Authors: Angela Verdenius
Striding past her, he said casually, “Even if I don’t discover it, I still expect a cup of tea.”
“Is that so?” She locked the security screen.
“Payment for the attempt.”
“That’s a little presumptuous.”
“That’s me, Mr Presumptuous.” He glanced around the narrow hall. “Do I have freedom to roam?”
“Sure. Feel free. Just don’t go through my underwear drawer.”
“I’ll ask the same of you.”
“So you’ll really let me search through your house?” She leaned against the wall.
“You’re letting me look through yours.” He glanced at her over his shoulder. “And it’s not like we really know each other.”
“I think if you were going to hurt me, you’ve had ample opportunity by now.”
He gave a small nod of agreement and disappeared into the lounge.
Okay, she didn’t think he would hurt her, but he was correct, she didn’t know him that well. Yet here she was locking herself inside the house with Jason. She should have her head read, yet there was something about him that her gut feeling told her was safe.
She’d learned to go by gut feeling, it was just a shame she hadn’t gone by it before it all blew up in her face.
Shaking that unwelcome thought aside, she followed behind him, watching as he went from room to room.
Jason didn’t try to peek into any of the cupboards but he did shift those against the walls. He caught her questioning look. “Looking for holes in the wall.”
“Arnie isn’t able to get behind the cupboards.”
“Find a hole first, trace it to another possible opening.”
Made sense, so she nodded.
She also admired the way he effortlessly slid wardrobes and cupboards aside. The corded muscles in his forearms flexed, hands gripping the edges, fingers braced.
“Here.” She positioned herself on one side of a heavy wardrobe.
“I can do it.”
“I’ll help.”
“I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“I’m a robust lass, Mr Presumptuous. I’ll be fine.”
Jason paused, his gaze sliding over her and back up.
Cripes, she could feel her heart skip a beat, heat stealing into her cheeks knowing that he saw every generous curve filling out her slacks and light jumper. Normally it didn’t bother her when anyone looked at her, but Jason really looked at her as though seeing everything.
Heady thought, and a disconcerting one.
Half expecting a witty, slightly cutting comment back, she was pleasantly surprised when instead he drawled, “I’ve been shifting furniture for years, Miss Independence. I’m fine to do it on my own.”
“How about if you hurt your back doing it in my house, you might sue me?”
“How about we discuss Arnie and the lock-picking episode?”
“Point taken.” She paused. “But I still want to help.”
“Put the kettle on.”
“Are you relegating me to the kitchen now? That’s sexist.”
“A little sweet, a little tart, a little mouthy,” he muttered.
“And that’s insulting.”
“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” A small smile curved his mouth. “Okay, Miss Independence, get ready to steer. I’m going to push.”
The man was crafty. Because he pushed the wardrobe, all she had to do was steer it and that not much because he slid it to one side and simply had to slide it back again once he’d seen the wall had no holes.
“I’m starting to think you’re cunning,” Izzy said.
He laughed.
It was a good laugh, low and warm, making her laugh in return.
They went through the rest of the house without discovering how Arnie had escaped.
“I don’t get it.” Standing in the kitchen, her hands on her hips, Izzy blew a lock of hair out of her eyes. “Arnie had to get out of here first to get into your house. How did he do it?”
“Do you sleep walk?” Jason plugged in the kettle.
“No. And what’s that got to do with it?” Izzy placed two mugs on the bench.
Seemingly at home in her little kitchen, Jason grabbed the jar of tea bags and pulled two out, dropping them into the mugs. “You could sleepwalk and unlock the door.”
“You think I let my cat out in my sleep and then -what? Relocked the door and went back to bed?”
“Hey, I’m just saying.”
“You’re saying wrong.” She gestured with the sugar bowl. When he shook his head, she placed it back in the pantry. “Besides, Mikki is a light sleeper, she’d have heard me.”
“Ah, Mikki.” Jason didn’t bat an eyelid when Arnie jumped up onto the bench and sat down. “Your ghost believer.”
Arnie reached out a paw to grab the tag from the tea bag in the nearest mug and Jason calmly tapped his paw with one finger. Arnie grabbed his finger and Jason scratched behind his ears, making the cat go almost limp with pleasure, his purr filling the room.
“Mikki’s a nice girl.” Pouring milk into her mug, Izzy jiggled the tea bag and handed the bottle to Jason.
