uses phrases like ‘cease and desist.’”
“I use that phrase.”
“Precisely.” Both his neighbor and his brother were high-end and tightly wound, only the neighbor was better looking. Grant could still picture her, all blonde and bossy with her “I’m trying to work” attitude. As if work was the be-all and end-all. Tension crawled up one side of him and down the other.
“I’m guessing from your description,” Mike said, “you two didn’t hit things off.”
“She threatened to report me to the building association. I told her I was the building association.”
“Nice. Now you know why you can’t rely on your charm forever.”
“We agreed you were going to drop that subject,” Grant muttered.
“Merely pointing out that not everyone finds you charming. Though I am surprised you failed with a female.”
Grant wasn’t so sure he completely failed. “Only because she wasn’t my type.” Personality-wise, that is. He had no problem with blondes, especially good-looking ones with slender lines and perfect breasts. Unless that is, she was so perfectly put together you could practically feel the hair trying to work free from her ponytail.
Problem was Sophie Messina had felt way too familiar. Dial back a couple years—twenty-eight months to be exact—and he was looking at the female version of his former self.
A sharp knocking sound pulled him from his reverie. Perfect timing. He had a feeling Mike was winding up for another lecture. “My dinner’s here.”
Soon as he said the words, his stomach began growling. When it came to pizza, he was worse than Pavlov’s dog. Giving a silent thank-you to whoever buzzed the deliveryman in, he told Mike he’d call him later in the week.
The pizza man was impatient. He knocked again. Grabbing his wallet, he strode to the front door, mouth already watering.
Except, he discovered upon opening the door, it wasn’t the pizza man. Instead, he found a very hot and bothered Sophie Messina, her arms folded across the very chest he’d just been thinking about.
“You took my water,” she charged, eyes flashing. “And I want it back.”
It took Grant a full minute to comprehend what Sophie was saying, partially because he barely recognized her. In fact, if pressed, he’d be hard to say this was the same person. The woman he met over the weekend had been glossy and tightly wound.
This woman though… Everything about her looked soft, right down to the way the front of her ponytail hung in long lazy curls around her face. One particularly twirly strand drooped over her left eye and practically begged to be brushed aside. And her lips…. He couldn’t believe he didn’t notice those succulent bee-stung lips on Saturday. The very male parts of his body stirred with appreciation. What had he been thinking about her not being his type?
“Well?” she asked, tapping her foot. “Are you going to turn it back on?”
“Turn what on?” he asked, distracted by the way her eyes switched hues. From deep blue to turquoise and back. He hadn’t noticed those before, either.
“There’s no need to stare at me like I have three heads,” she said. “There’s no running water at my place. You obviously turned the water off when you installed your tub. Since you’re finished—” her gaze flickered toward the beer in his hand “—I would like you to turn the water back on so I can shower. As you can see, I’m badly in need of one.”
Not from where he stood. But, that was neither here nor there. “Impossible,” he said, getting back to her accusation.
Her eyes narrowed. Her smudged mascara gave them a sultry, smoky look that managed to transcend her scowl. “Why not?”
“I didn’t turn it off.”
“Then who did?”
“Beats me,” he replied. “Did you pay your water bill?”
She stiffened, pulling her ramrod spine a little tighter. “I always pay my bills.”
“Whoa, take it easy,” he said, holding up his hands. Damn. He figured she’d be unamused, but the way she spat the words you’d think he’d delivered a blow. “I’m sure you do. I was just making a joke.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have much of a sense of humor right now.”
No kidding. He would have said as much, but at that moment her shoulders sagged a little. “It’s been a really long day and I just want to take a shower.”
She said it with such longing, so much like a little girl who missed out on getting a treat, Grant couldn’t help but actually feel a little for her. Enough to give her a straight answer anyway. “Wish I could help you, but the only water I had anything to do with in this building is my own, and I turned that back on yesterday.”
“Any chance you turned mine off by mistake?”
“If I did, how would you have taken a shower this morning?
His question cut off that argument. “Besides, even if I did turn my water off today—which I didn’t—every unit has its own meter. You have to turn off each one individually.”
“Are you sure?”
She didn’t give up easily did she? “Positive. You’re either going to have to wait for a plumber or shower somewhere else.”
“Terrific.” Her shoulders sagged a little more, and Grant swore for a moment when he saw dampness well up in her eyes. “Guess I better start making some phone calls.” She turned and headed down the hall only to stop halfway, as if remembering something. “Wait a moment. Isn’t this your job?”
“Excuse me?”
“You said you were head of the building association. Isn’t it your job to look into building problems?”
Oh, that was rich. First she spends a month slipping notes under his door, then she accuses him of water theft, and now she wanted him to fix her plumbing? “Only regarding common areas,” he clarified.
“Plumbing’s common.”
“Nice try.” But like her complaint to the so-called building association, it wasn’t going to work. “You’re on your own, sweetheart.”
“What else is new?” At least that’s what it sounded like she muttered. She resumed her retreat, although this time her walk looked suspiciously like trudging.
Damn. Did she have to look so defeated? As if she were about to break? Guilt began snaking its way into his stomach. No way could he ignore that kind of distress. “Hold on,” he called out. “I suppose I could look in the basement. Maybe give you an idea of what to tell the plumber.”
“Thank you. If you don’t mind, I would appreciate it.”
He minded, Grant said to himself. He just couldn’t say no.
Sophie
