was covered. He was a throwback to another age, a time when men survived by their physical strengths.
Although solidly built, there wasn’t an ounce of extra flesh on him. Dark hair covered his chest, trailing down from collarbone to navel, but not so thick that she couldn’t see the ridges of muscles beneath. He radiated presence and power—a knight minus his shining armor.
Which left her as what...a damsel in distress? Realizing she’d been holding her breath since he’d walked in the kitchen, she belatedly inhaled. She could smell the fresh scent of his soap. Her gaze fastened on the single droplet of water slowly meandering down toward the waistband of his running shorts, which clung to his still-damp lower torso.
The silence was deafening as Kayla heard the increased pounding of her own heartbeat. She saw the way his chest rose and fell. Was he breathing faster, too? Her eyes lifted to meet his. Only then did she realize how pale he was.
Quickly gathering her wits, Kayla asked, “Uh...are you supposed to be taking a shower so soon after breaking your leg? When did you break your leg, anyway?”
“Yesterday.”
“Yesterday!” His answer evaporated her steamy fantasies as concern took their place. “And you’re singing in the shower today? Are you crazy?”
“Probably,” he muttered, grimacing at the pain shooting up his right leg.
“A three-year-old would have more sense! Here, you’d better sit down before you fall down,” she said, scooting a kitchen chair over to him.
“I’m not an invalid,” he snapped.
“No. You’re an idiot!” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.
She immediately clapped her hand to her lips with such a look of guilt that Jack had to smile.
“No, don’t hold back,” he teased her. “Go ahead and tell me what you really think.”
“I think you should sit down.”
“I’ll never get used to these stupid crutches by sitting down.”
“What’s your hurry? Didn’t the doctor tell you to take things easy for the first few days?”
“I’ve had emergency medical training. I know what I’m doing. What are your qualifications?” he growled irritably. Willing himself past the pain wasn’t working, and the pain medication the doctor had prescribed made him too damn groggy.
“I broke my leg once. When I was ten,” Kayla told him.
“Oh, and I suppose that makes you an expert?”
“Are you always this grouchy or does a broken leg bring out the worst in you?” she inquired in exasperation. Remembering that he hated anyone fussing over him, she deliberately focused her attention on unpacking the remaining groceries.
“Very funny.”
“Not really,” Kayla replied, opening a cabinet and finding it empty except for... She held up two plastic bags of dried beans. “Having nothing to eat in the kitchen but lentils, now that’s funny.”
“I don’t know how they even got in the kitchen,” Jack muttered. Deciding enough time had passed to make his point—that he wasn’t a weakling who obeyed orders—he carefully made his way the three steps to the kitchen chair, hoping it didn’t look like he collapsed into it. “I hate lentils,” he said, before reaching over and snagging a clean T-shirt from the laundry basket on the kitchen table.
“Maybe one of your girlfriends brought them for you,” Kayla said, trying not to notice the way his muscles rippled as he lifted his arms to tug the T-shirt over his head. The movement ruffled his still-damp dark hair, adding to his roguish appearance.
“None of my girlfriends know how to cook,” Jack replied.
“Really? You mean you weren’t attracted to them because of their culinary talents?”
He didn’t took amused.
Delighted to be provoking him for a change, Kayla continued. “You know, I’ve heard there’s safety in numbers, but I’ve never seen such a remarkable example of it before.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Come on. Misty, Mandy, Tammy, Bambi...”
“I don’t know a Bambi,” Jack inserted, enjoying the way her blue eyes lit up with humor. He’d only seen that intense shade of blue once before, in a kitten he’d befriended as a kid. Eyes so full of life.
“No Bambi, huh?” Kayla said. “Well, I’m sure it won’t take you long to remedy that. How can you keep them all apart with names so similar?”
“That’s not a problem. Randi has long red hair and the biggest pair of...eyes you ever saw.”
“Never mind.” The humor in Kayla’s eyes was replaced with a flash of something else, something he couldn’t identify. “Forget I asked.”
“No way. The least I can do is satisfy your...curiosity.”
“That’s all you’re gonna satisfy, buster,” she muttered under her breath.
“What did you say?”
“I was just talking to myself.”
“Lonely people do that a lot, I hear.”
“I’m not lonely,” she denied.
“No?”
“No. I have a daughter and I lead a very full life.”
“Even if you’re not an exotic dancer?”
His mocking voice sneaked under her defenses, making its way to her heart like a shot of whiskey. Not that she had much experience with whiskey. She was more the milk shake type herself.
“I still can’t believe you ever thought that,” she said.
“Why not?”
“Because. I mean, I’m not...I don’t have the right kind of body.... Never mind.”
Jack grinned. “For what it’s worth, I think you definitely have the right kind of body. The kind I like.”
“From the number of women who called you, it sounds as if you like all kinds of female bodies,” she tartly retorted.
“Hey, there’s always room for one more.”
“I don’t care for crowds.” Her voice got that prim tone again, the one that made him want to kiss her.
“I’m not wild about crowds, either,” he murmured.
“You couldn’t prove it by those calls.”
“Ah, but one-on-one is always best, don’t you think so?”
“I
