“I’m sure, and I don’t mind. We’ll be out in a few minutes.”

“George, tell this woman I don’t want her in my bedroom. This is my private space, and she’s not welcome here.”

“It’s okay, Mom. Hope is just trying to help. Be nice to her.”

Hope sent him a grateful smile before returning her attention to Marion, despondent to realize that the sound of his voice and his offer of support had her entire body tingling once again with awareness of him. Ugh!

The day that had begun with bright sunshine turned cloudy and stormy around noon. With his mother out for the afternoon with her devoted friends from church, Paul found himself with an unusual break in the manic action that made up his life. So naturally, he wandered out to the retail store, which closed at noon on Sundays, to do some much-needed paperwork and updating of the accounting software.

He was halfway across the yard when the heavens opened, leaving him completely drenched by the time he reached the wooden building that housed the store. Rain in September was a cold rain that had him shivering. Inside the store, he pulled off his shirt, hung it up to dry and found an old towel in the office that he used to wipe his face.

Paul was waiting for the computer to boot up when he heard a clattering noise from the store. With the towel slung around his neck, he got up to investigate and found Hope, soaking wet and shivering, inside the door he’d left unlocked.

She startled when he appeared out of the office. “Oh. Sorry. I was out for a walk, and it started to rain. I didn’t know you were here. I’ll just head up to the house.”

“It’s monsooning out there.” He handed her the towel. “You can wait it out here.”

Hope took the towel from him. “Thanks.” She wiped her face, but her teeth continued to chatter since her shirt was soaked through.

“I might have an extra shirt here somewhere,” he said. “I can go look.”

“That’s okay.” She unbuttoned the wet denim shirt and took it off, revealing a form-fitting tank.

He knew he shouldn’t take a long greedy look at the wet T-shirt that did nothing to hide her nipples, but he couldn’t seem to get that message to his eyes. “How did you manage to keep your hair from getting wet?”

She put her arms up over her head, giving him a spectacular view of her breasts.

Paul took three steps toward her, closing the distance between them.

Hope dropped her arms to her sides, bit her lip and shook her head. “Don’t.”

He put his hands on her shoulders and slid them down over the soft skin of her arms, noting her shiver and wondering if it was from the cold or his touch. “Why not?”