Mai Tai'd Up by Alice Clayton

coming around the corner with the Campbell Veterinary Hospital decal. And before I knew it, I saw Lucas climbing out of the front seat dressed in old jeans and a paint-splattered T-shirt, carrying a bucket of painting supplies.
    I waved at him through the kitchen window, and he approached.
    “What’s going on?” I called through the window screen.
    He held up his bucket. “You told me you needed help painting, so here I am.”
    “But I haven’t even had breakfast yet!”
    “Great!” He set the bucket down in the yard and grinned. “I’m starving!”
    “Oh, for pity’s sake,” I mumbled under my breath, and pointed him toward the front door. As I walked, I saw him following me around the side of the house, each huge window providing me with another glimpse of this dangerously charming guy. I tightened the ties on my robe, and opened the door.
    “Good morning, Rebound,” he grinned, stepping up onto the porch. “Nice,” he complimented, his eyes raking over my nightgown and robe.
    My hand gripped the knob. Door knob. “Well, I was hardly expecting company this morning,” I answered. “And don’t call me that. No one is rebounding anything.”
    “Hmm,” was his reply, then he looked past me into the house. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
    “You’re used to getting your way, aren’t you?”
    “Pretty much,” he replied, letting loose the grin.
    I smiled back in spite of myself and waved him in. “Come on, then; hope you like omelets.”
    “I love them.” He followed me into the house. “Whoa, time warp,” he exclaimed, taking in the retro styling.
    “Oh, yeah, wait till you see the kitchen. It’s where orange Formica went to die.” I laughed, pointing out some of the more kitschy features. “I still can’t believe you came to paint.”
    “We made a deal last night, and I intend to honor my commitments,” he replied, leaning in a bit closer. “Unlike my ex.”
    “Ouch. I winced, a tiny ball of awful bubbling up unexpectedly.
    “I shouldn’t say that. It makes me seem pathetic, doesn’t it?”
    “Pathetic, no, not at all,” I said, tightening my ties a little more. “But maybe it was the best thing? I mean, obviously it was hell, but wasn’t it better to find out before rather than after?” I asked, and not just to Lucas. Justifying to the universe a little?
    “Pretty and practical,” he mused, smiling down at me. “You’re lethal, you know that?”
    My breath caught as I looked up at him through my lashes, peeking at the cute in front of me.
    “You’re blushing,” he murmured, and I turned toward the kitchen, knowing he’d follow.
    “Let me blush while I make breakfast,” I said, keeping my tone light.
    “Challenge accepted,” he said, stepping into the kitchen behind me.
    “No challenge was offered. You can’t accept something that wasn’t offered,” I said, taking a position on one side of the enormous kitchen island. I leaned forward a little, my robe falling open just slightly.
    “Lethal,” he whispered, leaning against the island on the other side, eyes a bit dazed.
    “I’m going back to my onions now, okay?”
    “Do it,” he breathed, and a maniacal giggle escaped my lips.
    Shaking my head, I turned to the stove. “Can you grab the butter from the fridge? Top shelf, on the right.”
    “Got it. Need anything else in here?”
    “The cheddar cheese, actually, bottom drawer.”
    “Cheese doesn’t go in the bottom drawer.”
    “Sure it does.”
    “No, it doesn’t. Vegetables go in the bottom drawer. Cheese goes in this small drawer here, marked Dairy,” he insisted, pointing it out to me. “But you’ve got—good lord, are you hoarding pudding?”
    “You. Get. Outta there.” I laughed, tugging at his arm and moving him away from my stash.
    “Seriously, I’m pretty sure that’s all the chocolate pudding in town. You some kind of doomsdayer?”
    “What?” I asked, grabbing the cheddar cheese and shooing him away from the