“You can’t be doing this,” she said, ignoring the smile problem. “You’re a guest here. No one expects you to take care of maintenance items.”

“It was a leaky faucet, Dena. I replaced a washer. It took ten minutes.” He rose to his feet and turned on the tap, then turned it off again. There weren’t any drips. “See? All done.”

“But you’re a guest.”

His smile gentled. “You’re welcome.”

She flushed. “Thank you for helping out, but it’s not expected.”

“I like helping you. This was fun. I enjoy puttering, and I haven’t been able to do it for a long time.”

She didn’t understand. She supposed that was the real problem. “Why would you bother?”

He chuckled. “You’re not listening. I heard about the problem and I wanted to take care of it if I could.”

He used a rag to wipe down the sink, then collected his tools and walked toward her. She instinctively backed up, so he led the way to the door.

She stared up at him, thinking he was too good to be true. Even more unsettling was how much she wanted to step into his embrace and kiss him. Really kiss him. And then have sex. Hot, wild, all-day sex. The kind where the rest of the world disappeared and it was only the two of them. And she wanted it to be more than a onetime thing. She wanted it to be real—all of it. She wanted Micah to fall in love with her.

The truth slammed into her with so much force, she nearly staggered. No. No, no, no. She was not going to give her heart to him. She couldn’t. It wasn’t just a recipe for disaster, it was the recipe and the ingredients and so much more.

“This was fun,” he said, staring into her eyes.

“You’re a crazy man.”

The smile returned. “Maybe. I finished the song.”

“You did? That’s great. Do you like it? Are you happy with how it turned out?”

“Yes. I am. You inspired me.”

“I... What?”

He touched her cheek. “You inspired me. You’re the reason I can write again.”

“I don’t know what to say to that.”

“You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know.”

Her heart pounded in her chest, and she worried that at any minute, the hallway was going to start spinning. Did his words mean anything significant?

“When can I hear it?” she asked.

“I’ll be singing it live on the Christmas variety show.”

When he would be leaving to go to LA and possibly never coming back? So much for any daydreams about him caring for her. Listening to the song with fifty million other people, while Micah was performing live on television, wasn’t exactly romantic.