Unexpectedly Yours (7 page)

“No one makes pecan pie like you.” Derek’s smile sent another wave of flutters through her. God, he was turning her into a silly airhead.

“I like baking pies,” she said.

“You could bake pies for my election campaign.”

“Like I said, that depends on your policies.”

He chuckled. “You
are
tough.”

She went to fetch the dessert, and the conversation turned to more general subjects.

“Hey, sis, I just remembered.” Caleb looked up from his second helping of pie. “I think I’ve found a house for you. A friend of mine’s uncle owns this house a few miles from here. He says it’s pretty small, but the rent is cheap. Are you interested?”

“Sure am.” Hannah nodded enthusiastically.

“Apparently it hasn’t been occupied for a while, and it needs some work, but the owner’s willing to pay the cost of supplies and give you two weeks free rent.”

“I can do some cleaning and painting. You got the owner’s number?”

“I’ll text it to you tomorrow.”

“Oh, Caleb, you’re a lifesaver.” She got up and hugged her brother. “I’ve been looking for a place but there’s nothing in my price range, and I was kinda thinking I’d have to stay here. Not that I don’t get along with Rosalind, but, well…”

“I know.” Caleb patted her hand. “Can’t get two cats to share the same litter box.”

Trust her brother to voice her dilemma so colorfully. “Something like that.”

“I’m real busy at work this week, though.” Caleb looked worried. “I won’t be able to help you fix up the place until the week after.”

“That’s okay, I can manage on my own.”

“I’ll help you.” Derek spoke up, his eyes trained on Hannah.

Her heart flipped. “Oh, you don’t have to do that—”

“Hey, thanks, man.” Caleb nodded at Derek.

“No problem. I’ve got some spare time.”

“You know where my dad keeps his stepladders, don’t you?”

Hannah huffed out a breath as she pressed her hands to her hips. “Excuse the little woman for speaking up, but don’t I have any say in this?”

Both men glanced at her.

“We’re just looking out for you,” Caleb said. “Right, Derek?”

“Right.” Derek’s gaze was steady and earnest. “You’re in charge, Hannah. I’ll just provide the muscle.”

Her brain turned a little mushy at the thought of Derek’s muscle. God, why was she so affected by him? Why couldn’t she still view him as her brother’s friend? Everything between them had changed, and she couldn’t push him away without arousing her brother’s suspicion.

“Fine.” She’d deal with this later when Caleb was out of town.

“Great.” Derek actually seemed pleased. “I’ll leave my number with you, and you can call me when you need help.”

“You can do that right now.” Caleb picked up Hannah’s cell phone from the nearby kitchen counter and handed it to Derek, and within a minute Derek was in Hannah’s contact list.

Hannah didn’t comment. She wouldn’t call Derek, she decided. Even though she’d really appreciate his help, she couldn’t risk being alone with him again.

After dinner, Caleb and Derek cleaned up the dishes while Hannah took out a load of clean clothing from the dryer and carted it upstairs to her room. She was returning downstairs when she heard loud music pulsing from the living room. She walked in and stopped in amazement.

A dance video game played on the TV, pop music blaring out, while Caleb and Derek strutted and shimmied in front of the large screen. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. As teenagers, these two wouldn’t have been caught dead dancing like this, and now they were bopping around to the sound of “Moves Like Jagger.”

“Hey, since when did Dad and Rosalind have an Xbox Kinect?” Caleb yelled over the music.

“Since Rosalind bought it for when her grandkids stay over. Why aren’t you guys playing car racing games like you usually do?”

“We checked. There aren’t any,” Caleb puffed, flinging his arms in the air.

Hannah couldn’t take her eyes off Derek. He was grooving and bumping with minimum effort and maximum effect, his lithe body moving sinuously. He looked a little goofy, but he didn’t seem to care.

“This is more fun than Grand Theft Auto.” Derek beckoned to her, gyrating his hips in time to the song. “Come and dance.”

Oh God, those hips of his. Last time she’d seen them move like that had been in her bed. Warmth surged through her, and it wasn’t from the temperature in the room.

“Woo!” Caleb spun around and executed what looked like a few karate chops. He wasn’t paying much attention to them.

Derek shifted closer to Hannah, his face glowing. He hummed the lyrics softly so that only she could hear.

“You’ve got some moves, all right,” she couldn’t help chuckling.

He took her hand. “Come on. It’s easy. Show me your moves, Hannah.”

She couldn’t resist. The touch of his hand and the eagerness in his eyes sucked her in. Before she knew what was happening, she was swinging her hips, punching her arms, and rolling her shoulders as she tried to keep up with the dance moves on the screen. And Derek was dancing right next to her, but he wasn’t looking at the TV. Instead, he watched her, his face lit up with delight, as if he couldn’t believe she was doing this.

