her hand fell from his shoulder as he bent and retrieved the towel from the floor. As if from a distance, her passion-fogged senses registered surprise that it had fallen. She stood motionless, dazed by desire, as he gently wrapped it around her.

  “Under the circumstances, I think I’d better sleep in my car tonight.” His voice was a thick, ragged growl.

  The candles flickered as he opened and closed the bathroom door. Ali stood still long minutes after he’d gone, her head swimming, her heart aching, her toe forgotten.

  Chapter Ten

  Hattie furrowed her brow as she entered Matt’s office early Monday morning. “You don’t look so good. Are you coming down with something?”

  “I’m fine,” Matt muttered, running a hand down his face as he looked up from the paperwork on his desk. “Just a little beat, that’s all.”

  The older woman cast a keen eye over him as she gathered up the papers from his outbox. “Most folks rest on the weekend. Judging from the amount of paperwork here, you spent at least half of it at the office.” She shot him a disapproving look. “All work and no play is no good for anyone. You need more of a personal life, Matt.”

  Matt eyed her in exasperation and bit back a sharp retort. “I’m doing just fine, thank you.” Pretending to return his attention to the papers on his desk, he adopted a businesslike tone. “I’d like to see the updated completion schedule as soon as possible.”