Within minutes, he had the ladder leaning against the side of the house. With his hair plastered down by the driving rain, he had a sleek otter look about him, Megan thought dreamily.

She stood at the bottom of the ladder, making sure it didn’t slip as he climbed on to the roof. He had a very nice backside, she decided, looking up. There was something distinctly sexy about damp, clinging jeans on a muscular male body.

He slipped and cursed as he found his footing again.

That jolted her out of her dreaminess. ‘Be careful!’ she warned him unnecessarily.

‘Don’t worry! I don’t intend to get hurt!’ He smiled down at her and she realised they were working as a team. That made her feel even better.

‘You might as well stand under the shelter of the veranda until I’m ready to come down,’ he called.

‘I’d rather stay here and keep an eye on you. Besides, I’m already soaked. What’s a little more rain between friends?’

He grinned down at her, and began to crawl across the roof. She stood watching him, her heart in her mouth. Surely that wind was getting stronger? After a few minutes, she could not help asking, ‘Are you certain you’re all right up there?’

‘Never better!’

‘Some sunburned country this is!’ She tried to match his cheerfulness, but shivered as the wind blew moisture into every opening in her clothes and cold rain started to trickle down her neck. The wind seemed to be getting stronger by the minute.

She watched him investigate the leak and listened incredulously as he began to whistle. But the same happiness was welling up in her. ‘You know, this is fun, in a backhanded sort of way,’ she called out. ‘We only need Gene Kelly to start us off and we’ll be dancing – and singing – in the rain.’ She sang the words of the song to him.

He sat up for a moment to ease his back. ‘You’re incredible. There you are, cold, soaked to the skin, yet you’re managing to smile and joke, and you’re even serenading me.’

‘Well, you’re whistling.’

‘I think we’re both mad.’

‘I know we’re mad!’ He turned back to his work and the whistling started again.

‘Megan!’ Cynthia peered out of the door. ‘Where’s Ben?’

‘Up on the roof.’

‘Well, that bucket needs emptying again and I’m not touching it.’

‘You’ll have to, or it’ll overflow all over the floor and then you’ll get your nice new Reeboks wet.’

‘You come and do it, then.’

‘As you can see, I’m holding the ladder and I daren’t let go.’ Megan choked back a laugh at the expression of fury on Cynthia’s face.