She could hardly believe it herself. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d danced. And it felt good, incredibly good. As the song progressed, she let herself go. She could be goofy like him. The exercise was invigorating, but, to be honest, the most exhilarating thing was the look in Derek’s eyes as he watched her and matched her moves with his. He was so close to her, his body brushing against hers, every now and then his hand stroking her shoulder or arm.

Adrenaline pumped in her blood. She felt young and alive and flushed with energy.

“Hey, watch this,” she called out recklessly. She pumped her fists in the air, at the same time thrusting her hips.

Derek had stopped dancing. He sucked in a breath, his eyes pinned on her. “You’re going to give me a heart attack, Hannah.”

Suddenly she realized that they were alone in the room and she was practically grinding her crotch at Derek.

She shot upright, blushing hard. “Where’s Caleb?”

“He went to get a soda. He missed your raunchy solo. How does it go again?” Smiling, Derek mimicked some of her moves.

Hannah pressed her hands to her flaming cheeks. “Oh, God. I don’t know what got into me.” She hurried over to pause the game, needing to put some distance between them.

“You had some fun, that’s all. You should do it more often.”

She was saved from having to answer by Caleb strolling in with three cans of soda. “Did I miss anything?” he said as he passed the cans around.

“Yeah, Hannah’s twerking.” Derek was still watching Hannah, a grin lingering on his lips.

Caleb’s eyebrows shot upward. “Huh? I didn’t think Hannah knew what twerking was!”

She downed a deep gulp of soda, desperate to cool herself. “He’s kidding. Of course I wasn’t twerking.”

“Didn’t think so.” Caleb seemed uneasy, as if he didn’t want to imagine his sister shaking her ass on the dance floor. “Maybe we should find another game.” He moved over to the games console to rifle through the other games.

Derek shuffled up to Hannah. “I liked that game,” he murmured low enough that only she could hear. “It’s fun dancing with you.”

Yes, but dancing with Derek was also way too arousing, and she couldn’t let herself get carried away with him again. Derek’s moves were definitely more dangerous than Jagger’s.

Chapter Seven

“A word with you, please, Hannah.” The vinegary set of Vera’s lips warned Hannah that she wasn’t about to enjoy that word.

She followed her boss into the nurse manager’s office and stood with hands behind her back, waiting for the criticism that was sure to come. She didn’t have long to wait.

“I saw you talking to one of the residents earlier and couldn’t help noticing the casual way you addressed her, using her first name. Here at Avalon House the staff must always treat residents with the utmost respect and politeness.”

Hannah gaped at her boss. “I hope I always do, but Mrs. Diaz asked me to call her Sofia. She said it made her feel more at home.”

Vera’s expression didn’t let up. “Nevertheless, I must ask you to observe the rules. You haven’t been with us for very long. New staff, especially nursing assistants, should not become too familiar with our elderly residents.”

Indignation rose in Hannah, but she forced it down. She needed this job. And she needed to get on the right side of her boss if she was to continue working here when she started college.

“You’re right,” she said, shoulders stiff, hands gripped together. “I’ll try to remember.”

“And another matter,” Vera continued. “The person I saw you talking to on the street the other day, I recognize him. It’s Derek Carmichael, isn’t it?”

Hannah nodded, surprised and uneasy.

“I hope you’re not
involved
with him.” Vera’s lips pinched even tighter. “He’s a very unsavory character.”

“Unsavory?” Hannah’s chagrin resurfaced. “He owns a successful business. He’s a presenter on
Better Homes
.”

“He’s also the deviant I caught cavorting with a girl in my front yard. Naked!”

Hannah remembered the incident. Vera had called the police and turned the hose on the unfortunate pair. “That was years ago. He can’t have been more than seventeen. He’s an adult now.”

Vera pursed her lips. “He hasn’t changed. Didn’t he get arrested with that trashy singer, Marla something?”

“
She
was arrested, not
him
.”

“If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.”

Furious arguments rose to Hannah’s lips, but Vera dismissed her before she could get a word in. Maybe it was for the best. The way she was feeling, she would have given her manager a verbal blast and almost certainly been fired.

But a few minutes later, as she was driving home, she thumped the steering wheel and muttered a few choice words under her breath. She wasn’t surprised at Vera criticizing her anymore, but she hated that the mean-spirited woman still held a grudge against Derek.

He’s an adult now
. The words she’d used to defend him came back to nag at her. Yes, Derek was an adult now. He wasn’t the teenager she used to know. She could see that now.

She blew out a breath, trepidation dancing along her veins as she contemplated how much of a man he was. He was mature but still retained a cheekiness. Look how he’d showed off his dancing to her last night, and egged her on to let her hair down. If they’d been alone, she might even have tried to twerk… God, what was she thinking? She was so not going to twerk for Derek Carmichael.

