Oh…he was looking at me expectantly. Bugger, what did he ask me?
“Lizzie?” He extended his hand for me to shake.
“Um…. Yes. I’m Lizzie.” I shook his hand, noticing my voice sounding remarkably like one of the chipmunks. Wow, his hand felt amazing. It was strong and kind of rough, not like Scott, whose hands were baby-soft.
“Are you okay? I could see you through the glass and it looked like you fell down the stairs.” Damn, he noticed that, did he?
“Oh, ha ha ha. Yes. I’m fine thank you. Just took the express route down.” I laughed self-consciously. Geez, I sounded like a moron. I saw his left eyebrow rise, but he continued on.
“You were saying on the phone you need some help getting this place livable again. Like I said to you before, I’m in between jobs at the moment, so I would be able to give you a few weeks to get most of the bigger jobs underway.” He smiled.
Oh, wow. Great smile, too. That was really important in a man. I mean who wants to look at someone’s face for the rest of your life if they have a crappy smile? I was, at present, giving him my best sexy smile. But honestly, if you asked me what he was talking about, I couldn’t tell you. I hadn’t actually heard a word of it. Right now the only things my brain was receiving were his gorgeous blue eyes and his super white smile.
“Maybe you should show me around,” he suggested helpfully, giving me a kind, yet sympathetic look, almost as if he was trying to weigh up if I was sane or not.
“Hmm? Oh, show you around. Yes…that would be…umm...great. Maybe we should start in the bedroom.” I giggled, thoughts still not quite coming together in my brain.
Oops. That didn’t sound right.
I watched his eyebrows disappear into his hairline.
“I mean that’s the room I want to start work in,” I stammered. Oh my, what did I say that for? He must be thinking I’m a nymphomaniac who wanted to get him into bed. Although that wasn’t such a bad idea.
Riley stepped inside the door and closed it behind him. I started to walk up the stairs.
Bad move. Now I had Riley behind me and all he could see was my backside which certainly wasn’t my best attribute. Today I’d thrown on an old pair of jeans that were slightly on the tight side and made my backside look three times bigger... like it needed that sort of help. Maybe if I found that broken stair tread I could hide underneath it.
Looking over my shoulder, I could see Riley making mental notes as he walked towards the bedroom. I thought the look of my God, what the hell have I got myself into? crossed his face, but I couldn’t be sure. I was just hoping I’d remembered to make my bed this morning.
“In this room I want to take up the carpet. As you can see it’s awful. I can live with the wallpaper for now, but I think the carpet is causing my nightmares,” I blabbered, tugging at the neck of my T-shirt. I was feeling quite flushed all of a sudden. It felt like all the air was being sucked out of the room. Funny, this room never felt this small before. Maybe it was the shock from the fall.
“That won’t take long.” I watched him as he walked around the room taking notes. I actually loved this room. It’s an exact copy of the living room underneath it. It’s the length of the house and has a big bay window in the front. On a clear day I would be able to see the river from here.
“I notice you don’t have any wardrobe space.”
Yeah, that was pretty obvious by the mountain of boxes scattered around the room. I had absolutely nowhere to put my clothes so leaving them in their boxes seemed like the best idea. Now I felt embarrassed by the mess.
“Yeah, a wardrobe is also on my To Do list.” This list keeps getting longer. I let out a long sigh.
“Old houses are a lot of work.” Riley smiled, looking at me through those incredible lashes. “But they are worth the effort. This one is something special.”
I felt myself blush. I don’t know why, but it felt like Riley was paying me a compliment. I mean, that’s what I’d thought when I bought it, right? It was something special.
“So I’m not as stupid as everyone keeps telling me, then?” I saw the puzzled look cross his face.
“No, you’re not stupid at all. I wanted to come to the auction and put a bid in myself but got called away at the last minute. I was hoping it got passed so I could make an offer later. According to the agent a lovely young lady bought it before I had the chance.” Now I really did blush. “Looks like he was right.”
