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He turns, and my hand flies to my mouth, trying to smother the laughter. Water drips from his hair and his soaked T-shirt clings to his well-formed chest and ab muscles. Even when the faucet exploded on me the first day, I didn’t end up this wet.
I duck around him and do my well-practiced trick of jiggling the water off. “Ta-dah!” Pride curves my mouth into a grin.
Okay, I didn’t permanently fix the problem. But I did learn how to avoid it and how to turn the water off. I’d say that’s progress.
Troy chuckles. “You’re very talented.”
“Right? It’s my new superpower.” I grab a tea towel and toss it at him. “I’ll be right back with something bigger.” I rush upstairs, remove two freshly-washed bath towels from the linen closet, and hurry downstairs.
His T-shirt is no longer clinging to his body. I take a second to drink in his defined muscles before I hand him the towels. Water droplets drip from his hair and trickle down his exposed skin.
He towel-dries his hair and his body.
I remove two plates from the cupboard and place them next to the pizza box. “The kitchen definitely needs work.”
“You could say that.” Troy removes a slice of pizza and takes a bite. He leans back on the counter.
I grab a pizza slice and take a tentative bite. It’s a habit of mine, ingrained from being in prison. You can never be too careful about food prepared by other inmates. Especially when it comes to inmates who have something against you.
The moment the cheesy taste of heaven touches my tongue, I groan. “God, this is sooooo good.” I know it’s been a long time since I last had pizza, but I don’t remember it ever tasting this delicious.
“Infinity is renowned for its pizza. People drive to Maple Ridge just for it.” Troy takes another bite of his slice.
I nod, finishing what’s in my mouth. “I’m not surprised.”
“You telling me you didn’t move to Maple Ridge because of the pizza?” The corner of Troy’s mouth quirks up and sends an unexpected warmth shimmering up my spine.
I laugh, the sound slightly off-kilter because I’m also moaning from eating another bite of the pizza. “If I had known about it, there would’ve been no question about me coming here.”
I pull my seat out from under the table with my foot and sit. Troy joins me on the chair next to mine.
We polish off another two slices of pizza. Troy tells me what it was like growing up in a small town. He gives me room to reciprocate and tell him about my childhood. I don’t.
“Did you dream of playing in the NHL?” I ask after he tells me how his parents used to drive him and his brothers long distances for their hockey games.
“What hockey-loving kid doesn’t dream of playing in the NHL? I loved playing the game, but I eventually realized I would never be good enough for the league. Fortunately, I was even better at math.”
“Do you still play? In an adult league or something?”
“Yes. When I can. It’s the same for Lucas, Garrett, and Kellan. And we enjoy playing street hockey during the off-season. Do you play any sports?”
“No. I’m not athletically inclined. I was that kid no one wanted on their team.” The words flow from me on a soft laugh, unrepentant and unafraid. Troy’s so easy to talk to.
We finish our slices and I put the dishes in the sink to be washed after he leaves.
“I’ll be right back.” Troy walks out of the kitchen. The front door clicks open, and a minute later, he strolls into the kitchen, carrying a large metal toolbox. “I’m going to fix your faucet so it doesn’t explode on you again.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
The look he slants me says he does.
I help him remove everything from under the sink. Mostly it’s just old cleaning products that expired over a decade ago. He lies down to get a better look at what he’s dealing with. And a few minutes later, I have a faucet that doesn’t require any special feats to turn it on and off.
I grin at him, not caring for the first time about the pull of skin at my mouth because of the scar. “Thank you! That’s much better.”
“You’re welcome. Why don’t you give me a quick tour of the house first? Then we can get together soon to start planning the renovations. It’s gonna take a few days for us to nail it down and to come up with a schedule.”
“That sounds like a plan.” I lead him out of the kitchen. Butterscotch follows us.
