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I headed to the other cottage and opened the door. I assumed I would need to give Dereck my spare key later. I would give him a call. I glanced around, I had done a good job with this place and hoped the Doctor Blake liked it. Maybe I would come around with some chocolates and say hi, later.
I walked through the cottage to the rear. I loved these big old timber doors, but the lock was old and rusted. I got to work on removing the lock which came out way too easily. It definitely needed replacing and would have been too easy for someone to break in. My drill powered away until I had made a hole big enough for the replacement. I put the drill down. Damn it, there was water running somewhere. It didn’t sound like a trickle either.
Shit. That was all I needed. A new tenant and a water leak. Or worse, the whole place flooded after all my hard work. If I didn’t find the darn thing now, the place could be wreaked by the time she moved in. My cell phone pinged. I didn’t have time to check it now. I had a leak to fix and had better do it faster than a cut snake.
I opened the cupboard doors, but the kitchen sink seemed okay so that only left the bathroom. As I walked down the hallway, someone screamed. What the hell? There was someone in the house and from the sound of that scream, they were in trouble.
FIVE
Autumn
I never screamed at anything. Well, spiders, but everyone did that.
Where the hell did this guy come from?
That face. I knew that face. Oh hell. It was one of Doctor Wilson’s patients from yesterday. The guy, Ryan, who had requested a sexual health checkup. Dear God, I was mortified. Here I was, naked in the bath with only a shower curtain giving me any modesty as it clung to me like a second skin. I would rather have been on my own and struggled for an hour to get out than face this. They said pride came before a fall—mine was coming after.
“What are you doing here? I’m naked. Get out. Get out,” I shrieked.
“It’s obvious to anyone with half a brain you need help. Plus, you saw me naked yesterday, so I say we’re quits,” he said as he stood next to the bath.
“Don’t look at me,” I yelled.
He immediately closed his eyes but still offered his hand to help me out of the bath while he laughed.
Could this be any more embarrassing?
He shook his head. “Seriously, Doctor Blake. I think I’m going to feel more of you with this braille technique I’m using than if I open my eyes and help.”
“Okay, you can open them, but be quick.” I wanted to curl up and hide in a corner. “It’s not the same anyway. I saw you in a medical capacity. I’m naked in my bathtub,” I said as I clutched the flimsy see-through shower curtain. It did nothing to help hide my modesty. It might be covered in butterflies but was essentially see-through.
He turned off the water, grabbed a towel from the rack, and covered me. For that one action, I would forgive him almost anything.
I still was not happy he was here though.
Since the divorce, I had not let anyone see me without my clothes on. Heck, I did not even like looking at myself in the mirror.
Damn it, but I needed him at this moment. Ryan pulled the shower curtain away as I grabbed the towel. “You’re taking it off me,” I squealed.
“I’m doing the best I can. You did a good job wrapping yourself up like a Christmas present. All you need is some tinsel and a star on top.” He chuckled.
“Very funny.”
“Put an arm around my neck and lift your butt so I can maneuver the curtain out.”
I placed one arm around his neck while I kept the towel covering my breasts with the other. The curtain fell free, but I could feel the cold air on my ass. I could feel my face going red at the same time.
He smelled good now I was close. That sort of all-male smell mixed with a fruity aftershave. Johnathan’s aftershave had always been so overpowering. Why the hell was I thinking that now? I might be naked in a bathroom with this guy, but there was certainly nothing romantic about this situation. He was still smirking, and I couldn’t blame him given my ridiculous circumstances. I wriggled as best as I could to help him but was probably making the situation worse. As parts of me kept getting revealed.
I had noticed Ryan’s good looks yesterday, but now I noticed the muscles on his arms. How could I not when they were right before my eyes?
My rescuer scooped me up, and as he turned around, the reflection in the mirror above the sink showed the towel covering only half of my body, with my backside on display in full glory. He grinned as he peeked in the mirror. My face was bright red as I expected and not from the heat in the bathroom. Why couldn’t the mirror be steamed up?
Ryan placed me on the chair next to the bath. As he did so, he kicked my prosthetic foot across the room so it hit the toilet with a clang. He picked it up and placed it next to me.
“Oops, I’m sorry,” he said awkwardly as he stared at me wide-eyed, clearly trying to hold back a laugh.
I ached all over and would have bruises coming out everywhere in the next few days, including a bump on my head. That aside, the look on his face made me crack up. He was like a naughty boy who had been caught with his hand in the candy jar. I started to laugh, just a chuckle at first, but then I could not stop. Ryan joined in, and the two of us were almost crying with hysterics.