Oh boy. The temperature in here must have risen about a hundred degrees judging be how hot I was feeling.
“I could get this started tomorrow if you like,” Riley continued. If he noticed how red I had gone, he thankfully didn’t mention it.
“That would be great.” I smiled. “But really my priority is the attic. I have to start work up there in less than two weeks and right now, it’s a mess.”
We turned and headed for the stairs. Reaching the top, I stepped back and allowed Riley to enter the room first. His eyes immediately dropped to the carpet and I could see the look of amusement cross his face.
“What happened here?” he asked, smiling at the mess I had made of the carpet.
I am such an idiot. With all the blood rushed to my face, it’s a wonder I hadn’t passed out. Absolutely no other body part was receiving oxygen right about now.
“As you can see I have no idea what I’m doing,” I said. “I’m thinking my mother was right. I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.” I hated admitting my mother was right. Riley looked at me and gave me an absolute killer smile. It was so amazing I actually felt brain cells die as I basked in its glow.
“It’s okay. That’s what I’m here for.” Oh damn, he’s talking again. I’d better listen so he doesn’t think I’m an idiot. “How about I go home and get some tools and come back here after lunch. I can have the bedroom carpet out in an hour or so and then I can get started in this room in the morning.”
“Really? That would be fantastic,” I said gratefully, my brain rejoining the conversation. “Oh, and if it’s not too much trouble, could you change the lock on my bedroom door? I keep locking it, but I wake up every morning to the door wide open.”
After lunch Riley came back, complete with new door lock and headed upstairs to my bedroom. I followed him this time and must say the view was spectacular. He fitted those jeans well. Even before I’d seen the quality of his work, I knew he was more than worth the money I was paying him.
With my help, we had the bed and various boxes out of the room in no time and as I left him, the doorbell rang. It sounded more like someone was standing on the cat, but as Cat was sleeping on the stairs, I knew he was safe. Cat had settled in with me pretty damn quickly, I must say. Running down the stairs—this time skillfully avoiding the broken tread—I opened the front door.
Standing on the doorstep was my boyfriend Scott.
Oops, with Riley around I’d actually forgotten about Scott.
“I thought I’d come over and see your new house,” he announced, handing me a bottle of wine with a small frown between his eyes. That bottle’s not going to be near big enough, I thought looking at it. “Well, are you going to invite me in, or am I just going to stand out here?” he asked, sounding a bit annoyed.
“Sure, come in,” I said stepping aside. “I’m surprised to see you. You don’t normally pop over without ringing first.”
“Elizabeth, I don’t pop anywhere,” he said, the frown deepening.
He actually looked quite tired with his tie loosened at the collar of his white shirt and, if I’m being totally picky, his shirt wasn’t tucked into his black trousers properly. Scott and I first met at work where he was a senior accountant. I had just started at Bradley and Sons, and noticed Scott straight away. As I was a lowly bookkeeper it took him a while to notice me, but eventually he asked me out after the staff Christmas party.
We’ve been together for about two and a half years now and I was hoping for a more permanent commitment on our anniversary, but Scott said he wasn�
��t ready for that. This had ticked me off a little bit but I guess if he’s not ready, then it’s best not to push him.
Apart from the dark circles under his eyes today, he did look kind of cute. He was about 5’10” with dark brown hair and grey eyes. He’s not in Riley’s league, but then again, not very many men were.
“Sorry. I’m very happy to see you.” I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. That was a feat in itself. His head was moving from side to side so fast as he took in the mess that was my home, I thought it might fall off. He didn’t look happy with what he saw. Not surprising though. Scott liked everything to be neat and tidy and believed everything should be in its place. Including me. I know it’s wrong, but I always feel like I’m not good enough for him and that if he stops to think about it for too long, I know he’ll dump me and find someone who deserves him. So I try really, really hard to be my best whenever he’s around. Looking down at what I was wearing, I knew that today it was mission failed.
“I know it’s a mess at the moment but it’s going to look amazing when it’s finished,” I said hurriedly. If I explained myself to Scott quickly I might be able to avoid the look of disappointment in his eyes.
