He wondered how long had she been standing by the window watching him? How much of him had she seen? He would be the last person to admit to being an exhibitionist, and would never have considered a skinny-dip if he’d known someone was next door—especially if that someone was her.
When he finished off the beer, he sat the empty bottle on the counter, wondering if he was being unreasonable for still holding a grudge after all this time. She had been sixteen, and teenagers had a tendency to act silly and do stupid things. Hell, at that age he could remember all the trouble he and his five god-brothers used to get into. They would spend at least a week together every year while growing up, and would get into and do all sorts of crazy stuff.
He then thought about Ms. Mable and all the kindness she had bestowed upon him as a kid, and even through his adulthood. Although he hadn’t made it to the funeral, he had sent a floral arrangement. But he hadn’t spoken to anyone in the family.
The decent thing to do would be to go over there and offer his condolences in person. That was the least he could do. Nothing less. Nothing more. In addition to that, the gentlemanly thing to do would be to apologize for going swimming in the nude.
And with that decision made, he moved up the stairs to get dressed.
Ellie paced her bedroom, feeling the heat of embarrassment enflame her body with every step she took. Why did she have to share her most humiliating moments with Uriel Lassiter? First it had been the kiss, and now this. He had actually caught her spying on him while skinny-dipping. She didn’t want to think what he probably thought of her for doing such a thing. This was a great way to renew their acquaintance after ten years.
Realizing that wearing out the floor wasn’t getting her anywhere, she decided to sit in a chair—the same one she had sat in earlier, before getting into so much trouble. At least now she had pulled the drapes, so if he decided to go streaking across his back porch he would be doing so without having her as a captive audience.
She wished she could place the blame squarely at his feet without feeling guilty. After all, no one told him to parade around without any clothes on. She was a woman. Of course she was going to look. Come on now, get real.
The only thing real about it was how good he had looked. Even from a distance she had appreciated every inch of him that she saw; every body part, individually and collectively. She sighed deeply. When had she developed an interest in male body parts? Probably after seeing such outstanding workmanship on him earlier today.
Her cell phone rang and she didn’t have to wonder who it was. No doubt Darcy was calling to see what was going on after she’d all but hung up on her earlier. But given the choice between checking out a naked man and talking on the phone to Darcy, the naked man would win hands down.
She reached for her cell phone. “Yes?”
“Girl, you were wrong for doing what you did. The only reason I’ll forgive you is if you say you hung up because you decided to get naked and go join Uriel for a swim.”
Ellie rolled her eyes. “You’ve been reading way too many of those romance novels, Darcy.”
“I haven’t been reading enough. That’s how it goes when you don’t have a love life. It’s me, a good book and Bruce when I need him. It’s safer that way.”
Ellie couldn’t help but smile. Bruce was the name Darcy had given her little toy. Her friend was simply scandalous. “You have no reason not to get out and start dating again.”
“I do, too. I’m not ready. And until I am, Bruce will have to do. Now, enough about me, what about you and Uriel?”
Ellie frowned. “You’re saying it like we’re a couple.”
“You could be. You’ve always had a crush on him, you know. Some things you were able to outgrow, but I don’t think Uriel Lassiter was one of them.”
“I did outgrow him.”
“I don’t think you did, but I won’t argue with you about it. Just tell me how he looks now, and I’ll settle for above the waist, since you’re determined not to tell be about anything down south.”
Settling comfortably in the chair, Ellie closed her eyes and envisioned the much older Uriel. “Oh, Darcy,” she said, not realizing how much in awe she sounded. “He was always handsome. But now that I’m older, I see more things than just his eyes that used to make me drool. He has a cute nose and a nice set of lips.” Lips she once kissed. “I never realized until today how perfectly they’re shaped.”
“And you saw all of that from your aunt’s bedroom window?”
“Pretty much—especially when he looked up and saw me.”
“What! Are you saying he caught you watching him?”
Ellie opened her eyes, feeling her cheeks heat up all over again. “Yes, he caught me, so I can only imagine what he’s thinking about now. I acted no better today than I did that day ten years ago.”
“He was probably flattered that you were watching. Men like women who show an interest in their bodies. Besides, like I said earlier, he probably doesn’t even remember what happened then. Men typically don’t hold grudges.”
Ellie wasn’t all that convinced. “I hurt his pride. I could see it that day in his eyes. Men don’t typically forget something like that. I should have apologized about it. I never did.”
“What you should do is let it go and hope he has, too.”
Darcy’s last words were still ringing in Ellie’s ears a full hour later, after she had left the comfort of her bedroom to come downstairs. She planned to go to bed early, to get a good night sleep so she could be well rested in the morning.
Her mom had offered to postpone her vacation to come and help her pack up Aunt Mable’s things, but it was something she wanted to do by herself, no matter how long it took. There were a lot of fond memories in this house, and there was no rush. She had an entire month, and if she needed more time she would take it. Her aunt’s attorney, Daniel Altman, would be dropping by on Thursday evening to give her a listing of all the bank accounts her aunt had transferred to her name. When she had spoken with him on the phone last week, he’d given her the impression there were several of them.
She found that odd, since her aunt’s only source of income that she knew about was the monthly pension check from working forty years as an English professor at the Smoky Mountains Community College.
It had just started to turn dark, and Ellie went through the house, turning on the lights. With the approach of night, she suddenly realized that she had never been here in this house alone. All the times she’d visited, her aunt had been present. She hadn’t realized just how quiet things were at night.
Ellie had checked all the doors and was about to go upstairs and settle in for the night, when she heard a knock at the front door. The hard rap against the wood startled her, and automatically her hand flew across her chest at the same time she took a deep breath. The only person she could imagine at her door was Uriel.
The thought of coming face-to-face with him again after all this time gave her pause. Was he coming to have words with her for staring at him through the window? A part of her doubted it, reasoning that if that was the case, he would have done so sooner.
She moved toward the door, inhaling and exhaling deeply. She hadn’t expected company, but she figured she looked decent. She had changed her outfit earlier, putting on another shorts set, and a pair of flats were on her feet.
She took a look through the peephole to make certain it was him, but even after verifying that fact, she asked anyway. “Who is it?”
“Uriel Lassiter.”
Glancing down again, reassuring herself that she looked okay, and trying to keep her fingers from trembling, she slipped the chain off the door and slowly opened