“Who believes in ghosts and picks locks.”
“Two very endearing qualities if you really know her.”
Jason poured hot water into the mugs. “I’ll take your word for it.”
“She only picks locks in dire circumstances.”
“Last night was a dire circumstance?”
“For me and Arnie, yes.”
Lifting up the mug to his mouth, Jason watched her over the rim as he blew gently on the steaming liquid. “Why?”
“Seriously?”
He nodded.
“Jason, I don’t really know you. My cat had somehow escaped my house, broken into yours, and I had no idea if you’d hurt him or something.” Izzy was nothing if not honest. “My main concern was getting him out before you discovered him.”
His eyebrows rose. “You thought I’d hurt him?”
“Well…yeah.” She shrugged. “Sorry.”
“Huh.” He continued to blow thoughtfully on the steaming liquid.
Izzy ventured a smile. “But now I know you’re okay.”
“You do?”
“Sure. You’re in my kitchen, drinking my tea and letting Arnie play with your finger.”
Jason glanced down to where Arnie was batting and pulling at his finger, which Jason obligingly wiggled. Then slowly his gaze rose to mesh with hers. “But you don’t really know me, do you?”
Okay, that was true, she didn’t really know him. Not well. Hadn’t met him until a couple of days ago, and both encounters hadn’t been sterling. “You’re related to Luke.”
“Cousin.”
“Luke’s an okay bloke.”
“Yep.”
“And he visits you.”
“Yep.”
“And Luke hasn’t warned me not to go near you.” Izzy grinned. “I take that as you’re not going to hurt me.”
Jason went still. His gaze continued to be locked onto her, seeming to see something of which Izzy had not a clue. The silence stretched for a full ten seconds.
She was just starting to wonder if she’d made a big mistake when he stated quietly, “I would never hurt you, Izzy. You have my word on that.”
The woman had no idea what it meant for Jason to say it.
She smiled brightly up at him, all big eyes and pink cheeks, looking so damned innocent and sweet. “Good to know.”
“And your cat is perfectly safe with me,” he added.
“Even if he breaks into your house again?”
“Yes. Don’t sweat it, just leave him there until I get home and I’ll let him out.”
Izzy’s smile widened. “That’s good to know as well, because I work all day and if he gets into your house and you’re working, that’s where he’ll end up staying unless he figures his way out.”
“And he probably will. If he can get in, he can probably get out.”
She looked at Arnie before looking back up at Jason. Her expression had grown sombre. “Thank you. He means a lot to me.”
A little trickle of warmth went through Jason. What was it about Izzy that pulled at him? He’d only met her recently, both times memorable.
Uncertain of his own peculiar reaction, he sought to focus on something else. Anything. “You’ve had him awhile?”
“He’s five years old. I’ve known Arnie since he arrived on our doorstep as a present.”
Us?
Jason’s attention on her intensified. She’d previously stated she had no husband, no boyfriend, no ex. Had she been lying?
“Moira gave him to Mum as a birthday present.” Izzy tickled Arnie under the chin. “Cutest birthday present ever.”
There was no sign of another person living in the house. “Your Mum doesn’t live with you?”
Izzy was silent for several seconds, then, “Mum died two years ago.”
“I’m sorry.” He couldn’t imagine what life would be like without his own mother.
“It’s okay.” Izzy shrugged, but the happiness in her eyes dimmed.
“You miss her.”
“We were close.” For a second he thought she was going to stop right there, but instead she continued, “I lived with her. Then she got cancer, and I cared for her as it got worse.”
“That would have been hard.”
“Kind of.” Izzy smiled sadly. “But she was my Mum, she cared and looked after us when we were young, so it’s only normal to do the same when she needed care.”
“You have siblings?”
“A sister, Moira.”
“You’re close?”
Izzy’s lashes lowered as she looked down at the mug in her hand. “Not anymore.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
Well, it wasn’t, not really. Jason didn’t mean to comment, so he astonished himself by saying, “It’s hard when you drift apart.”
“More like rudely wrenched.” Izzy gave a small, bitter laugh before shaking her head suddenly and pulling her shoulders back. Taking a swallow of tea, she said brightly, “Enough about me. So, what about you?”
“I’m kind of boring.” Besides, he’d rather hear more about Izzy.
