She knew why. She wanted them to be social equals. Friends, if you could be friends with someone else’s husband. She didn’t want to constantly remind him that she was a renter, or even worse, that she wasn’t the one signing the rent checks, her ex was. It was all so embarrassing.
Still, she couldn’t risk endangering Leo, so she shot Daniel a cheery text about the tree limb.
In the front of the house, the small patch of grass that passed for the front yard was covered in a carpet of twigs and fresh green leaves, blown down by the wind. She focused on raking a pile of fallen twigs and leaves.It was hard work. Everything was wet and clung to the tines of her rake.
She was so absorbed in her task that she didn’t see the car pull up in front of her house, nor did she see Daniel get out and pull a trash can from the trunk of his SUV.
It wasn’t until he was rolling the can up her walkway that she looked up, startled, and took in what was happening. He truly was her Schneider. He had come back. Tori was so touched, she felt tears spring to her eyes. “You bought that for me?”
“No big deal.” Daniel shrugged off her gratitude. “I was at Home Depot. I noticed on trash day you still had the cracked one.”
“I didn’t get around to replacing it.” She knew that the combination of her bright smile and wet eyes must look odd. He was going to think she was nuts. She couldn’t think of a more thoughtful gift she’d received any time in her life. She pictured him at Home Depot, walking through the wide aisles as he stopped and thought of her. She existed in his mind. The thought was like a drug to her.
He frowned. “You okay?”
“Sure, I think it’s the pollen.”
“In May?”
“I’m just overwhelmed with the storm cleanup. A branch landed on my roof. Did you see my text?”
He shook his head no. “Show me.”
She took him into the back, where he assessed the situation and told her to sit tight. Less than fifteenminutes later, he had returned and was propping a metal extension ladder against the back of her house and climbing it.
She wasn’t going to deny that the view was good. Seeing a strong, sexy man mount a ladder without hesitation. This was what Leo needed—a strong man to emulate, not a narcissist, like her ex, who only thought about himself.
“Move out of the way!” The command came from the roof, and Tori scurried to the far end of the property. Daniel heaved the limb, which went flying like a missile onto the concrete, splintering into pieces.
Tori clapped her hands together like a little girl who just saw a magician make a beautiful woman disappear. “Yay! Thank you so much!”
Once he had climbed down, he examined the wreckage strewn across the patio. “Now we have to get rid of this thing.”
For the next half an hour, she served as his helper as he sawed the large branch into smaller bits, which she carried out to the lawn-and-leaf bin.
It was dark by the time they finished. It was getting dark later these days. Just like the tulips pushing out of the ground, she felt something within her awaken and push forth. Then she caught herself. This was a married man, a father. Surely he would head for home now, to his wife, his children, his dog.
Was it so wrong that she wanted him to stay, even for just a little while longer?
“I should have moved into an apartment when I gotdivorced,” Tori said, twisting a lock of hair around one finger. She didn’t need to tell him that her ex had picked this place out, had rented it in his name, and was paying for it. He knew. “I thought by moving into a brand-new house that I wouldn’t run into any problems, but I feel like there’s a new problem every week. And I literally don’t know what to do. It’s just me and sometimes it’s so overwhelming. Sorry, I’m rambling. I’m just out of sorts when my kid isn’t here. And I’m all by myself.”
“What kind of things are going wrong in the house?” he asked. “Jo thinks of everything. This was her pet project.”
Tori winced at the mention of Jo. Jo, who was out the door each day at the crack of dawn in some color-coordinated athleisure wear, off to some class to sweat away that one extra pound. Jo, who didn’t lift a finger all day as workers tramped in and out of the house, cleaning her toilets, trimming the hedges, even washing that damn dog in a mobile grooming van. “Where to start?” Tori asked brightly. “My folding door that hides the washer-dryer is off the track. I’ve tried getting it back on the track, but it’s really heavy.”
He held up a palm. “Say no more. Let me take a look at it.”
“Really? I mean, it’s Saturday evening, I’m sure you have better things to do.”
“Believe it or not, I don’t. I’m on my own this weekend. I’d just be at home watching the Nats, drinking a beer.”
“Well, if you don’t mind.”
Once inside, she watched as he stretched his arms to wipe the sweat from his face and his T-shirt rode up, revealing a treasure trail of hair leading down to the waistband of his jeans. A lump formed in her throat. Funny how her taste in men had changed over the years. She used to like them pretty, like her ex, with his long eyelashes and full lips. Now that she was a mom, she found herself drawn to more masculine guys. She led him into the laundry room and watched as he fixed the door in less than five minutes.
“Easy,” he said, opening and closing the doors.
“You deserve a beer for all your hard work,” she said. “I also have some leftover grilled chicken salad. Homemade.” She didn’t mention that Autumn had made it, that she herself had never grilled a chicken in her life.
