Page 6 of Just My Luck

Inch by slow inch, on hands and knees, he backed himself out of the cabinet. Although she tried to avoid full-body contact with him, she couldn’t do so without releasing the pipe. So she just went with it. Whatever. They were both fully clothed, not reenacting some porno involving a plumber come to fix the pipes.

When he was fully out of the cabinet, he collapsed onto his back on the kitchen floor. He stretched his body long. “Not sure I can stand up yet,” he muttered. “I think my muscles might have atrophied.”

“How long were you in there?” Zara turned off the water valve. The drainpipe would have to be replaced and she didn’t want anyone using the faucet until that happened.

“Felt like months.”

Pulling back, she took a closer look at the man she’d just rescued. Despite the official resort uniform, she didn’t recognize him. He was quite attractive, dark-haired, sort of intense and serious. Dark scruff covered his jaw. In a stunning contrast to his lightly bronzed skin, his eyes were a dreamy deep blue-green color. He had a part-Asian look to him, which was common enough here in Hawaii.

“I still want to hear that story, but I have to get to work. You probably do too, unless you get fired for this little misadventure in trespassing.”

He lifted his head off the floor. “Which won’t happen if you don’t tell anyone.”

“Which I won’t, as long as you don’t tell anyone.” She shot a glance at her brother and sister, who were still watching the entire drama as if it was filmed entertainment. At least they weren’t on Mia’s phone. “These two are going to hang out here until lunchtime.”

“Oh really?” He seemed to get the picture pretty quickly. His green eyes sharpened. “Isn’t this hale booked?”

“It is not.”

“What about the cleaning staff?”

“Don’t you worry about that, Jimbo.” How had they switched to her getting grilled instead of him? “Can you stand? I don’t want to leave until you can walk out of here.”

He tried on his own, then gave up, his head hitting the tiled floor with a soft thud. With a groan, he said, “I just need a minute. Go on, I don’t want to hold you up.”

“Sorry, there’s no world in which I leave you here with the kids.” She got to her feet and stuck out her hand. “I’ll help you up.”

“I’m not going to hurt your kids.” Irritation roughened his voice.

“We’re not her kids,” Mia said quickly. “She’s our sister. Older sister. Much, much older. Crone territory, really.”

Zara gave Mia the death glare she deserved, which got her an eye roll in return. “Aren’t they just the cutest?” she cooed.

Mia stuck out her tongue. She was, actually, the cutest, in Zara’s biased opinion. They all shared a family resemblance—ungovernable wavy brown hair and a penchant for going barefoot—but Mia also had those dimples. If only she didn’t insist on wearing nothing but black. Then again, she was in mourning for her dead social life, according to her, so Zara supposed it made sense.

“Enough about us, you don’t need to know our business.” She raised her eyebrow at Mia to reinforce the point. “Come on, one more try.” Bracing herself, she clasped Jim’s hand in hers. A little electric thrill traveled from his skin to hers.

Okay, she really had to have a talk with her physical side.

Before she could even try to pull Jim to his feet, Eddie let out a yelp. “I see a mouse!” he yelled. He raced across the kitchen, stepping on Jim’s belly in the process, as if he was nothing more than a rug.

Jim released her hand and clutched at his stomach with a groan.

“Eddie, don’t you dare go after that mouse! Come back here and apologize to this poor man you just trampled. Eddie!” Her seven-year-old brother loved all creatures great and small, and never seemed to understand that they could carry diseases.

The prospect of a mouse being present galvanized Jim into action. He rolled onto his side and pushed himself onto his hands and knees, then upright, onto his feet. There he stood, swaying, while Zara lunged after Eddie. She caught him around the waist just before he disappeared into the cabinet under the sink.

With her foot, she slammed its door shut.

“No one else is going under there, understood?” She carried Eddie over to Mia and plopped him next to her. “You two. Into the living room. I have to fix this pipe real quick before I go to work. You.” She pointed at Jim, who was rubbing his forehead with the heel of his hand. “Stand guard while I take care of this. It’s just a quick fix, but if I don’t do it, I’ll have to call maintenance and then I’ll have to find somewhere else for the kids today. I don’t have time for that.”

She noticed that he was looking at her oddly.

“What?”

“You’re going to fix the pipe? Are you a plumber?”

“No. I mean, I could have been, but I never finished the course.” Which could apply to a number of potential career paths she’d considered. “But I can fix that pipe, at least temporarily. I’ll have to come back with a pipe-cutter for a real repair, but I’ll do that after work.”