“I’m keeping the windows open just in case.”
“Where are we going?”
“Back to my place. I have some calamine lotion in the medicine cabinet.” He glanced at her. “If that’s okay.”
She nodded, and when he faced forward, she winced. Hopefully he didn’t see it, because the bee had stung her on thecheek, too, but unfortunately not the one on her face. She shifted on the truck’s bench seat and leaned as much as she could to her left without drawing attention to herself.
When she glanced at Joe’s forearm and saw red welts forming, she knew he was making the right decision by getting some medicine as soon as possible. “You’re not allergic to bees, are you?”
“Fortunately, no. At least, not much. I don’t go into anaphylactic shock, but my skin reacts.” He looked at her. “What about you?”
“No allergies.”
“You’re lucky, then.” He turned into the entrance of one of the two modest suburbs on the outskirts of Maple Falls, then pulled into the second driveway. He shut off the engine.
“I’m going to leave the windows open,” he said. “In case more are hiding out.”
“Good idea.” She looked at Joe’s house in front of her. A beautiful hedge of pink azalea bushes lined a concrete front stoop. The house was sand-colored brick with cream shutters and a brown front door, which matched the brown door of the garage.
Joe got out of the truck, and before she could pull the latch, he’d jogged around and opened the passenger door for her, then held out his hand. She took it, inwardly smiling, appreciating that he was such a gentleman.
He paused, letting go of her hand. “Uh, do you want to come in? Or I can bring the lotion out here.”
She hesitated.This is not a date, remember?
“I’ll come inside.” She followed him down the sidewalk to the front door.
When she crossed the threshold, she was immediately impressed. The house was not only tidy but nicely decorated too.
“I’ll be right back. Make yourself at home.” He gestured to the brown leather couch in the living room.
Sophie winced. “I think I’ll stand.”
He gave her a puzzled glance, then disappeared down the hallway. A few seconds later he came back. “Brand-new bottle,” he said, taking off the cap. He held it out to her. “You first.”
She threaded her fingers together. “I don’t have as many stings as you do. You go ahead.”
“Are you sure?” When she nodded, he dabbed the pink lotion on the swollen bites on his arm. “I need to get some ice on these too,” he said, putting the bottle down on the kitchen counter. “Do you need some?” When she shook her head, he asked, “You got stung in the truck, right?”
Nodding, Sophie felt her cheeks flame, and she frowned. She hated that she blushed so much. “I did.”
“Where?”
“On my backside.”
His lips twitched. “You’re on your own with the lotion, then. The bathroom is down the hall.”
She caught his grin as he turned to the refrigerator and opened the freezer. She couldn’t help but smile as she took the bottle and went to the bathroom, which was just as tidy as the rest of the house she’d seen. It was also neater than her place. Housekeeping was always last on her list of things to do. If they had gone to her place, she would have been even more embarrassed than she was now.
Sophie applied the soothing lotion to her sting, wonderinghow she managed to get stung there in the first place, then walked back into the kitchen. Joe was sitting on a barstool next to the kitchen counter, an ice pack resting on his forearm. She set the lotion on the counter.
He moved to get up. “Do you want something to drink? I’ve got Coke, water, tea—”
“I’m fine.” She moved a little closer to him. “You didn’t put any lotion on the sting on your face.”
He touched it. “Is it bad?”
“Not too bad.” The welt was red, but not as angry and swollen as the ones on his arm.
