“Are you okay?” Concern filled his words, but the low pitch of his voice against the pounding rain calmed her.
She nodded. “Yes, thank you. How did you?—”
“Timing.” He handed her the umbrella.
“It’s not mine.” She was captivated for a split second.
“May as well be. It seemed to be hunting you down.”
She shivered. Her dress clung to her skin, and the storm wasn’t letting up.
Rain ran over him, the water a dirty, bluish gray over the light blue shirt he wore.
“That was a close call.” He looked up. “Storm came out of nowhere.”
“It did.” She steadied the umbrella in the hand with her shoes, lifting it in appreciation and not wanting to insult him by handing it back. “Thank you.” A bolt of lightning brightened the sky, accented by thunder that made her shriek. “And here I am, holding a lightning bolt.”
Their eyes met, and she stood there a moment too long. “Thank you. Gotta run!”
She took off, not stopping to look back until she was almost at her office. There was no one else on the sidewalk. He was gone just as fast as he’d appeared.
The Barron, Winters & Wall building was just across the street.
She stepped inside the foyer. Drenched, she squeezed the dripping water from her hair and the bottom of her dress the best that she could. Hoping not to slip on the marble, she tiptoed by the waiting area.
The chill of the air-conditioning against her wet skin sent goose bumps up her arms. She hurried into her office and closed the door. Thank goodness she kept a couple of changes of clothes in the closet to always be prepared. One for the gym, which rarely got used, and one business attire, along with jewelry that could go either way.
She got the towel out of her gym bag and blotted herself dry enough to change into the khakis and matching top with a chocolate brown belt, then pulled her hair up into a wet, messy bun.
With a sigh, she sat down at her desk and unloaded the bag. She hoped dinner wasn’t going to be a soggy mess. Luckily, the to-go containers had protected it. She spread the food out on her desk. The honey lime chicken had a lovely glaze, and she was instantly hungry again as she noted the perfect grill marks. She took a bite and scrolled through emails; only, her mind kept wandering back to the storm and the chance encounter with the man on the street.
Timing, he’d said with quiet confidence. And boy was it perfect timing. He’d appeared out of nowhere.
That umbrella had been soaring straight for her.
How was it possible that he’d caught it?
She paused mid-bite, catching herself in an introspective pause. A gentle flush warmed her cheeks as his image interrupted her thoughts. An involuntary smile played on her lips as she recalled the way their eyes had locked. His were the deepest green she’d ever seen on a man. She returned to her meal, but there was something sexy about a hero, no doubt about it.
Or maybe she was overworked and had just imagined it all. Well, except for the rain. Her wet clothes and hair were proof that part had happened.
She tossed the rest of the food into the trash can, laughing at how distracted she was.I need to get a life.
She grabbed her keys, stuffed her wet clothes in a trash bag, and went to see if it was still raining. From the lobby she could see that the rain had drifted off as quickly as it had arrived. Only a few puddles remained in the gutters.
She wished she’d thought to ask her rescuer his name. Had she even said thank you?
“Thanks, stranger,” she said as she glanced back down the block and crossed the street.
Chapter
Four
Matthew was grateful for the silence when the pounding rain came to a stop—but wasn’t that just the way things went? He had just finished loading his supplies into his truck. With a shrug, he turned to close the tailgate when a car drove through a puddle, splashing him with dirty street water.
No good deed goes unpunished.
As his head dropped in dismay, a glimmer of gold caught his eye. Across the way, right where the woman had been standing earlier before she ran off in the rain, a bracelet lay there at the edge of the sidewalk.