Damn, I wasn’t quick enough. “How about I show you around? The house has a great feel to it when you give it some time.” I started easing him up the stairs and away from the disaster that was my kitchen. As he reached the top, he stopped when he saw Riley.
“Who’s this?” he asked, turning his back to him and looking at me, his manhood clearly feeling threatened. Fair enough. Riley did exude an awful lot of testosterone.
“This is Riley. He’s helping me with all the work that has to be done. Riley, this is my boyfriend Scott.”
Riley extended his hand, which Scott glared at, then turned and walked out of the room. With a quick apologetic look to Riley, I raced after him.
“Scott, that was rude. Riley’s a great help.”
“I bet he is.” If I didn’t know better I would think that was jealousy, but Scott didn’t believe in jealousy. He thought it was a wasted emotion.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.
“Never mind,” he said with a sigh, looking at me with a critical look. “You remember tomorrow night is the meeting I have with Donald Shepherd, don’t you?”
“Of course I have,” I smiled reassuringly. Shit. I’d forgotten.
Scott had this big meeting with a client he was hoping to win, and I had promised I would go with him. My job was to make Scott look like the perfect man. Not sure if I was the right person for the job, but I was happy to give it a go. That meant, instead of spending the day helping Riley rip my house apart, I would be spending it waxing, bleaching and plucking my little heart out.
“Make sure you wear the red dress I gave you. And remember to be on your best behavior.”
Sometimes I felt like I was in a relationship with my mother.
Chapter Four
I was woken the following morning by the retched doorbell screeching out its damned tune. Dragging myself out of bed, I walked through my—once again—open bedroom door and staggered, bleary-eyed, down the stairs.
Bloody hell, did Riley not know I was on holidays? Had he never heard of a bloody sleep in? Okay, so I’m not a morning person. Sue me. Opening the door and seeing Riley, I quickly hid behind it.
“Good morning, Lizzie,” he said, smiling brightly. Geez, a girl could get used to seeing that smile first thing in the morning.
“Morning,” I grouched as he walked past me into the hallway. He looked particularly fine this morning, I noted. Just the usual jeans and T-shirt, but the temperature in here had definitely risen.
“Are you going to close the door?” he asked, turning to look at me.
“Not until you’re in the kitchen.” He looked puzzled but walked past me into the kitchen anyway. Racing back upstairs, I locked myself in the bathroom. Thankfully I don’t own a full-length mirror, but what greeted me in the small mirror above the sink was nothing short of scary. I had big black circles under my eyes from yesterday’s makeup, the hair on one side of my head was standing up in a big knotted mess and the other side was plastered to my face with what looked like dried drool.
Great. When Scott and I had sleepovers, I usually sneaked out of bed early to get in the shower before he woke up. He had never seen me like this, which was probably one of the reasons we’ve been together so long.
I finished my shower, washed my hair and carefully put on some make up. If Riley had seen what I looked like as I hid behind the door, then I had some damage control to do.
The smell of coffee was wafting up the stairs when I opened the bathroom door, so after a quick dash to my bedroom for clothes, I made my way downstairs to the kitchen.
“I brewed a pot. I hope you don’t mind.” Riley was leaning against the sink with a big cup of coffee in his hand.
“Not at all,” I replied cheerily. A God-like man with freshly brewed coffee in my own kitchen is as close to Heaven as I’ll ever get.
“Scott seems like a real nice guy.” Riley seemed to have the sarcasm thing down pat. He was going to get along great with Danny and Molly.
“I’m sorry he was rude to you. He had absolutely no reason to be.” I finished pouring my coffee and turned to look at him. “I think he feels threatened by men who know how to use their hands.” Okay, that sounded different in my head.
Riley smiled wickedly. “I know how to use my hands alright.”
Feeling the heat turn up a few notches, I looked at the floor. When I was finally able to look him in the eye, I could see he was laughing at me.
