He continued to stare.
“All you need,” she said, freeing a hand to hold back the hair that fluttered loose again, “is someone to steady it while you fit the pins in the hinges.”
“Really. I didn’t know that.”
“Okay,” she granted. “So you did. But you could’ve had that hung and been down five minutes ago. Aren’t you cold?” She was appreciating every thick inch of her sweater, while his arms were ropy and bare.
“I’m a man.”
She waited for more. When nothing came, she said, “What does that have to do with it?”
“Men run hot.”
“Really.” Refusing to be baited, she returned her hand to her armpit, shifted to a more comfortable stance, and smiled. “Great. I’ll watch while you get that shutter hung. Maybe I can learn how you do it alone.”
Apparently realizing he’d been one-upped, he said, “Fine. Since you know it all, here’s your chance.” He backed down, put the shutter on the ground against his leg, and gestured her toward the ladder.
“I’m not lugging that thing up,” she said.
“No, but if you get up there, I can hold the shutter while you do the fitting. Assuming you can see. Your hair’s a mess.”
“Thanks,” she said brightly and gripped the rail. Two ladders would have been better. She wasn’t sure she liked the idea of climbing this one with him at her butt. She would be at his mercy. But she did have a point to prove.
So she began to climb, looking back every few rungs to see where he was. When she reached the top, she felt his shoulder against the back of her thighs. If she hadn’t known better, she would have said he was making sure she didn’t fall.
But she did know better. Leo Cole had no use for women, or so the story went. If he was standing that close, he was toying with her.
She didn’t like being toyed with—and, yes, her hair was in her eyes, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of pushing it back. Fortunately, she knew enough about hanging shutters to do it, hair and all. While he bore the weight of the wood, she easily lined up both pairs of hinges and pins, and that quickly it was done.
Nearly as quickly, he backed down the ladder. By the time she reached the ground, he was stowing the hammer in a tool box. The instant she was off the last rung, he reached for the ladder.
“You’re welcome,” Charlotte said.
He shot her a flat look.
“I’m Charlotte Evans.”
“I know.”
Also by
Barbara Delinsky
THE FOREVER INSTINCT
FIRST THINGS FIRST
STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART
THE SCENT OF JASMINE
WHAT THE WAVES BRING
HOME FIRES
PICTURES OF YOU
DON’T TEMPT ME
SILKEN SANDS
HOLD MY HEART
CALL MY NAME
AMBER’S EMBRACE
WARM HEARTS
LOVE SONGS
Barbara Delinsky is a New York Times bestselling author with more than thirty million copies of her books in print. She has been published in twenty-five languages worldwide. A lifelong New Englander, Barbara earned a B.A. in Psychology at Tufts University and an M.A. in Sociology at Boston College. Barbara enjoys knitting, photography, and cats. She also loves to interact with her readers through her website at www.barbaradelinsky.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bdelinsky, and on Twitter as @BarbaraDelinsky.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
“The Dream Comes True” copyright © 1990 by Barbara Delinsky.
Excerpt from Sweet Salt Air copyright © 2013 by Barbara Delinsky.
All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover art for “The Dream Comes True”:
House © ideeone/getty images; setting © Jo Ann Snover/shutterstock.com
Cover art for Sweet Salt Air: Lavender © Visions Of Our Land/Getty Images; house © Shaun Lowe/Getty Images; sky and beach © Elena/Getty Images
Author photo © Jerry Bauer
eISBN 9781466849778
First eBook Edition: February 2014
The Dream Comes True Page 20