She forced her mind to other, more important, matters. She had contacted the owner of the house Caleb had told her about, and he had told her to pick up the key from the agent so she could inspect the place. Now that she had finished work for the day, she had a couple of hours to get the key, visit the house, and return to the realty office before it shut.

Half an hour later, she had the key and had pulled into the driveway of the house in question. The large property sat on a quiet street. The front yard was overgrown, with long grass and thick bushes. The house was tiny, a cute cottage looking a bit worse for wear but with no serious structural damage.

She explored the house and liked what she found. The inside was musty and tired, but it just needed a good clean, lots of paint, and airing out. In the kitchen, some of the shelves were loose and broken. Maybe Caleb could fix those for her. Derek would be even better at it, seeing as he was a carpenter.

But she wasn’t going to call him, though both he and Caleb were expecting her to. He would be the perfect person to help her, but it was a bad idea to purposely spend more time with Derek. Not while he still had such a hold over her. Just look at what he’d done to her last night with a few minutes of dancing, and that had been with Caleb nearby. If she was alone with him here for hours and hours…God knows what crazy things she’d do.

No, better to play it safe and avoid him.

Derek placed the packet of nails on the sales counter of the hardware store and reached in his back pocket for his wallet.

“Hey, Derek. Nice to see you again.” Amber beamed at him as she rang up his purchase. “Is that all for today?”

“Yes, thanks.”

Amber slanted her eyes at him. “Hannah was here just half an hour ago.”

“Yeah?” He hadn’t seen Hannah for a couple of days, and he hated to admit it, but he missed her. He had spent his time doing repairs around his grandpa’s house and searching for a suitable care assistant, but all the while he had thought about Hannah and wondered when he’d see her again.

“Mm-hmm. Bought some paint and brushes. Said she was starting on her new house.”

“What?” Derek exclaimed. “She’s got the house already?”

“Yup. I’d help her, but I’m short-staffed at the moment.”

“Crap. She was supposed to call
me
for help.” Somehow that stung.

“I asked her if she was going to get you to lend a hand, and she just muttered something unintelligible.” Amber cocked her head to one side. “Is everything okay between you two?”

Derek didn’t know how to answer. Amber was the only person who knew about him and Hannah spending the night together, and most likely she also knew that Hannah didn’t want a repeat. But he hated the fact that Hannah hadn’t called him
because
of that one-night stand. Because she was embarrassed? Well, that was too bad. He wanted to help her, he’d promised Caleb he’d help her, and help her he would.

“Everything’s fine.” He shoved the spare change into his pocket and scooped up the packet of nails. “Thanks. I’ll get out to Hannah’s right away.”

He was halfway to the door when Amber called after him, “I have her address if you need it.”

Shaking his head, he returned to the counter. “I’m getting ahead of myself.”

“Aw, it’s nice to see you so enthusiastic.” Amber scribbled the address on a piece of paper and slid it toward him. “Tell her to thank me.”

He nodded his thanks and headed out again.

It didn’t take him long to find Hannah’s future home. It sat on the edge of town, a small cottage almost lost in the wilderness of an overgrown garden. Derek parked his car at the curb, got out, and swung open the rickety front gate. Hannah was standing on the jungle of front lawn with her back to him, gazing at the house. At the squeak of the gate, she spun around.

Derek’s chest constricted as his greedy gaze slid over her. Tattered blue jeans, scuffed sneakers, loose T-shirt half sliding off one shoulder. Honey-streaked hair caught up in a casual ponytail. He drank in his fill. Only Hannah could look so girl-next-door wholesome and hot-damn sexy at the same time. His body stirred. He wanted to scoop her in his arms and press his lips to that bare shoulder of hers.

“Oh.” Her brows lowered. “How did you…”

“I spoke with Amber. You were supposed to call me.” He couldn’t help sounding slightly accusing.

“I didn’t realize I was
supposed
to do anything.” She blew out a breath, drawing his attention to her lips. Goddammit, she had a hold on him.

“Well, I’m here now.” And he wasn’t going anywhere. He could be just as stubborn as she.

Her face softened. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so churlish. How are you with wasps?”

“Wasps? Where are they?”

She gestured at the house. “There are two nests right above those windows and I can’t open them without getting a room full of angry insects.” She pointed at a broom half hidden in the long grass. “I’ve been psyching myself up to knock off those nests, but now that you’re here…” She looked back at him and smiled. “I know you’re not allergic to wasp stings. Not after you got stung raiding Mrs. Hickson’s pear trees.”

“Huh. You remember.” What he remembered most from that incident was him lying on his stomach in the Willmetts’ bathroom while Hannah soothed the stings on his back with ice. That had more than made up for his grandfather’s lecture and having to work in Mrs. Hickson’s garden as payment for all the prized Asian pears he’d eaten. “So you’re glad I turned up, hmm?”

