PINKUNDERWEAR?
Grimacing, Cain Nestor tossed his formerly white cotton briefs into the washing machine and slammed the door closed. Damn it! He should have stopped at the mall the night before and bought new ones, but it had been late when his private plane finally landed in Miami. Besides, back in Kansas he had done his own laundry plenty of times. He couldnât believe heâd forgotten so much in twelve years that heâd end up with pink underwear, but apparently he had.
Tightening the knot of the towel at his waist, he stormed out of the laundry room and into the kitchen just as the back door opened. From the pretty yellow ruffled apron that was the trademark of Happy Maids, he knew that his personal assistant Ava was one step ahead of him again. Heâd been without a housekeeper since the beginning of February, three long weeks ago. Though Ava had interviewed, heâd found something wrong with every person sheâd chosenâhis maid lived in and a man couldnât be too careful about whom he let stay in his homeâbut the lack of clean underwear had clearly proven heâd hit a wall.
Leave it to his assistant to think of the stopgap measure. Sheâd hired a cleaning service.
Ready to make an apology for his appearance, Cain caught his once-a-week housekeeperâs gaze and his heart froze in his chest. His breathing stopped. His thigh muscles turned to rubber.
âLiz?â
Though her long black hair had been pulled into a severe bun at her nape and sheâd lost a few pounds in the three years since heâd seen her, heâd know those catlike green eyes anywhere.
âCain?â
A million questions danced through his head, but they were quickly replaced by recriminations. Sheâd quit a very good job in Philadelphia and moved with him to Miami when sheâd married him. Now, she was a maid? Not even a permanently employed housekeeper. She was a fill-in. A stopgap measure.
And it was his fault.
He swallowed. âI donât know what to say.â
Liz Harper blinked a few times, making sure her eyes were not deceiving her and she really was seeing her ex-husband standing wrapped in only a towel in the kitchen of the house that was her first assignment for the day. He hadnât changed a bit in three years. His onyx eyes still had the uncanny ability to make her feel he could see the whole way to her soul. He still wore his black hair short. And he still had incredible muscles that rippled when he moved. Broad shoulders. Defined pecs. And six-pack abs. All of which were on display at the moment.
She licked her suddenly dry lips. âYou could start by saying, âExcuse my nakedness. Iâll just run upstairs and get a robe.ââ
Remarkably, that made him laugh, and myriad memories assaulted herâ¦.
The day theyâd met on the flight from Dallas to Philadelphiaâ¦
How theyâd exchanged business cards and heâd called her cell phone even before she was out of the airportâ¦
How theyâd had dinner that night, entered into a long-distance relationship, made love for the first time on the beach just beyond his beautiful Miami home, and married on the spur of the moment in Las Vegas.
And now she was his housekeeper.
Could a woman fall any farther?
Worse, she wasnât in a position where she could turn down this job.
âOkay. Iâll justââ
âDo you thinkââ
They stopped. The scent of his soap drifted to her and she realized he hadnât changed brands. More memories danced through her head. The warmth of his touch. The seriousness of his kiss.
She cleared her throat. âYou first.â
He shook his head. âNo. Ladies first.â
âOkay.â She pulled in a breath. She didnât have to tell him her secrets. Wouldnât be so foolish again as to trust him with her dreams. If everything went well, she wouldnât even have to see him while she did her job. âAre you going to have a problem with this?â
He gripped his towel a little tighter. âYou working for me or chatting about you working for me while I stand here just about naked?â
Her cheeks heated. The reminder that he was naked under one thin towel caused her blood to simmer with anticipation. For another two people that might be ridiculous three years after their divorce, but she and Cain had always had chemistry. Realistically, she knew it wouldnât simply disappear. After all, it had been strong enough to coax a normally sensible Pennsylvania girl to quit her dream job and follow him to Miami, and strong enough that a typically reclusive entrepreneur had opened up and let her into his life.