“Go inside and close the door.”
She swallowed. Was he telling her to go inside and close the door because he wouldn’t accept her apology and was leaving?
Obviously, he saw confusion on her face, so he asked, “You want to start over, right?”
She swallowed again. “Yes.”
“Then go inside and close the door.”
Finally understanding what he was saying, she nodded, turned, and went back inside, closing the door behind her.
Wade watched her, then, instead of taking the steps two at a time as before, he slowly walked up them, thinking that if he had a lick of sense, he would get into his truck and drive off. He had a feeling this woman was trouble. Did she have any idea just how good she looked in that sundress? When she had stepped out on the porch, he thought she had the most gorgeous pair of legs he had ever seen.
He was a rodeo cowboy. Women threw themselves at him all the time, and there were times when he outright flirted with them. But there was something about this sassy woman that threw him. It was as if she had the word danger emblazoned on her forehead. But then, he’d never refused a challenge. She had a fiery temper, and he could just imagine what all that passion could bring to the bedroom.
Wade knocked when he reached the door, and she quickly opened it. And she was smiling. Damn. Those dimples made her even more beautiful. He tipped his Stetson. “Howdy, ma’am. I’m Wade Harrison, and Mr. Filmore said you were having problems with your internet.”
“Yes, I am, Mr. Harrison. Thanks for dropping by to help.”
He returned her smile. “Mr. Harrison was my daddy. Please call me Wade.”
She nodded. “And I’m Dani. Short for Danielle.” She then stepped aside. “Please come in, Wade.”
A short while later, when Wade had come back into the living room, Dani asked, “So, what do you think is wrong?” He seemed to know his way around the place and recalled him saying he’d been a childhood friend of Richard’s, which meant he’d probably been here several times. Heck, he even called him “Rich,” and Richard had once told her that only his close friends did so.
He had gone from room to room, checked several outlets, and even inspected the breaker box. He spent the longest amount of time in the office where she’d been working. Not wanting him to think she didn’t trust him inside the house, she had taken a seat on the sofa in the living room and flipped through several of Libby’s fashion and etiquette magazines. You could take a stylish and chic woman out of New York, but you couldn’t completely take New York out of the woman.
“I got some good news, and I got some bad news. Which do you want to hear first?” he asked her.
“Tell me the bad news first.”
“Okay,” he said, sliding into the chair across from the sofa. She tried not to notice how well his jeans molded to a pair of taut thighs. Or the sexy cleft in his chin. She hadn’t noticed it earlier, but with him sitting so close, she was definitely noticing it now.
“The bad news is that the issue has nothing to do with the tower. Mr. Filmore and I figured as much when you said the internet here was down, because Mr. Filmore’s internet service is up and running. That means it’s a connection problem here. I have pinpointed where it is, but unfortunately, it’s an electrical issue that I can’t fix.”
He paused for a moment, letting the news sink in. “I contacted the closest electrical company and asked to have you put on their schedule. Unfortunately, a tornado hit Canton last week, and every electrical truck in the area is there, trying to help restore power. It might be weeks before they get back here.”
“Oh, no,” she said, tossing her head back to stare up at the ceiling. An image of Mason’s gloating face filled her mind. After a few minutes, she looked back at Wade, who was staring at her. Clearing her throat, she asked. “So, what’s the good news?”
“Chances are Jerry will be back next week, and he can take care of it then. Mr. Filmore said you were working from home while you’re here.”
“Yes, that’s right. I have a very important project that I need to complete by this Friday,” she said.
“Then I think I have a solution.”
“What?”
“I have full internet service at my ranch, which is just a few minutes from here. While I’m home on leave, I need to catch up with a lot of ranch chores, and my office is available.”
He was inviting her to use his office at his house? “I can’t do that.”
“Sure, you can. Like I said, I won’t be there to get in your way. How many hours do you think you’d need each day?”
“Since I didn’t get anything done today, that means I’m a day behind. If I split the day up, I probably can finish on Friday by working four to five hours a day. Probably, six on Friday. But, I can’t take over your home like that.”
“You won’t be taking over my home. You will be using my office. It’s no big deal.”
Although she didn’t see a ring on his finger, she decided to be safe rather than sorry. “What will your wife say?”