“I guess so.”

“Even though you didn’t call me on purpose.”

“I haven’t hurt your ego, have I, trying to do something on my own?”

“Yeah. My manly ego is crushed.”

She waved at the house. “Well, you can restore your manly ego by crushing those nests.”

He hefted up the broom and gripped it firmly, making his biceps pop against the sleeves of his T-shirt. “How’s my manliness looking now?”

“Just awesome.” Pressing the back of her hand to her forehead, she pretended to swoon before she gave him the thumbs-up. “You want me to film this and upload it to YouTube? I can see the title already. ‘Celebrity carpenter Derek Carmichael gets rid of pesky wasps with one killer blow.’”

“Uh, no filming, just in case you get ‘Celebrity carpenter Derek Carmichael gets his ass kicked by angry wasps.’”

“Oh, I don’t want you getting hurt. Maybe I should call an exterminator.”

“No way.” His stupid male ego couldn’t let her do that. He flapped his free hand and puffed out his chest. “Stand back.”

Luckily, the wasps were the more benign paper wasps, not aggressive yellow jackets, but he didn’t want Hannah getting stung. He sidled up to the front of the house and located the two nests hanging from the eaves. They were about the size of his hand, with dozens of wasps hovering around them.

Here goes nothing
. Lifting the broom, he knocked off first one nest, then the other. As the confused wasps buzzed in the air, he drew back to a safe distance. A warm hand clutched his arm, and he found Hannah pressed up next to him.

“Poor things,” she murmured, gazing at the droning wasps that circled where the nests had been. “They’re homeless now.”

Her fingers were soft, and her hair tickled his arm. He sucked in air and breathed in her floral perfume. He was so giddy on her scent and the warmth of her curves pressed against him that he had trouble concentrating on her words.

“You feel sorry for them now?”

“In a way. They were just minding their own business, and suddenly this giant appears out of nowhere and whacks their home.”

“Um, you asked me to whack their home.”

“I know. I’m just being silly.”

She glanced up at him, and her eyes were wide green pools he could swim in all day. The way she was looking at him, she seemed to be inviting him to kiss her right there in broad daylight. Desire surged over him, but just as he was about to wrap his arm around her waist, she stepped back, dropping her hand away from his arm.

The confusion in her eyes told him that the pull of attraction was working just as hard on her. Paradoxically, the realization made it easier for him to rein in his urges. He was an adult just like she was, and he could show self-restraint.

“We should spray the eaves so the wasps don’t come back and build in the same spot,” he said. “Hopefully they’ll rebuild their nests in the trees.”

“Right. I’ll remember to bring some bug spray with me tomorrow.” She smoothed back some stray tendrils of hair. “You did good. ‘Celebrity carpenter Derek Carmichael helps out squeamish renter.’”

Celebrity carpenter Derek Carmichael gets kiss from sexy renter
. That was the kind of video he’d like. But that wasn’t going to happen.

“How about you give me the grand tour?” He motioned for her to lead the way into the cottage.

“It’s nothing much.” She showed him through the house, and it took all of thirty seconds. “But the rent’s very reasonable. I should be able to manage when I start college.”

“I can just picture you in here,” he said, gesturing about the empty, box-like living room. “You could put your desk over by that window so you can look out over the garden while you study.”

“I guess.” She looked about her uncertainly.

“This whole house needs a coat of paint.” The walls in every room were dingy, and the shelves in the kitchen were falling down. Plenty of work to keep him coming around.

“I’ve wiped down the walls in here and got the equipment ready.” She pointed at the brushes and tins of paint next to the ladder. “I was going to open the windows before I started painting. That’s when I noticed the wasps.”

Derek reached over and hauled open the windows so they could enjoy the breeze while they painted. “Want me to cut in the edges of the walls?”

She nodded eagerly. “Go ahead. I’m no good at doing the edges. They always come out all wobbly.”

He got to work. Hannah turned on a radio, setting the volume low, and began painting the center of the wall with a roller brush. For a while they worked in companionable silence, the music from the radio unobtrusive. He thought about her living here alone, cooking, studying, watching TV. She would invite her family and friends over. And when she started college, she’d meet a whole new set of people. Good. Hannah deserved a better life.

He glanced at her again. He couldn’t seem to go five minutes without giving her the once-over. Christ, she didn’t know how hot she really was. With her sweet sexiness and boundless kindness, she’d attract plenty of guys. The thought of another man touching her, kissing her, made his hand jerk.

“Shit,” he muttered at the sloppy line he’d painted. Grabbing a rag, he cleaned up the edge with meticulous care.

Hannah flicked back her ponytail to grin at him. “Glad I’m not the only one who cusses when she paints.”

Her teasing grin made his blood throb harder. It wasn’t fair. She had no idea what she was doing to him.