THESOUNDOFthunder preceded the rapid beating of rain against the back screen door. Tamara’s head jerked up and she dropped the bag of break-and-bake cookies in her hand on the counter. Her breath caught in her throat as she ran to the back door.
Andre was still up on that ladder. She’d known the thunderstorm was going to come quickly. She should have insisted he stop working immediately. She had homeowner’s insurance. She could get the house fixed if water damage happened because of the messed-up siding. Why had she let him go back up there? What if he was struck by lightning? She’d never forgive herself.
Images of Andre on the ground sizzling with steam rising off his limp body as he lay unmoving on the wet grass in her backyard flashed through her mind. His mom was going to kill her. Her son was finally back in town only to be injured helping Tamara be a responsible homeowner.
She burst through the back door. Rain pelted her. She was soaked through in two breaths. On the third breath she ran into an immovable wall. A hard, warm immovable wall that reached out and wrapped strong arms around her waist.
Her head fell back, and she looked up into Andre’s hazel eyes. Water streamed down his face and poured off his chin. Her hands pressed into his chest, where his T-shirt was plastered to the muscles. She tried to breathe. Sucked in air that smelled of the storm mixed with his intoxicating cologne.
“What are you doing?” His voice boomed like thunder.
“Making sure you were okay,” she called back.
His arm around her waist pulled her tighter against him. “I’m okay.”
Her heart pounded like the rain against her ribs. He was definitely okay. He was hard, hot and whole in her arms. She was surprised the rain didn’t sizzle when it hit his skin.
“Yeah... I see that.”
His gaze dropped from her eyes to her lips. His fingers flexed against her side. The pounding of her pulse increased. All she had to do was lift up on her toes and bring her lips to his. Would he push her away?
A flickering of lightning illuminated the dark sky and a clap of thunder made the house shake almost instantaneously. Tamara started and Andre jerked back.
“Let’s get inside,” he yelled.
Tamara jumped out of his arms and hurried to the back door. Her cheeks flamed. She was such a dummy. Her overreactive imagination was having a field day. Making her think he would have stayed on the ladder during a thunderstorm instead of getting down immediately. The man was a professional contractor. He would know the dangers of working in the rain.
“Do you need a towel?” she asked after they were back in her kitchen.
Water dripped from both of them, leaving small puddles on the floor.
“I should go.”
She shook her head. “No, at least let me get you a towel to dry off first before you go home. You got soaked doing me a favor.”
She hurried out of the kitchen without meeting his eyes. Once in the hall, she let out a long breath. The rain, his hard body, her roller-coaster feelings for him had all combined and she’d had a second in the rain where she’d thought about going with the moment, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him senseless. Worse, now she wanted to know how he kissed.
She couldn’t kiss him. Andre was one of those hard-to-read guys. He thought she was a Goody Two-shoes, regardless of the apology. They hadn’t seen each other in over a decade and she knew nothing about him. Not to mention she was overseeing his project and the conflict of interest that would cause. On top of all that, she’d just broken up with Thomas because she’d claimed she wanted space. Thomas, the guy her parents loved and wanted her to marry. Their breakup was so new, her parents still hoped for a reconciliation.
She’d told Thomas she needed time to figure out what she wanted. She knew what she wanted. Passion, excitement, a spark. All of the things she’d felt in a quick instant in the rain with Andre. She didn’t want to jump into...well, she didn’t know what with Andre. Kissing him didn’t mean it would turn into a relationship. People could change in adulthood, but the Andre she’d once known was not the relationship type of guy.
She grabbed a few towels out of the downstairs laundry room and hurried back to the kitchen. He stood in the same spot she’d left him, a puddle of water beneath his feet.
“Here.” She tossed him a towel. “Do you need anything else?”
He caught the towel with one hand and wiped it over his face. “Nah, this is good. I’ll get the water off the floor.”
She pulled off the cute scarf she’d opted for versus a bonnet and dried her wet hair with the towel. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got a mop in the mudroom. I’ll handle it. Hey, thanks again. You really didn’t have to come and fix the siding.”
“If you tell me that one more time, I’m going to go out and rip it back off.” He softened the words with a lift of his lips. He raised his arms to run the towel over the back of his head. The wet T-shirt slid up, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of bronze skin and rippled muscles.
Tamara cleared her throat and jerked her eyes up. “I’m just trying to say thanks. I appreciate what you did. How much is left to go?”
He wrapped the towel around his neck and held on to the ends. “Nothing. I got it all done.”
“Already? That was quick.”
“I told you it wouldn’t take long. You doubted me?”
