Suddenly You by Sarah Mayberry

Author:Sarah Mayberry
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-09-09T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

PIPPA KNELT ON the cold tile in the bathroom to tie the laces on her runners. The two glasses of wine she’d drunk with dinner had worked their way through her system, warming her belly and taking the edge off her anger with Steve. Or maybe it was Harry’s easy good humor that had done that.

He’d been so calm and understanding, even when she’d confessed that she’d dumped him in it with his best friend. He could have been angry—very angry—with her. But he wasn’t, and he hadn’t packed up his stuff and gone home. He’d eaten her dinner and done his best to distract her.

Beneath his rugged, take-no-prisoners exterior was an incredibly decent man with a good heart.

A wave of gratitude washed over her. If only there was some way she could repay him for all his many large and small kindnesses. She stared at the wall, trying to think of something—anything—she could do or buy that would let him know how much she valued his efforts and support.

Maybe she could buy him some new tools when money wasn’t such an issue. She’d noticed his screwdriver set was pretty beaten up. Maybe she could save up and get him a new one.

It felt so feeble in the face of his generosity, but it was all she could come up with.

Sighing, she stood in front of the mirror, quickly brushing her hair back into a ponytail. She’d pulled on an old man’s shirt she’d bought a while ago and her oldest yoga pants and she finished her ensemble with a scarf tied over her hair to protect it from paint spatter. Not her most attractive look, but tonight was about practicality. Hell, at the moment, her whole life was about practicality.

She set Alice up in the sunroom with the baby monitor once again, then headed for the bedroom. Harry was already up the ladder, a trowel and a bucket of ready-mix plaster in hand. She tilted her head back and watched him smooth a thin coat along the joins between the old and new plaster sheets, impressed by his expertise and trying not to notice the muscles in his chest and arms ripple as he worked.

“For a mechanic, you make a pretty good plasterer.”

“Did a few summers on building sites when I was a kid. Picked up a few tricks along the way.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Not right this second.” He glanced down at her, quickly returning his attention to the ceiling.

“Do you want something else to drink? A coffee, maybe?” She felt so superfluous, standing around watching him work.

“Coffee would be good, thanks.”

She half suspected he’d only said yes to give her something to do, but she headed into the kitchen to put the kettle on. By the time she returned with two mugs, he’d shifted the ladder across the room and was smoothing plaster over the last join.

“That was fast.”

“It’ll dry fast, too. Thirty minutes and we should be able to sand and get a coat of paint on.

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