“Victoria Mallory Noor Pendergast Rivers Pendergast...” His smile deepened as he accurately rattled off her long list of last names. “You hired me to be out here. In fact, you emailed me two days ago and berated me for not being here sooner. And I wasn’t spying. I was getting ready to go to work when you put on your little show.” He rested his arm on his knee. “Gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting to start my day with a striptease.”

Vickie stiffened. “I was not doing a...” She looked down to be sure. Well, shit. Her robe had loosened from all of her shimmying and had nearly slipped off one shoulder. She yanked it up and tightened the belt. “It wasn’t a show. It was me in what I thought was the privacy of my own kitchen at eight o’clock in the morning.”

Gordon slowly rose to his feet, reminding Vickie that he’d once been a linebacker on the high school football team way back when. He was tall and broad shouldered, and bicep muscles bunched under that snug shirt. His thick, pewter brows drew together as he frowned.

“I couldn’t help seeing you. But I should have let you know you had an audience. Sorry.”

She appreciated his apology, but her dignity was rattled. And she still hadn’t had any coffee, thanks to him.

“Or you could have turned away and not been an audience at all.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “Yeah...that wasn’t a realistic option. You were a sight I couldn’t ignore.” He managed to control his laughter, shaking his head. “But I am sorry for startling you. Do you want me to come back later?”

She’d only be hurting herself if she made him leave now.

“No, I’ve been waiting long enough to get this deck fixed. I’ll just be more careful about closing the curtains.” And she would not be coming downstairs in her bathrobe again until he was done with the repairs. She tugged at her robe again and turned away, spotting her coffee cup on the counter. Her first mother-in-law had instilled an entire volume of Emily Post good manners in her, so she couldn’t help asking. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“No thanks. I picked up a to-go cup from Evie this morning at The Spot.” She’d started into the kitchen when he called out to her. “Adele’s got nothing on you, Vicks.”

Her teeth ground together, but she kept walking, closing the door hard enough to make the glass panes rattle. Not only had he watched. He’d also listened. She yanked the heavy damask curtains closed.