Page 43 of Welcome Home to Ivy Falls

She touched the spot again and winced. ‘Fine, come in.’

Cardboard boxes and plastic bins sat in a haphazard pile in the center of the room. Her floor plan was the same as mine but the rooms were flipped so we shared the same bedroom wall.

‘Medicine kit and a flashlight?’ I asked as the puddle grew around her feet, my gaze snagging on the daisy-yellow nail polish on her toes. I forced my attention to the cabinet where she pointed and I grabbed the white metal box. ‘Do you want to get a towel? I can wait.’

Her lips pinched into a thin line. ‘You think I’d be standing here in a shower curtain if I had a towel?’

God, she is beautiful when she is annoyed.

‘You took a shower without a towel?’

She jabbed a finger at me. ‘You can leave if all I’m gonna get is judgment. I was hot and sweaty and wanted to rinse off. A towel was the last thing I was thinking about.’

A vision of her in the shower raced through my head. I took a thick gulp and looked away from her ruby-red lips. At the end of the counter was a napkin and I shoved it in her direction.

‘Press this to your head and go put on some clothes. When you’re ready, I’ll take a look at the cut on your head.’

‘You’re ordering me around now?’

It was hard to keep a straight face with her tugging that curtain around her, the illustrated unicorns at the bottom scrunching together as she moved.

‘Yes, because you’ll never get your cleaning deposit back if you keep dripping blood on the floor.’

She rolled her eyes and huffed out, ‘Yes, Dr Foster.’