Page 18 of Searching for Love

“What did you do? Fall into a well?” Avery asked with a chuckle.

“If I had, I don’t think I would have gotten as wet. A pipe in the basement decided to bust in two.” He rolled his eyes. “Parker and his crew are replacing it and a bunch of other ones right now.”

She ran her eyes up and down him, and he suddenly realized the white shirt he was wearing was sticking to his skin. He quickly pulled it away from his chest. “I’m going to head upstairs and change into dry clothes.” He started walking towards the stairs. His shoes squeaked with each step he took, causing Avery to laugh.

“You might need dry shoes while you’re at it,” she called after him.

He nodded and caught himself from slipping on the wet floor from the water he’d just dripped all over the place. He grabbed a hand towel and tossed it on the floor.

“I’ll mop that up. Go on up and change.” Avery rushed over to him with a mop in hand.

She didn’t see his wet footprints on the floor and started slipping as she let out a soft cry of distress.

He was by her side quickly, wrapping his arms around her to keep her from falling to the floor and hurting herself.

Her body pressed tight against his chest. Her hands were trapped between them, still holding the mop tightly.

“Are you okay?” he asked her, not chancing releasing her in case she didn’t have her footing yet.

“Yes.” She chuckled. “Now I’m soaked too.” She glanced down between them.

Seeing that he was indeed getting her shirt wet, he released her and almost ended up on the floor himself.

“Okay, we need a wet floor sign,” he mumbled. “Maybe a runner down this hallway where the tile starts.”

“I’ll add it to my growing list.” She held onto the wall and moved slowly as she mopped the floor.

“Sorry,” he added. “About getting you wet.”

She shrugged. “I wore my work shirt today. I had plans to clear up the outside patio area since it’s nice out.”

“Great idea. I’ll be right out to help you. After I change.” He disappeared upstairs.

When he finally made it outside, she had two trash bags full already. The alley, or patio area as she was currently calling it, had many years’ worth of debris lying around.

It took them almost two hours to clear the space of all the trash that had blown into the alleyway.

While he used a shovel to scoop up the excess dirt and sand from what appeared to be large pavers on the ground, Avery swept the door stoop and pathway areas clear.

By lunchtime, the entire patio was ready to be decorated.

“This turned out better than I thought it would,” he admitted. “I think there’s enough room for at least eight small tables out here if we stick to two seats at each.”

“How about six two-seaters and one that seats four?” she suggested. “Plus a row of planters here,” She motioned. “To put a small separation between the street and the diners.”

“With string lights going between the buildings.” He glanced up. “Oh, I have a balcony.” He frowned up at the rod iron thing hanging off his living room window. He hadn’t noticed it before.

She moved over beside him and glanced up. “You haven’t noticed that before now?”

He shook his head. “I’ve been too preoccupied with the downstairs to notice. There’s a whole other room I haven’t even looked in yet. I had planned to use it as a storage area.”

“How could you not explore every inch after you got the keys?” she asked in an excited tone as she continued looking at the building.

Her arm brushed up against him, sending an instant wave of awareness and heat through him. He could smell the soft floral scent she wore as the summer breeze floated over them.

His mind turned towards her, consumed by everything she was. If he had the keys to unlock the mysteries that she held, he would take his time learning every inch of her.

Just then Parker opened the door. “There you are,” Parker said. “Oh, hey, Avery.”