It went easily at first, sliding along so well she looked back, pleased. But just as she did, the cover caught on the stair railing and gave a sudden snap of resistance, throwing her off balance. With a cry, she took a bad step and the next thing she knew, she was falling into the water.
The water was cold, so cold it might have been just one level below ice. It seemed to crash around her like a wave in the ocean, hard and awful, stunning her, knocking her breath away. She tried to cry out again, but her mouth was full of water, and her eyes were full of water, and the cover seemed to be looming up above her, over the water, and she seemed to be closing her eyes.
But only for a second or two. Suddenly, strong hands were gripping her arms and she was shooting back up through the icy water, up into what was left of the sunshine.
She gasped for air, her system in cold shock, hardly realizing that Drey had pulled her up into his arms and was striding quickly into the house, with water spilling off her in every direction.
“Oh,” she gasped. “Oh, that was so cold!”
“Hang on,” he said as he carried her up the stairs. “We’ll get you warm again.”
The next thing she knew, she was in her spacious bathroom and he was turning on the water for the shower in the bathtub. She wanted to ask what he was doing, but her teeth were chattering so hard she couldn’t get the words out. Her clothes hung on her like sodden armor, heavy and cold. Drey turned from the bathtub and began to remove them.
“No!” she cried, or tried to, but he didn’t listen.
“Don’t be stupid,” he said bluntly, taking a grip on her sweater and beginning to tug it up over her head the way he might have done with a child. “You’ve got to get warm and you’ve got to do it now.”
She knew he was right, and in the state she was in at the moment, she wasn’t sure she was capable of taking care of this on her own. So she bit back her protests and closed her eyes.
He stripped her quickly, dropping the wet clothes to the floor, and turned to test the water coming out of the shower nozzle, then led her into the enclosure, helping her over the side of the tub.
“Stand under the water until you get enough in the tub to sit in,” he ordered her. “Then sit. You’ve got to soak warmth back into your body.”
The warm water stung at first. She gasped again, turning under it, hardly feeling modest about the fact that she was standing there naked in front of this stranger. The cold was more important than her dignity right now. Besides, there was nothing in his eyes that even hinted at a sensual response of any kind. He was as grim faced as a medical worker at the scene of the accident, no emotion in sight. As that realization hit her, she wasn’t sure if she was grateful or insulted. As he turned to leave the room, she looked after him.
“Where are you going?” she asked, almost anxious. After all, he’d saved her, hadn’t he?
“Who’s your doctor?” he asked, turning at the doorway. “I’ll call him.”
“No,” she said quickly. “No, don’t call a doctor. I’m fine. Really.”
And she was beginning to feel like herself again, enough so that she pulled the glass door of the shower almost closed as a shield to hide behind. For the first time, she looked at him and really saw him.
“You’re soaking wet,” she cried, looking at his dripping clothes. “Did you actually jump in after me?”
He shook his head and gave her a faint lopsided grin. “No, you really hadn’t gone that far under. I reached down and pulled you up out of the water from the side.”
“But you’re so wet.”
He looked down and confirmed her diagnosis. “That was all water you brought up with you,” he said cheerfully. “I guess I ought to get into some dry clothes, though. Could I borrow something of your husband’s?”
“My husband’s?” She gazed at him blankly.
“Your husband’s. I thought you had one of those.”
“Oh. Of course I do.” She laughed shortly. “Yes, just go down the hall to the bedroom on your right, next to the baby’s room. There’s a closet in there that should be full of stuff.”
He disappeared and she shivered, getting back under the spray, letting the delightful warmth spread throughout her body. And then she choked back a surge of hysteria. Good grief! She’d fallen into the pool and this incredibly handsome man had pulled her out and stripped her naked! Nothing quite this exciting had ever happened to her before and she was acting as though it were routine. And now he was going to be dressing in her husband’s clothes. Her husband. What a laugh. It had been a while since she’d actually had one. But that was something no one else was to know about.
Craig had made a wonderful husband, at least in theory. Tall, handsome, distinguished looking, with credentials from the finest schools and most exclusive business firms, everyone had said they made a perfect couple when they got married.
Everyone, of course, didn’t know what went on behind closed doors, which wasn’t much as it turned out. But they had gotten along just fine for a few years. They were still good friends.
Though they had had their marriage annulled over a year ago, they hadn’t told anyone. No one knew. Craig had agreed to that when Sara had asked for the favor. He knew her well enough to know how hard it would be for her to admit defeat to the world. And it meant nothing to him, really. Sometimes it was convenient to have a wife hanging around in the background.
He was in China on business at the moment, but he’d agreed to come home for the baby shower, to stand around and be her husband one more time, and she was grateful to him for that. This baby shower was going to be her showcase, her way of presenting herself and her life to all her old friends. She wanted everything to be just right, and that meant she really had to have a husband. Otherwise, it just wouldn’t feel right.
Life had been too muddled lately. She needed a return to clarity. Having Craig here when she celebrated adopting the baby would help do that. Things would be back to normal. Almost.
Drey found the room and the closet, but the clothes weren’t his style. He hesitated, then chose a polo shirt that was a size too small. His jeans were damp, but they would have to do. He couldn’t see himself in the plaid slacks he found hanging among Sara’s husband’s things.
Walking out into the hallway, he listened. The water was still running. He turned toward the stairs and made his way down, searching until he found the den. Pulling out drawers in the desk, he uncovered an address book and quickly paged through it, calling the first doctor’s name he could find there.
“Tell the doctor it’s Sara Parker,” he told the nurse who answered. “She’s fallen into icy water and I think a doctor should take a look to make sure she’s okay.”
“Sara Parker?” The nurse sounded concerned. “Is this Mr. Parker?”
Drey caught back a smile. “No, it’s not,” he said, leaving the rest to the woman’s imagination.
“I’m sure Dr. Bracken will want to stop by on his way home. Mrs. Parker is a close friend. He’s leaving shortly and since he lives just a block away from Mrs. Parker…”
So that was settled. Drey hung up the telephone and sat for a moment, staring at the glass-enclosed bookshelves. Nice work. Everything in this house was firstclass.
Even, he thought with a sudden grin, the woman.
She’d looked good in the pink cashmere suit and she’d looked even better without it. For a split second he allowed himself to think of her chilled skin, her long, molded legs, her round breasts, their nipples pulled into tight, dark buttons that made him…
No, he wasn’t going to