Page 14 of The Payback Adventure
The faraway look in Elisabeth’s eyes intrigued him. “I suppose it was.”
She motioned him inside. As he passed her, a floral scent, like wildflowers, wafted in the air. The fragrance was subtle, too light for a perfume, and he wondered if it was her soap or shampoo. She bumped into him as he contemplated whether she preferred bubble baths or showers. “I’m sorry.”
“My fault,” he said, turning. He couldn’t help but notice when they collided that she was soft in all the right places. His temperature shot up. “I was blocking the doorway.”
They stood mere inches away from each other. A second passed, then another. He should move out of her way.
Or step aside.
Or kiss her.
“Excuse me,” she said finally and pushed past him.
So much for being suave and debonair. This awkwardness wasn’t like him at all. Must be the country air interfering with his gift of charm and sophistication.
As he followed her into the living room, the scent of something sweet, not floral but fruity, lingered in the air, making his mouth water. The delicious fragrance appealed to both his nose and his stomach.
“I need to help Caitlin. I’ll be right back.” She hurried up the stairs before he could say anything.
Henry stood in the living room. His first thought was that a tornado had hit the place. But the house didn’t look sturdy enough to withstand gale-force winds. That meant the mess was most likely man-made. Or rather kid-made.
He glanced around. How could three kids do so much damage?
Old stuffed animals that looked like thrift store rejects sat on the couch. Bent and ripped playing cards were scattered over the scratched hardwood floors. Coloring books and crayons covered the beat-up and ring-stained coffee table. Overturned chairs were haphazardly tented with blankets and pillows. A stack of very old magazines based on the cover photos littered a recliner.
The magazines moved. Henry jumped back.
A fat, long-haired gray cat crawled out from beneath the pile. The feline’s hypnotic green eyes focused on Henry, then it turned, fluffy tail swishing in the air, and bounded up the stairs. Henry wished he could walk out the front door and back home.
Not for a month.
It wasn’t that long. At least that was what he kept telling himself.
Henry had to give Cynthia credit. He hadn’t expected her to pull off a real adventure.
Elisabeth returned sooner than he expected. “The house is always a mess. I try to get everybody to pick up after themselves, but there’s only so much one person can do.”
“It has that…lived-in look.”
“Lived-in.” She smiled. “You’re just being polite, but I like it.”
I like you.
“You’ll see how lived-in things get with kids around,” she continued.
Stop now. Alarm bells rang in Henry’s head. He needed to slam the brakes on his feelings for Elisabeth. He understood his physical attraction to her. Beautiful, gorgeous, sexy, she was all those things and more, but he didn’t understand why the rest of the package—server with a farm and three siblings—wasn’t putting a damper on said attraction.
Sure, they weren’t her kids, but with her parents gone, they might as well be. He avoided dating women with children. He worried about an innocent bystander getting hurt once whatever relationship he was involved in came to an end. And they always came to an end. He couldn’t help himself.
A good reason to keep his distance from his appealing boss. As much distance as possible, considering he was living in the same house and working on the farm with her. No matter his attraction, it couldn’t go further and wouldn’t. There would be no flirting whatsoever between him and Elisabeth with anS.
Regret inched its way down his spine.
“This is the living room,” she said, looking away. “We have a new TV, but no satellite dish. Not that there’s much time to sit around and watch television.”
The set was on the small size compared to his at home—thirty-two inches if he was being generous.
“The kids were so excited when we won the TV at Peterson’s Electronics and Hardware store last month.”
