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He took the flashlight from her and tossed it through the window. She put her hands on the sill and tried to haul herself up over the ledge. His big hands settled around her waist. Aria’s breath caught.
Despite the rain and the fact that he’d just been carrying a cold wet cat, his hands were shockingly warm, sending heat clear through her dress. As if she weighed no more than a cotton puff, he lifted her up so she could clamber awkwardly inside. As she swung her leg over the sill, a ripping noise announced that she was pretty much destroying her skirt.
She managed to get herself into the room—which was a kaleidoscope of floral rose wallpaper and chintz upholstery—before he climbed through the window after her.
Porkchop shook himself off, settled right in the middle of the rose-printed comforter, and licked his paw.
Scoundrel.
“You need to change.” After closing the window, Glowering Stranger walked to the closet and removed a white terrycloth bathrobe that looked way too small for him. “Mrs. Higgins told me the robes are one size fits all.”
Clearly a man like him wasn’t included in theall.
He extended the robe and raked his gaze over her wet dress, which was plastered to her body and no doubt displayed details better left concealed. He lingered his attention on the length of her bare leg.
Her belly tensed, almost as if he’d stroked his hand over her skin. For a heart-stopping second, her mind flashed with an image of him trailing his fingers over her knee to her inner thigh, gliding upward until he found the—
She cut off the thought and pulled in a breath. How long had it been since she’d actually let a man touch her? Her recent tentative foray back into the dating world hadn’t incited any great desire or passion, but she didn’t want that.
Not yet, anyway. She needed to keep her focus on her business and on herself, not to get caught up in the whole sex-and-romance thing, especially spontaneously.
She’d donespontaneous. It hadn’t worked out so well. Since returning to Bliss Cove six months ago, she was determined to doplannedandmethodical. This wacky night was throwing off her new game plan.
She took the robe. Much as she wanted to get home, she wanted to be warm and dry even more. She reasoned that Glowering Stranger was no longer exactly a stranger. He wasn’t a friend or even an acquaintance, but he was a…cat-rescuing person. And she was a cat person. So they had that in common. Sort of.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Hunter.”
“I’m Aria.”
“Get warmed up, Aria, before you start turning blue.” He turned away.
She went into the bathroom, casting a glance back at Porkchop. It was probably another trick of the light, but she could have sworn the cat winked at her.
