Unexpected Love

by Melissa Price

  The yard looked well-manicured despite the browning grass but it would be a thick lush green in the spring. She stepped through the gate, walked up the path, pausing at a big shiny blue pickup truck to give herself a few seconds to lean on it. At least no alarm went off, she mused. Two more cars and she finally reached the porch steps. She paused and took a few deep breaths. She was more than tired now.

  When her legs started to shake violently, she realized she needed to keep going before they quit on her altogether. She took another deep breath. Pulling herself up with both hands by the railing, she climbed the six steps.

  She was finally at the front door and on her feet, she thought jubilantly. She had done it and all by herself. She lifted her hand to knock.

  Before she could try to get anyone’s attention, a figure backed out of the glass storm door, talking to someone in the house and pulling the door closed. She tried to take a step back, but the person turned and collided into her. She instinctively grabbed at the dark blue male t-shirt in front of her, hoping to catch her balance, she grabbed an arm and fell. They both went down.

  Four

  They landed in a tangled heap, him on top. Her first thoughts were that he was definitely male. As she tried to catch her breath, she started to laugh. It was that or break into a torrent of tears. She had resolved that she would not cry on this adventure, no matter what. She hated crying but she was a sucker for sad commercials.

  She looked up into the blue eyes staring down at her with surprise and shock. She wasn’t laughing any longer as she gazed back. For a moment neither of them moved. The air was suddenly heavy.

  He stared into her big caramel brown eyes. They were almost the color of her eyes. He cleared his throat and quickly pulled himself off her.

  “I am so sorry. Are you alright?” His handsome face had a worried frown as he stooped next to her.

  He felt terrible for causing the lovely young woman in front of him to land on the front porch, him on top of her soft body. The thought flitted through his mind that he had never been pulled down onto a porch on top of a beautiful woman before. He almost grinned. Almost. Of course, it had been his fault.

  This woman definitely had his attention, but he would have preferred it to be under different circumstances. He reined in his thoughts and concentrated on making sure she was not hurt. They had landed hard, but she took the brunt of it since he had a soft landing. Besides, he reminded himself, he was not looking for a short term relationship.

  She started laughing again. It had been such a rotten day. This was a perfect addition to the day. Landing on her back on a stranger’s front porch with a gorgeous hunk of man on top of her. When she was finally able to sit up, she shook her head yes. She smiled to show she was okay and gave him a thumbs up.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” There was a look of relief and some amusement on his face. He wasn’t sure what was so funny, but he was relieved that she was not angry or crying.

  He had an accent, she mused. Not American. He could not have been much older than she was. His light brown hair was short. Muscles. Definitely well-built. One of those guys that exercised to keep fit, she mused. Usually she had found that it also came with an attitude, but he didn’t seem to have one. Unless the attitude was going to come out later. Right now, they were both surprised at the turn of events. Or maybe she had met the wrong good looking guys, she mused. She looked quickly away before he realized she was taking inventory.

  He reached out a hand, “Let me help you up.”

  She froze. Get up? Not that simple. No, not when she was down. She wasn’t sure what to say. She hated being weak; it was almost humiliating. But she knew she was not capable of getting up with just a quick pull of his hand. She would have to say something.

  She rubbed her hands on her jean clad thighs. If she didn’t speak up she was going to have to sit on some stranger’s porch all night. Maybe if she scooted over to the porch steps she could somehow pull herself up using the railing. Not likely. Her arms were not that strong yet.

  Sean watched her and waited. He was not sure what to think. Did she not want help? Maybe she was mad at him for knocking her down.

  There was a moment of dead silence as she looked at his outstretched hand and then up at him. She swallowed hard and said in a low voice, “I can’t get up.”

  He immediately had a puzzled look on his face. “Are you hurt?”

  She looked out across the lawn to the road and took a deep breath. “My legs don’t work too well right now. I can’t get up. I was in a car accident a few months ago,” her voice trailed down into a whisper. She was mortified. She had a gorgeous and virile man in front of her and she had to admit how weak she was. Great impression she was making. Not, she quickly thought, that it mattered.

  Understanding dawned on his features. She stiffened, afraid it was going to turn into disappointment or loathing, but instead he stepped around behind her. “Okay, I can get you up. Just relax.”

  She turned her head slightly to look at him when he put both arms around her waist and pulled her easily up into a standing position. He smelled good. Like a fresh spring rain.

  He still held her, “Are you good?”

  She wavered as she got her balance, too embarrassed to answer.

  He was reluctant to drop his arms from around her waist. Of course, it was only because he was concerned about her, right? He pondered his reactions. He felt like he was under water, going down and struggling to breathe. No, not like him at all.

  His warm breath was on her cheek and his strong arms made her feel steady and safe. He asked her again if she was okay. You are such a dolt, she told herself. He was probably expecting her to drool like she guessed a lot of women would around him. He was not going to get the satisfaction if he was expecting it. She simply gave him a thumbs up and he dropped his arms.

  She almost shivered. She could feel goose bumps on her arms. He glanced down to where she was looking and saw them too. “Are you cold?”