“Pshaw. You’re related to Luke. How could you be boring?”
“How about the fact that Luke has known you longer but never introduced us?”
“Maybe that’s because we go around in different social circles.”
“My social circle is pretty small.”
“No one wants to play with you?”
Jason swished the hot tea carefully around the inside of the mug. “More that I’m not a very social person in general.”
“Yet here you are having tea with me and playing with my cat.”
Jason smiled. “Being neighbourly.”
Leaning against the kitchen bench, she studied him. “You don’t strike me as the kind of bloke to worry about being neighbourly.”
“Got that in a nutshell,” he agreed. “I nod to neighbours on my way in and out. That’s about my limit.”
“So I’m privileged to have you talking to me and drinking my tea.”
Noting the teasing light in her eyes, Jason replied, “Extremely.”
“I am honoured.”
Not as much as he was. He found Izzy intriguing, friendly, with a sense of humour that appealed to him. He didn’t know why, it wasn’t as though she was anything extraordinary, yet he felt like he could stand and talk to her all day.
Pretty bloody amazing when he usually only had conversations with his family or clients. The clients got a short, to-the-point discussion, his family depended on his mood, and neighbours got a nod.
He’d spoken more to Izzy in the past hour than he had to anyone outside the family in a long time. Hell, no way would he have normally offered to help someone look for the escape route of their cat, the most he would have done was ensure his house was enter proof - like that was working, anyway - but there he’d gone, heading over to help Izzy and next thing he knew she was laughing, he was laughing, they were shifting furniture together and he was at home in her kitchen, making tea and encouraging her to open up to him.
Shit, wasn’t that a turn-up for the books.
“So, what about you?” she queried.
The question made him shrug. “Like I said, I’m boring.”
“So what kind of boring job do you do?”
“I’m a handyman.”
“Own business?”
“Work for my Uncle.”
“Ah. Well’s Handyman and Building Services.” At his questioning look, she added, “I’ve seen the sign on the side of your ute. Your uncle has a good reputation.”
“He’s a good bloke.”
“From what I’ve heard, yes.”
Jason took a mouthful of hot tea, searching for a way to get her back to talking about herself. “So, you lived here long?”
“About two years. How about you?”
“I just moved in next door recently.”
“Ha ha. Very funny. Let’s try this - were you born in this place?”
“Not here per se,” Jason said. “I was born in a hospital.”
“Oh, funny man.” She pointed the teaspoon at him. “Which hospital?”
“A small town hospital. I don’t live there any longer.” She opened her mouth but he beat her to it. “So where did you live before you bought this house?”
“This is a rental. When did you move to the city?”
“About six years ago. Where did you live before you rented this house?”
“With my mother.”
The woman was asking questions as fast as he answered and questioned in turn. Yet for all the answers he still felt like he was trying to see through a gauze curtain. Izzy wasn’t as open as she first appeared.
No sooner had he thought it than Izzy asked, “Is she still back in this small town?”
“Hell, no.”
Izzy’s eyebrows shot up. “Is there a story there?”
“Not much of one,” he replied evasively. “Mum lives with my uncle.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“Brother. We’re not close.”
“Huh.” Her gaze dropped to the teaspoon which she was turning round and round by the handle. “That happens. What about your Dad?”
“Not close.”
“Families,” she said thoughtfully.
He couldn’t miss the way her jaw tightened slightly. “Families. Can’t live with ‘em-”
“Can sure as hell live without ‘em.”
While he could agree to a certain extent, the hard edge in Izzy’s tone had Jason blinking in surprise. Now what had happened in her life to make her so uptight about family?
Catching his expression, Izzy blushed. “Sorry.” Her smile this time was forced. Straightening from her slouch, she placed the teaspoon on the bench top. “So, you came from a small town. You must find city life very different.”
Taking the hint not to ask personal questions, Jason retained his easy posture against the bench while giving a small shrug. “Kind of, but not hugely.”
“Really?”
“Whether you’re in a small town or city, if you work you get up at a certain time, get to the job, do it, get home. Unless you’re into a lot of outside entertainment, life isn’t so different.” Another shrug. “Except the distance to get to work can be a mongrel.”
“Yeah, I hear you.” Izzy thoughtfully pursed her lips. “I guess you’re right. I kind of thought small towns had an easier way of life.”
