“I’m never too busy for you.”
Another drop of sweat slid between his shoulder blades. “I’m kind of an early bird.”
“I’m glad you dropped in. We didn’t really get the chance to talk yesterday.” She frowned down at the toaster. “I’m usually dressed by now, but Kevin tried to toast his Spider-Man action figure while I was in the shower.”
Drew wasn’t sure why it pleased him that she was so flustered. Maybe because he was, too. He turned to throw the wet paper towels away, hoping she wouldn’t notice the state the sight of her had left him in. He tried to attribute his quick arousal to his lack of a social life. But he knew his feelings for Alison went deeper than that. That was one of the things that made seeing her again so hard.
“Can I give you a hand with Spider-Man?” he asked.
She glanced down at the toaster and nodded, smiling. “One search-and-rescue pilot to the rescue.”
They both knew he was no longer a search-and-rescue pilot, but he didn’t bother to correct her. He walked over to her, careful not to get too close, and eased the toaster from her hands. “Looks like Spider-Man’s in big trouble.” He looked into the slot. “I think his arm is melted onto one of the heating elements.”
“I tried to cut it off, but I think there’s a wire in there.”
“Got needle-nose pliers?”
Biting her lip, she started for the counter. “My junk drawer is not up to its usual standard since we just moved, but I vaguely remember seeing a pair of pliers.”
Of their own volition, Drew’s eyes followed her as she crossed to the room and opened a drawer. There was something incredibly sexy about a woman’s bare feet against a tile floor. Especially when those feet were connected to long, long legs and hips that just didn’t quit...
“Here you go.”
Her voice jerked him from his reverie. Shifting his weight from one foot to the other to accommodate his erection, he took the pliers from her and inserted the tip into the toaster slot to extricate the figurine. He tried hard to keep his concentration on the business at hand, but he wasn’t having much success.
“Looks like we might have to bring out the heavy machinery,” she said, moving a little closer as if to get a better look.
Drew glanced up to find her smiling at him and struggled to find a comeback that didn’t have anything to do with velvet flesh or pretty blue eyes.
“You know,” she said. “Jaws of life.”
“There’s an idea.” Not brilliant by any stretch of the imagination, but at least he wasn’t speaking in tongues.
“I told Kevin a dozen times not to put things into the toaster.” She leaned closer to get a better look at the ill-fated Spider-Man. “Maybe if you can grab his leg with the pliers.”
Even though she was standing a foot away, he discerned her fresh-from-the-shower scent. The essence of some fruity shampoo and soap laced with the mysterious scent of woman. It had been a long time since he’d been close enough to a woman to smell those things, and it was doing a real number on his imagination.
Abruptly, the image of what she might look like beneath the spray of the shower flashed hotly in his mind’s eye. He saw the billow of steam. Water cascading down to sluice over velvet skin. Soap sliding over delicate curves and secret places...
The pliers slipped and tumbled from his hand. Cursing beneath his breath, he bent to retrieve them. She must have had the same idea at precisely the same time because she stooped. Their heads thudded just hard enough to jar him back to reality.
A sound escaped her on contact.
“Sorry,” he said.
“My fault.”
Drew looked over at her, reached out to steady her. Her eyes met his and she chuckled. He knew immediately touching her was a mistake. She was kneeling with her face close to his. He didn’t intend to look at her legs, but the robe had ridden up slightly and for several interminable seconds he stared at the long, dangerous stretch of flesh. He wondered what kind of panties she wore. If they were silk or cotton. Or since she was fresh from the shower, maybe she wasn’t wearing any at all.
Another laugh escaped her. “Good thing I have these rollers in.”
It should have been a simple moment between two old friends. Only Drew knew there was nothing simple about this moment, certainly not in terms of their friendship. What he felt for Alison Myers was as complex as any emotion he’d ever felt in his life. And he didn’t have a clue how to deal with it.
Her eyes met his, and for the life of him he couldn’t look away. He reached for the fallen pliers with his free hand and slowly rose. He was acutely aware of her slender arm within his grasp as she rose with him. The feel of her pulse beneath his fingers. The thrum of blood in his veins. The insistent throb in his groin he knew wasn’t going to go away any time soon no matter how much he wanted it to.
Abruptly, he released her. Tearing his gaze from hers, he looked down at the toaster, tried desperately to remember what the hell he’d been doing with it. Relief swept through him when she took a step back.
“I’ve just about got it,” he said, staring blindly into the slot.
An uncomfortable minute passed while he worked.
Alison cleared her throat. “So what brings you here so early in the morning?”
All the lines he’d rehearsed on the drive up from Emerald Cove played like bad jingles in his head. Because he couldn’t think of a thing to say that was even halfway truthful, he settled for, “I thought you might need your toaster looked at.”
She laughed, and the simple sound filled the kitchen like sunshine, breaking the tension. It was a lovely sound that reminded him of happier times. How easy things had once been between them back when she’d belonged to another man, and he’d known exactly where he stood. It was a sound he hadn’t heard in a very long time. A sound he missed, he realized. Even though he knew coming here today was a mistake, at least he understood why he’d done it.
“Well, you’ve got good timing.” Crossing to the coffeemaker, she removed two mugs from the cabinet and poured.
Drew pulled out the badly burned figurine. “I think the toaster will survive,” he said, handing the pliers back to Alison and setting the appliance on the counter. “I’m not too sure about Spider-Man.”
She chuckled. “I’m not sure he’s going to need that arm, anyway.”
“Good thing.”
She shoved a cup of coffee at him, then looked at him expectantly as she sipped her own.
Drew knew she was wondering why he’d shown up at her door at eight o’clock in the morning. The answer tumbled around in his mouth like a pair of sneakers in the dryer, then came pouring out. “I acted like an ass yesterday,” he blurted. “I was rude to you and Kevin, and I came here to apologize.”
“You didn’t—”
“I did.”
“I assumed you were just...busy.”
“I was, but that isn’t all of it.” He looked down into his coffee cup, wishing he could find the right words and tell her the truth, settling instead for a half truth. “I was surprised to see you.” He looked away, struggled with what he wanted to say next. “Seeing you after so many years made me think about Rick.”
She nodded, a sadness he’d never liked seeing entering her expression. “I understand. I should have realized it might be difficult for you.”
Because he didn’t want to get into just how hard the last four years had been, because he could never let her know why he’d had such a difficult