  She shook her head no. She immediately regretted her answer. She should have said yes or shrugged it off. It was chilly and her jacket was still in the car, she had on a long sleeve pullover sweater that she had pushed up to her elbows. What was wrong with her? She never got goose bumps because a guy touched her. She wasn’t exactly happy with guys touching her at all.

  She wanted to rub the goose bumps away or pull her sleeves down, but she kept her arms at her side. Be casual. She pushed the stray lock of hair that had come out of the ponytail behind her ear as she murmured, “Thank you.”

  “Sure, no problem. My fault, really. I was the one who knocked you down.”

  She laughed, “And I took you down with me.” They looked at each other grinning.

  “No worries, I deserved it.” He liked her positive attitude. He looked to the door, “Were you going in?”

  She shrugged, “My car broke down, my cell phone is dead, and I’m lost.” She said it in such a rush she wasn’t sure if he would understand everything she said.

  He pushed his hand through his short hair. “Not having a good day, I assume.”

  She snickered, “You could say that.”

  He reached for the door, “Walter can call the garage and have them get your car and tow it into town.”

  She stepped into the warm house as a middle aged, robust man with a smattering of gray through his hair came down the hall. Her knock-me-down, pick-me-up, mister handsome explained things to the man as a smiling woman came down the hall. She assumed husband and wife.

  The woman clucked a couple of times, “You poor girl. Don’t you worry, Walter and Sean will take good care of you. Can I get you something? A hot drink? Water? My name is Maggie by the way.” She pointed to the man, “This is my husband, Walter.”

  Maggie talked rapidly and she could barely keep up, but she focused on the woman and not the young man standing very close by her side. He definitely smelled good. She had to pull herself together. She wasn’t going to be a giddy female over
a hot guy. She shook her head, “No, thank you, I’m fine.”

  “Okay then. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything. I don’t want my water to boil over.” Maggie turned away with a bemused grin. Her mind was in a whirl.

  Lovely girl, handsome Sean. About time he found himself an attractive young woman to settle down. The right woman for him. And this one seems very sweet. Maybe she could help things along a bit. There had to be something she could do to get them together, see how it went from there. It wouldn’t hurt to encourage things along.

  Maybe it would work out. Sean seemed interested, more interested than she had ever seen him around another woman in quite a while. Not that plenty of women in town weren’t vying for his attention. She had seen how close he stood to her and the glances he kept giving her. Almost protectively. Yes, he was interested. She could tell these things.

  He looked casual but she knew Sean. Had known him from the first week he had moved here almost four years ago. And the very pretty young woman was pretending not to stare too. Maggie was good at reading people, especially when romance might be in the air. She had gotten a couple of people together that she had known were right for each other. Walter had told her once that she was not a matchmaker, but Maggie had a good feeling about these two. When the other couple married, Walter gave in and said she had been right.

  She personally knew one woman whom Sean had dated but it had ended. Not what the woman had wanted, she suspected, but she had not asked any details. Sean was their friend. She had not wanted to pry into Sean’s private life since he had made it clear he did not like talking about his personal life. Still, Maggie had not felt like they belonged together and maybe Sean had realized that too.

  She felt like Sean was looking for something or someone special and maybe that someone, she mused, had just shown up. He came to dinner regularly but had never brought anyone with him. She had teased him one night about finding himself a nice young woman, but he had said nothing. Sean generally did not share his personal thoughts and feelings, even with his friends.

  Back in the living room, Sean moved to stand in front of her. “Guess you’ve figured out I’m Sean.”

  She smiled, “Yes. I’m Taylor.”

  He gave her a charming smile that sent chills down her spine. She giggled. So much for not being the giddy female. This was not like her at all. Maybe it was the stress of the day. She was tired. But he made her nervous and excited at the same time.

  He smiled back and gave her a quizzical look, “What’s funny?”

  She shrugged, “I don’t know. Everything. Nothing. It’s been one of those days.”

  “You said you are lost? Where are you trying to get too?”

  “Windsor.”

  Sean winced, “You really are lost.”

  Her back was to the front door but she turned her head when she heard a young voice talking very fast as he breezed through, “Mr. Walter, I brought you your mail. My mom sent me for ours. I’ll put it here on the stand.”

  Taylor looked over her shoulder at a boy who looked to be around ten years old, spikey red hair on top, freckles across his nose. Taylor turned her head back to face Sean, the door banging shut behind the boy, but not before a large black dog slipped through.

  Unaware of the loping dog, he leaped on to her back with a happy woof and she crashed into Sean. Her hands hit his chest hard and all of her weight was thrown against him. It took them both by surprise. She had no doubts if he had been prepared, they would still be standing. This time when they both went down, she was on top. The large dog was licking both of their faces, tailing wagging at light speed as if he just knew they were on the floor for him.

