“Uh… well, the bathroom’s free if you want to change,” he said awkwardly. Why was he acting so strange? He was normally so confident and put-together.
When she finally stood in front of the bathroom mirror, she realized what was happening. Her shirt was so soaked that it clung to her body, showing every curve perfectly, right down to the divot of her belly button. She bit her lip and smiled to herself. So, hewasattracted to her, at least a little bit.
It felt good to peel out of her clinging, wet clothes and dry off. His clothes were far too big for her, but just as he predicted, the drawstring on his sweatpants came in handy. And whoever said no to an oversized T-shirt in the comfort of their own home? Or someone else’s, for that matter. The shirt smelled like laundry detergent and dryer sheets, the mild perfume of freshly cleaned clothes. She nuzzled into the scent like a cat in a wool blanket.
Finally, she emerged from the bathroom holding her stack of wet clothing bundled in the towel he had loaned her. “Where do I put all this?”
“I’ll trade you,” Charlie offered, holding out a glass of something amber.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Irish whiskey. Single malt. I heard you order it at the bar. I didn’t know if my father kept any in the house, but it turns out he did.”
“Lucky me.” She laughed and swapped her bundle of wet clothes for the glass of whiskey. It was touching that he remembered her drink at all, but she didn’t tell him that she also remembered his.
“Is there anything here that can’t be dried?” he asked, balancing the bundle of wet clothes in his hands. “I was going to throw mine in the dryer, and I’ll add yours if you like.”
She thought a moment. “Yeah, the bra probably shouldn’t go in the dryer.”
There was a split second of pink in his cheeks, like he hadn’t really expected that answer. Then he pulled himself together and asked, “Should I hang it up, or would you rather do it yourself?”
Anna couldn’t help laughing out loud. He was so perfectly cute when he was shy. She would never have guessed she’d ever see it for herself, but here she was. What a lucky rainstorm she’d just had. “You can hang it up for me,” she said when she’d gotten hold of herself. “We’re both adults, so I don’t mind. I’m sure you’ve seen one before.”
It took several minutes after he disappeared for her to realize that the reason he was blushing probably had less with the bra itself, and more to do with the sudden realization that she wasn’t in fact wearing one anymore.
CHAPTER 14
ANNA
Anna spent the next several minutes laughing under her breath at the absurdity of her situation. It was exactly like something out of a romance novel, which she thought was a remarkable coincidence, considering she was currently sitting on location for the one she was in the process of filming.
The difference, she supposed, was that Charlie didn’t seem like a stereotype to her anymore. She’d seen his strengths and weaknesses and learned a bit about his past. He was a real person, and she couldn’t think of anyone she’d rather get caught in a rainstorm with, including all those romantic heroes from the books she’d read in the past.
By the time Charlie returned with his own drink, she had made herself quite comfortable on his couch. He sat at the other end and cleared his throat. “Fine weather we’ve been having today,” he said with a crooked smile.
“I love it,” Anna responded without a hint of sarcasm. Aside from the soothing sound of the rain on the metal roof and the cozy feeling of being in a small cabin-like house in the middle of a thunderstorm, this weather had put her right in the path ofspending an impromptu evening with the one and only Charlie Greene. “Do you ever count between the thunder and lightning?” she asked offhandedly.
“I did when I was a kid,” he said. “My dad taught me that one.”
Anna leaned back into the overstuffed couch cushions and sipped her whiskey. “You really had such a lucky childhood,” she said, half to herself and half to him. “I know it must have been painful, losing your mom so young, but it sounds like she really, truly loved you. And your father loved you, too. That’s a lot rarer than most people think. Your parents sound like a dream to me.”
Charlie knit his brow as he stared across the couch at her. “Did you not have parents who loved you?”
She shrugged. “I couldn’t tell. The two of them never really got along. They stayed together, though, which I suppose was a good thing. We moved around a lot for my mom’s work. For a long time, that’s what I wanted, too. I guess I was used to it. And it was always fun to meet new people, see new places, and never get bored. When I was a kid, I decided I never wanted to stay in one place longer than a year or so. I thought putting down roots was boring.” She paused and glanced at the room around her. Charlie had grown up here, and now he owned the place. All his memories were packaged neatly into this beautiful property. If she was ever going to put down roots, she hoped it would be in a place like this one.
“Hmm.” Charlie thought a moment before responding. “I think it would be interesting to move around a lot, but I wouldn’t give up my home for it.”
“Nor should you.” She took the last sip of her drink, and he immediately took the cup from her hand.
“Can I pour you another?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Oh, why not? We’ve got to wait until the dryer is done anyway, right?”
He nodded. “Unless you think it would be fun to drive home in moist underwear.”
“Oh, absolutely not!” she practically shouted. “We are not using that phrase around me. I hate that word.”
“What?” He chuckled. “Moist?”
