staggered down the hall to the kitchen before he caught another glimpse of her blushing face.
As she approached, she began breathing through her mouth, careful not to smell the kitchen. Unfortunately, it didn’t work too well, and her stomach felt queasy from the rancid stench. She opened the picture window over the sink and attempted to open the sliding glass doors without success. Sighing, she mentally added it to the list of items to fix.
But what a beautiful view of the backyard. Small Evergreen bushes surrounded the circular porch comprised of red brick pavers. The porch connected to a long brick walkway trimmed by pink and purple flowers which spanned half the yard. Past that, green grass grew tall and wild, but would be beautiful when cut, and the back of the yard ended at a clear still lake. To the right, apple trees filled with fruit tempted her. Maybe she’d gather up some of the apples and make a pie this week. She wasn’t much of a cook, but this kitchen just begged to be used. At least, it would when it was clean.
Backing away from the view, she reluctantly made her way around the island to the sink and looked down. Holding back the urge to gag, she assessed whether she should attempt to scrub the solidified food off the plates or toss them out. She may as well try to salvage them since they didn’t have enough money to buy new plates. A light breeze blew in the window as she lifted the sink’s handle. She waited, but nothing happened. After a few seconds, a small trickle of water dripped from the faucet.
She twisted it left and right, up and down, then growled in frustration. She didn’t know the first thing about fixing a sink, but didn’t Ryan say he could? No, she wouldn’t give up easily. How hard could it be?
Praying rodents or bugs wouldn’t crawl out, she slowly opened the cabinet below the sink and did a quick sweep of its contents, finding a bottle of blue glass cleaner, some rags, and dishwasher detergent. Everything looked damp and the smell of mildew mixed with the other disgusting smell from the sink. Ryan so owed her for this.
She guessed the sink had a pipe loose and all she needed to do was tighten it. Biting her lip, she tried to think of a way to do it without bothering Ryan for his tools. Maybe she could use her hands?
On her knees, she stuck her head under the basin. She gripped the seal between two pipes, trying to turn it to the right to tighten, but as hard as she tried, it didn’t budge. She tried the other way, and encountered the same problem. Resting back on her haunches, she wiped a wet hand over her forehead to push back her hair. Darn it, she needed a tool of some sort. A wrench perhaps?
She got to her feet and sucked it up to go locate Ryan. Luckily, he hadn’t gone too far. In fact, he hadn’t moved at all. She found him in the foyer with his chest pressed against the door and an arm reaching up high as he twisted something with a tool. His blue T-shirt rode up to reveal the sinewy muscles of his naturally tan lower back. With him unaware of her presence, she took the opportunity to lower her gaze and further inspect him. As she’d noticed previously, the man had one hell of a tight behind. How did a lawyer-in-training get such a ripped body?
She coughed to get his attention. “Ryan?”
He twisted his neck to look over his shoulder and smiled. “Hey, check it out.” He lowered his arm, stepped back from the door, and opened it. “ Voilà . It’s fixed. You can check it off your mental list.”
She placed a hand on her hip. “How did you know I have a mental list?”
“Are you denying it?” His eyebrow rose as he moved closer to her.
She wasn’t sure she liked how well he already knew her. If he could read her that easily, he’d have no problem sensing her attraction to him. And if he discovered that tidbit of information, she’d constantly walk on pointe with a blush on her face, which would only lead to further embarrassment. She’d be caught
As she approached, she began breathing through her mouth, careful not to smell the kitchen. Unfortunately, it didn’t work too well, and her stomach felt queasy from the rancid stench. She opened the picture window over the sink and attempted to open the sliding glass doors without success. Sighing, she mentally added it to the list of items to fix.
But what a beautiful view of the backyard. Small Evergreen bushes surrounded the circular porch comprised of red brick pavers. The porch connected to a long brick walkway trimmed by pink and purple flowers which spanned half the yard. Past that, green grass grew tall and wild, but would be beautiful when cut, and the back of the yard ended at a clear still lake. To the right, apple trees filled with fruit tempted her. Maybe she’d gather up some of the apples and make a pie this week. She wasn’t much of a cook, but this kitchen just begged to be used. At least, it would when it was clean.
Backing away from the view, she reluctantly made her way around the island to the sink and looked down. Holding back the urge to gag, she assessed whether she should attempt to scrub the solidified food off the plates or toss them out. She may as well try to salvage them since they didn’t have enough money to buy new plates. A light breeze blew in the window as she lifted the sink’s handle. She waited, but nothing happened. After a few seconds, a small trickle of water dripped from the faucet.
She twisted it left and right, up and down, then growled in frustration. She didn’t know the first thing about fixing a sink, but didn’t Ryan say he could? No, she wouldn’t give up easily. How hard could it be?
Praying rodents or bugs wouldn’t crawl out, she slowly opened the cabinet below the sink and did a quick sweep of its contents, finding a bottle of blue glass cleaner, some rags, and dishwasher detergent. Everything looked damp and the smell of mildew mixed with the other disgusting smell from the sink. Ryan so owed her for this.
She guessed the sink had a pipe loose and all she needed to do was tighten it. Biting her lip, she tried to think of a way to do it without bothering Ryan for his tools. Maybe she could use her hands?
On her knees, she stuck her head under the basin. She gripped the seal between two pipes, trying to turn it to the right to tighten, but as hard as she tried, it didn’t budge. She tried the other way, and encountered the same problem. Resting back on her haunches, she wiped a wet hand over her forehead to push back her hair. Darn it, she needed a tool of some sort. A wrench perhaps?
She got to her feet and sucked it up to go locate Ryan. Luckily, he hadn’t gone too far. In fact, he hadn’t moved at all. She found him in the foyer with his chest pressed against the door and an arm reaching up high as he twisted something with a tool. His blue T-shirt rode up to reveal the sinewy muscles of his naturally tan lower back. With him unaware of her presence, she took the opportunity to lower her gaze and further inspect him. As she’d noticed previously, the man had one hell of a tight behind. How did a lawyer-in-training get such a ripped body?
She coughed to get his attention. “Ryan?”
He twisted his neck to look over his shoulder and smiled. “Hey, check it out.” He lowered his arm, stepped back from the door, and opened it. “ Voilà . It’s fixed. You can check it off your mental list.”
She placed a hand on her hip. “How did you know I have a mental list?”
“Are you denying it?” His eyebrow rose as he moved closer to her.
She wasn’t sure she liked how well he already knew her. If he could read her that easily, he’d have no problem sensing her attraction to him. And if he discovered that tidbit of information, she’d constantly walk on pointe with a blush on her face, which would only lead to further embarrassment. She’d be caught
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