“Depends on your point of view.” Man, she had pretty lips, all pink and soft and plump. Kissable.
If Izzy knew what he was thinking, she’d probably run a mile.
Giving himself a mental shake, Jason sought safer ground. “Have you worked long at the supermarket?”
“The same amount of time I’ve lived here.” She drank the last of the tea in the mug. “So, are you wondering if I intend to do something more worthwhile?”
In the act of drinking the last of his own tea, Jason paused. “What?”
“Sorry.” She shook her head. “I guess I still get a little defensive.”
“About working in a supermarket? What’s wrong with working in a supermarket?”
“Nothing. I like it.” Clearing her throat, Izzy moved to the sink and rinsed out her mug. “I just get asked sometimes why I don’t get a better job.”
Moving up beside her, Jason placed his mug in the sink. “You have a job you like, what’s the problem with that?”
The smile she flashed up at him was genuinely brighter. “My hero. I’ll have to bake you some Melting Moment biccies.”
He arched an eyebrow.
“You don’t scream about my house-breaking cat, then my lock-picking friend, and now you don’t lecture me about getting a better job. You’re definitely worth Melting Moment biccies.”
He rinsed out the mug and dried it with the tea towel. “There’s not much I scream about.”
“A man in a million,” she teased.
“More like a man who learned that there are different ways of handling life.”
She placed the mugs back in the cupboard. “So you’re saying you weren’t always this quiet, easy-going bloke?”
Easy going? If she only knew. He grinned crookedly. “You could say that.”
“Do tell.”
“I’d rather not.” Hell no. His past was nothing of which to be proud.
“Hmm.” Folding the tea towel, she hung it over the rack. “There’s a story there.”
“We’ve all got a story,” he replied easily. “Some are better than others.”
She nodded.
The mobile in Jason’s back pocket rang. Thinking his uncle had decided to work out at the building site after all on Saturday, he said, “Excuse me, I need to take this,” and pulled the mobile from his pocket. Luke’s number showed - or rather, the name Jason had typed in for him -
Flower Girl.
“Hey, Flower Girl,” he greeted.
“If you don’t change that stupid name for me, I’ll kick your arse one day,” Luke’s voice came through the phone.
“You and what army?”
“I don’t need an army, I have a bunch of daffodils. Be afraid, be very afraid.”
“I’m shaking in my sneakers. What do you want?” Jason watched Arnie twining around Izzy’s legs.
“I want to know where you are. I’m outside your house, you’re not.”
“Why are you outside my house?”
“We’re going to give my car a service, remember? Drop the oil, etc etc?”
“Oh yeah.” Now Jason remembered. “I’ll be there in a tick.”
“I’ll just sit my lonely arse on your doorstep meanwhile.”
“You do that.” Jason flipped the mobile shut. “I have to go.”
Izzy started for the hallway. “Thanks for checking the house for me.”
“No worries. Thanks for the tea.”
“Anytime.”
Following Izzy down the hallway to the front door, he couldn’t help but admire the way those generous hips swayed from side to side. The woman might have a no-nonsense stride, but nothing was going to hide those feminine curves. Definitely curves a man could cup, all soft and sweet and welcoming.
It’d been awhile since a woman had stirred his interest, and he had it on the tip of his tongue to ask her out, but his inbred wariness held him back.
Not yet. Maybe one day soon, but not just yet.
Stepping out onto the veranda, she held the door open for him while waving cheerfully to where Luke was leaning against his car with his arms folded and ankles crossed.
“Hey, Iz,” Luke called back.
Jason could see instantly the double-take his cousin did upon seeing Jason following behind her, but luckily Izzy had swooped down to pick up Arnie so she didn’t see his expression. By the time she straightened, Luke’s expression was back to its usual cheerfulness.
“I’ll catch you later,” Jason said, going down the couple of steps to the ground.
“Sure thing.” The sound of the security door shutting behind him almost made Jason glance over his shoulder, but he kept his head forward.
With a grin on his dial, Luke watched him approach. “So, been visiting the girl next door, huh?”
It just had to be Luke who saw him. “Arnie got out of the house last night, we were trying to figure out how.”
“Arnie got out,” Luke repeated. “And why would that bother you? Normally you wouldn’t give a rat’s arse if the whole neighbourhood had their pets wandering at night.”