“I’ll take your word for that.” Like bloody likely. Given half a chance I don’t think I could trust myself not to find out how well he could use those hands. I’d been kept awake half the night thinking about them and what exactly they could do.
“I have to go into town today. I have an appointment at the beauty salon. Scott has an important dinner we have to go to tonight so I need to get ready,” I explained. “I’ll get a key cut for you while I’m there, so if you need to get in when I’m not home, you can.”
“You trust me with a spare key? I might sneak in during the night and attack you.” He laughed.
If only.
* * * *
After a long and painful trip to the beauty therapist, I made my way home. I was now hairless in all the right places, and had amazing eyebrows. In fact, as I pulled my car into my driveway and killed the engine, I was admiring them in the rear vision mirror, when I noticed the black sedan parked across the road. I made a mental note to talk to my neighbor. Maybe when the previous owner lived here, parking directly opposite wasn’t a problem. I, however, had a tendency to not notice things when I was reversing and was afraid I was going to hit it.
As I got out of the car and walked to the house, I could see Riley had been busy. The huge builder’s waste bin I’d hired was filling quickly.
“Hello,” I called out, feeling quite exhausted.
“Lizzie, Lizzie, Liz, Liz, Liz! How are you?” I was engulfed in a huge hug by my brother Danny. Stepping back, he grabbed my shoulders and gave me a small shake. “You sneaky girl. You didn’t tell us about your new friend in the attic. I came over here expecting to see you and who greets me at the door? Some God-like Hunk-of-Spunk, that’s who!”
You guessed it, Danny’s gay. He also has a partner, so he shouldn’t be looking at my hunk-of-spunk. What was I saying? I shouldn’t be looking either.
Oh well…like brother, like sister.
Danny’s natural hair color was light brown, but being a hairdresser meant his hair color changed daily. Today it was jet black and spiked up into a messy kind of style. He was wearing black skinny jeans and a skin tight T-shirt. I wonder if he and Molly knew how much they dressed alike.
I smiled. “He’s pretty cute, isn’t he?”
“Cute is not the word I would use, and I know why you didn’t tell us about him. Talk about greedy.” Danny
almost looked sulky.
“Remember Andrew? Your lovely partner who looks after you and puts up with all your crap?” I reminded him.
“Of course I do, but there’s no harm in looking,” he said matter-of-factly. That’s exactly what Molly had said.
“I hope there’s not, cause I’ve been doing plenty of that.” I laughed. “Yesterday, I followed him up the stairs and my God, it was the best orgasm I’ve had in ages.”
“Probably the only one you’ve had in ages,” said Danny, smirking.
“Hi Lizzie, I thought I heard you come home,” I heard a deep voice say from behind me. Turning, I saw Riley trying hard to hide his smile. Could the ground open up and swallow me whole…please?
“Oh, um…hi,” I whispered, quickly turning my back to him and glaring at Danny. The least he could have done was warn me Riley was there.
“I’ve got all the old carpet out of the attic but there are a few loose boards, so I need to make a trip to the hardware store,” he said.
“Oh, okay. I…um…got you a key cut while I was out.”
I dug his key out of my bag and handed it to him, keeping my eyes firmly on the floor. As I placed the key in his palm, his fingers curled around mine, just for a second. In that second, however, volts of electricity ran up my arm and down to my nether regions. The power of it actually made me feel a bit dizzy.
Was that a deliberate move on his part?
Finally plucking up the courage, I looked up into his eyes but there was no indication he’d even noticed anything had happened. I really needed to keep a check on my imagination.
After he left, I rounded on my brother.
“Why didn’t you tell me he was standing there?” I almost yelled.
Danny burst out laughing. “You should have seen your face. My God, I didn’t think you could go so red!”
“Shut up!” I snapped. I stormed out of the room and up the stairs, Danny following me. “What are you doing here anyway? It’s the middle of the day. Shouldn’t you be at work?” Danny and Andrew owned their own hairdressing salon and Danny was always busy.
The Westport Mysteries Boxed Set Page 3
