Page 5 of Dirty Secret

Her smile is painfully beautiful. The innocence behind it made my throat burn with each lie I told.

Heidi turned, and I watched the back of her colorful yellow shorts as her ass bounced with each step. Licking my bottom lip, I wondered what it would be like to sink my teeth into that plump flesh.

Max, patch up the leak and get the hell out of here.

I stood there alone after I heard her close the basement door and hated myself. How pathetic had my life become? A horny plumber that fantasized about the woman in his neighborhood when he was alone.

Scanning the room, everything about her surrounded me. The room smelled like damp cement and something sweet. And I knew that sugary scent would ruin me. My fingers itched to pick up anything, knowing she touched it. But that would be pathetic. I may be an infatuated loser, but I wasn’t about to cross the line into stalker territory.

That was why I couldn't be the man to fix Heidi's problem. It would destroy everything my father and I built. Brighton Plumbing couldn't handle anything a rich, connected woman like Heidi threw at it.

It took me less time than I expected to patch the leak. To delay giving her the bad news, I sat on the bottom step and checked my phone for messages.

There was something from my daughter's school. She had been throwing pencils and ripping up assignments again. Rubbing the back of my neck, I felt lost. How do I help my little Kat?

The only thing that gave me relief was that the school called me and not her mother.

I placed the phone back inside my bag. Which was going to be worse? Meeting with Kat's teacher or explaining to Heidi the extent of her pipe problem?

Suck it up, Max. You're a good plumber and an even better father, you can do this.

Grabbing my stuff, I climbed the steps and entered the hallway to the main floor. It took a moment before my eyes adjusted to the flood of natural light. My vision cleared, and I noticed Heidi around the corner in the kitchen.

"Mom, I can handle this. The plumber is here right now." She groaned before continuing, "I'm a grown woman. I don't need to move back home. One broken pipe isn't going to break me. You act like I'm five."

What I had to tell her might just break her . . .

I leaned against the entranceway to the kitchen, struggling to suppress a smile as I watched her hand move wildly in the air. The perfectly reserved woman I met at the door less than an hour ago had turned into the wacky waving inflatable tube man at the gas station a few blocks over. She was adorable and very much off-limits.

Heidi turned. Her eyes grew wide, and she stopped talking as she caught a glimpse of me staring at her. There was a flush to Heidi's cheeks, and she had a crumb on the corner of her mouth. My mouth watered, wanting nothing more than to lick it off.

Focus, Max.

"Mom, I have to go. The plumber is finished. Fine, I'll come to the dinner next month. Goodbye," she said before placing the phone down on her white marble counter.

"So, what's the damage?"

There was that smile again. Her sweetness was suffocating.

"I didn't mean to interrupt." I pointed to the black phone.

"Trust me, you did me a favor. Once my mom heard I had an issue with my home, she thought it was the perfect excuse to try to get me to move back home." Heidi snorted and rolled her eyes.

How could one woman be this adorable?

"At least she cares about you. Wants what's best for you. That's a good thing."

"Something like that. So, you are probably eager to get out of here." Heidi wiped her hands together and white dust billowed everywhere around her.

"Something like that," I mumbled.

"Huh?"

"Oh, nothing. I do have to run. A minor emergency."

Getting up from the stool, Heidi moved around the kitchen island to meet me.

"Do you bill me later or now? Sorry, I've never had to deal with a plumber before." Heidi turned her head away as her cheeks reddened. "It's the first time I've lived on my own."

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