Standing taller, Lizette drew his attention back to her.
“I’m sorry I can’t assist you, but I sure hope you can help me fix the issue in the room where you’re supposed to sleep.”
Her request wasn’t exactly rude, but her tone was not pleasant either, which made him pause.
Since he was the one who’d soured the air between them, he offered a weak smile.Raising one hand, he waved in a sweeping gesture.“Ladies first.Let’s see what’s what.”
She swept past him, leaving the scent of almonds, peaches, and something citrusy.The subtle aroma forced him to inhale deeply.He swallowed hard and averted his gaze from her swaying hips.He’d be courting disaster to think about Lizette as anything more than his friends’ baby sister.
Inside the bedroom, she moved to the window and pulled aside the curtain.“There.I shoved it too hard and wrecked the handle.”
He moved in close to examine the damage.When he looked up, Lizette hovered so close, her scent surrounded him.“Don’t worry,” he said, “I’ll need a screwdriver to fix this.”
“Awesome.”Her smile was brilliant, as though he’d given her a valuable gift.
“Don’t go anywhere.”She backed away.“I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Hey, wait.”He ran his fingers on the edge of the wood.“I may need a few more items.”
“So, follow me.”
He went with her to the other side of the house, where she opened a door and flicked the light switch.The small room was lined with tools and machinery of all shapes and sizes.
“There’s a tool pan somewhere around here,” she said, more to herself than him.
“Let me help you look.”
After a couple of minutes, he found it near the back of the room on a low shelf.When he straightened and turned, Lizette stood inches away, but too close for comfort in the compact space.
“Sorry.Let me get out of your way.”She bumped her foot against a portable vacuum on the floor.“I’m never this clumsy.”
“Careful.”He reached out to help her, but changed his mind when she steadied herself.“You okay?”he asked.
“I-I’m fine.”She hurried out of the room faster than she’d entered, leaving him to stare after her.
Chapter 2
“Thisisawkward.”Lizette’ssmile faded and turned into a grimace she hoped wasn’t obvious to the man across the desk.
“Tell me about it.”Shomari wore the same pained expression, which somehow offended her.
She pulled in a lung-filling breath and picked up his résumé off the desk.He was overqualified for the position she was offering, but in that moment, he was giving terrible-twos toddler vibes.
Since yesterday, when he helped her repair the bedroom window, he’d turned into someone else.She noticed the shift when she walked back into the living room and found him glaring at his phone.
Shomari opened the tool pan they brought out from the storage room, wielded a set of screwdrivers like an expert, and relieved her fears of being accused of vandalizing Eli and Zack’s house.If the damage were permanent, they wouldn’t have let her forget it.Her brothers could be merciless when it came to teasing her.
She left him to unpack and moved on to neaten the rest of the house.After she finished tidying up, she checked the refrigerator and the cupboards to see if Shomari had enough food to carry him through the weekend.She decided he’d been fine and left him to settle in, but curiosity kept her thoughts wandering back to him.Her brothers hadn’t mentioned him more than a few times before, so his sudden appearance had her antenna searching for information.
Overnight, Zack emailed and asked her to consider hiring Shomari since she had an opening.Rosie, one of her employees, was off on maternity leave for three months.He’d fit in perfectly, since she’d been toying with adding information technology to their syllabus.Neither of her two brothers had time to help her provide that additional subject.
Wintertime was a daycare facility, but the range of activities and the care provided were the reasons for its waiting list.That combination fueled the expansion she’d set her heart on achieving.
Shomari’s gaze strayed to the cartoon characters on the walls, and a slight smile softened his features.
“You like?”
He nodded and returned his focus to her.“I bet the kids love it, too.It gives Wintertime a distinctive atmosphere.”