  Five

  With a shocked look on her face, she gazed into Sean’s eyes. She was aware of him. Very aware. His body was hard and soft at the same time. She could feel his breathing. The arm not pushing off the dog was around her waist. Her sweater had ridden up a little and she felt a warm hand on her bare skin. She wanted to sigh, but she was embarrassed by the goose bumps breaking out all over her arms along with a sensational chill. What was with her? Normally she would not have appreciated the warm hand of a strange man on her. But right now, with this man, she liked it.

  She burst out laughing. He started laughing too as he continued to try to push the slobbering dog off them. Walter rushed over, grabbed the dog by the collar and hauled him over to the front door, apologizing profusely.

  They stared at each other for a moment. They were both breathing heavily. Sean finally looked at her with an amused grin, “I can’t get up.” Not that he wasn’t enjoying her laying on him. Her bare skin was warm and soft under his hand. But he didn’t want to embarrass her or himself, he thought wryly.

  She blushed when she realized she was still sprawled all over him, hands on his solid chest. She slid off him onto the floor. She heard Walter fussing over them and Sean reassuring them they were both fine. She felt him get up but did not look up.

  As if he sensed her embarrassment, he bent down, put a strong arm around her waist, one hand under her arm, and covered picking her up by saying, “You are okay, right?” Once on her feet, he held a hand lightly on her arm to make sure she was steady before withdrawing.

  She nodded but kept her eyes down. She could feel the goose bumps running up and down her arms. Darn it, she should have pulled her sleeves down. This time, she wrapped her arms around her body. She looked over to see Sean glance at her arms. Great. Could she be any more obvious?

  Walter broke the brief silence. “I’m really sorry about the dog. Buddy loves people and I usually don’t let him in the house with company unless I watch him first because he gets so excited to greet people. I got off the phone with Billy. He’s the garage mechanic and owner. His son will be picking up your car in about 20 minutes. It’s a family business and he’s a good mechanic. They’ll do right by you.”

  Twenty minutes? It would take her that long to walk back there on these tired legs. “Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.” She moved to the front door. Her legs felt like rubber. From weakness or her encounters with Sean, she was not sure anymore.

  Maggie had come back on hearing the commotions and she had a big grin on her face. Did she think it was funny? Or had she seen Sean literally picking her up off the floor?

  Maggie said, “Sean, call me to let me know about her car and what is going on.” This is working out perfectly, she thought.

  Sean followed Taylor out. “Need a lift? I can take you to your car and you can get your stuff before it gets towed.”

  She glanced at him before traversing the steps slowly, holding onto the railing tightly with one hand. She was trying hard to look normal. Sean walked slowly next to her.

  She heard Maggie behind her, “It’s okay, honey. I can vouch for Sean. He’s not a serial murderer or criminal or rapist or anything.”

  She glanced over just in time to see Sean roll his eyes and say sarcastically, “Thanks a lot.”

  Taylor snickered as he was opening the passenger door of the big blue truck. “The thought never crossed my mind. Well, maybe once. But very quickly.”

  He gave her a defeated look and shook his head, “I’m glad we got that settled, then.”

  He watched her stare into the truck and down at the running board. He hadn’t realized what a big step up it was. He said softly, “Sorry. Turn towards me.”

  She turned to face him with a slight frown. “Remember, I’m not a vicious criminal or serial killer or whatever she said.” He smiled as he put his hands on her waist. “Watch your head.” He quickly lifted her up and onto the seat. She swung her legs around and he closed the door. It felt good to be sitting since her legs were so tired.

  After he got in and started to back out of the driveway, she commented “Nice truck.”

  He grinned, “Yeah. I like it.”

  She looked at him curiously, “Where are you from?”

  “What, the accent gave me away?”’ he smiled at her. “I was born in
Australia to an American father and Aussie mom. Dad traveled a lot for his job and mom wanted to stay close to her family so I was born in Australia but I have dual citizenship. I came to the U.S. when I was seventeen.” That was more information than he usually shared with someone. Especially someone he had just met.

  “Your family is here now?”

  “No, still in Australia. I came here on my own.”

  “When you were seventeen?”

  “Yeah. I hate to say it, but I lied about my age to get here.” He quickly added, “But it’s the only crime I have ever committed.” He grinned at her.

  He pulled up to her car. “I can get your stuff so you don’t have to get out, if you’d like.” He had started to feel a little uncomfortable talking about himself. But she was easy to talk to. He didn’t feel like he had to impress her. But he did wonder about the goose bumps she got when he touched her. Was that a normal thing for her? Did she get goose bumps when men touched her? Walter had laid a hand on her arm when they were leaving and he had not seen any.

  She handed him her car keys. “Suitcases are in the trunk and a laptop. My jacket is in the front seat. Thank you.”

  “Sure thing. We can take your keys over to the garage later.” He hopped out of the truck.

  Later? Was he going to stick around or drop her somewhere? He didn’t seem like he would go and leave her alone, but then again, she knew nothing about him. One thing she knew for sure, she was not going to play damsel in distress. But she had a gut feeling he was not going to leave her stranded and alone. Was her gut being honest and hoping he was a good guy?

  She wasn’t sure how she felt about being alone in a strange place and knowing no one. And no means of transportation. That put a damper on independence unless there was public transport available.