asked for help and he didn’t know how to offer. But before he could think of a single thing to say, her left leg gave way and she started to go down.
She was less than a quarter of the way up the staircase. He was at her side, grabbing her arm and holding her upright before she even came close to falling. He wrapped one arm around her waist so she could lean on him.
They were close enough for him to inhale her floral scented perfume…and something else. Some female essence that was both attractive and oddly familiar. But before he could place it, she turned to look at him.
All thoughts fled his mind as he saw the pain and bleakness in her eyes. The blue irises darkened with a thousand emotions he couldn’t begin to identify. He had no idea what she was going through or what she’d endured. He only knew that she didn’t utter a word of complaint.
She trembled slightly, making him aware of their close proximity. His thumb was just under the curve of her right breast, and he was six kinds of an idiot for noticing. He also ignored the fact that her curvy rear rested against his thigh. All men were slime, he told himself, and he was the slime king.
“Do me a favor,” he said as he bent down and slid his arm under her knees. “Don’t scream too loud. You can yell at me when we get to the second floor.”
Then he lifted her up into his arms and carried her the rest of the way up the stairs.
She fit him perfectly. Not like Josie, who had been bony and too muscular. Rose was soft curves and yielding femininity. He wanted to keep on walking with her like this, taking them both to a quiet spot where they could get to know each other better. He wanted to bend down and kiss her until…hell, he didn’t want to stop kissing her.
Unfortunately, neither was an option so when they reached the landing, he set her on her feet and prepared to be castigated.
“I know,” he said, holding up a hand to try to slow her down. “I violated every code in the cane users handbook. I shouldn’t have picked you up and carried you. If you’d wanted my help you would have asked. I’m insensitive and a jerk. I just couldn’t stand to watch you in pain and I was afraid you’d fall. For all I know you’d break your neck and die right here and I know you haven’t had time to put the house into your will. What if your estate defaulted on the contract? So it was really about money. I wasn’t trying to insult you.”
Her mouth twitched up slightly at the corners. “Well, if you were just being mercenary and looking out for your self-interest, I guess I understand. But if you were trying to be nice, I’d have to be mad.”
She was laughing at him. “Are you mad?”
“That you were nice and caring and a gentleman? Not at all. Just don’t tell me I need to lose a few pounds.”
He allowed himself to give her body the once-over, lingering a tiny bit on her breasts. “From here you look great.”
She laughed, although the sound had a slightly strangled quality. “Thank you. For the compliment and for carrying me. I don’t think we should make a habit of it, but under the circumstances, it was very nice.”
He almost added “for me, too” but caught himself at the last minute.
“I do have a question, though,” she said in her low, husky voice. The sound definitely rubbed him the right way. He could listen to her for hours.
“Shoot.”
“Would you have done it if I’d been a man?”
It took him a second to realize what she meant. Would he have carried her up the stairs if she’d been male? He hesitated, knowing the right answer and not sure he could actually say it.
“Politically correct battles with gut truth.” She leaned close. “Don’t try to pretend otherwise. I can see it in your eyes.”
“Yeah, yeah, so I wouldn’t have carried a guy up the stairs. I still would have helped.”
“Hey, boss. Where do you want these?”
Gary came up the stairs with a perfectly timed interruption. He held a couple of cans of paint in each hand and had rolls of wallpaper tucked under his left arm.
“Just leave them here,” Del said, pointing to a corner of the landing. “The rooms aren’t ready for them yet.”
Gary deposited the supplies and left.
Del crouched to check the colors of the cans. The paint was a sunny shade of yellow. There was a border print of ivory tea roses accented in green. A matching pattern of smaller flowers filled the full-size wallpaper rolls.
“Just what I thought,” he muttered. “Girl stuff.”
“These rooms are for me,” Rose said lightly. “What did you expect? Monster trucks or half-naked women?”
“I’ve never seen half-naked-woman wallpaper, but it’s a thought.”
“Yes, especially if they’re young, perfect women.”
“It’s a plus, but not necessary.”
As he spoke he wondered if she felt she wasn’t perfect anymore. Yeah, she used a cane and probably had some scars, but that didn’t really matter. At least not to him. Had some male moron hurt her by making her feel she wasn’t enough?
He didn’t know how to ask and it wasn’t his business, so instead he stood and motioned to the guest bathroom.
“Want to check out what we’ve done so far?”
“Sure.” She turned and led the way. “I’m guessing it’s gutted and not much else.”
“You have to use your imagination.”
He showed her that they were going to turn the tub/shower combination which would allow them to fit in a vanity with a double sink.
Rose nodded slowly, then looked at him. “But what about the toilet? Moving things around will be awkward to get in and out of the room.”
“Not if we move the door hinge to the other side, so it opens to the left and not the right.”
She studied the door and nodded. “Very clever. This would be one of the many reasons why I’m not trying to do this myself. I wouldn’t have thought of that.”
“It’s why we get the big bucks. Now, in the bedroom itself we’re replacing the window, doing some patching, then painting on Wednesday. That will give us forty-eight hours to clear out the paint smell.”
“Which isn’t going to happen.”
“No, but it will be better than if we painted it Friday morning. The bathroom gets patched this afternoon, painted tomorrow. Tub, sink and toilet go in on Thursday.”
“Which is a good thing. My alternative is to use the hose out back for a shower.”
“While that would entertain the neighbors, it’s still a little cool in the morning, so I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Oh, gee, thanks. And here I’d been looking forward to some al fresco bathing.”
He didn’t want to think about that. Actually he did want to think about it in great detail, but that would be a big mistake. “Are you going to be all right here by yourself? It’s a big house, and you’re not even going to have a kitchen.”
She leaned against the wall, bracing herself. He wondered if her leg was bothering her.
“I’m having a phone line run in tomorrow,” she said. “That means I won’t be cut off from the world. As for the kitchen, between the microwave and your list of takeout, I’ll be fine.”
“You don’t cook?”
She hesitated. “Not much. I didn’t used to at all, but I’ve been slowly teaching myself.”
Josie didn’t cook, either, but with her it was