Page 31 of Dear Rosie

Slowly, I stand back up, bringing my drink with me. “You shared your champagne with me.” I take a large swallow. “Drying some dishes is the least I owe you.”

NINE

ROSALYN

No.

I need to say no.

But my head nods.

And I hand Nathan Waller a dish towel.

TEN

NATE

Our fingers brush when I take the blue checkered towel from her, and even though we shook hands when she answered the door, this feels like so much more.

Rosalyn turns away, giving me her back as she moves to grab another towel off the counter.

Her work clothes are sexier than they have any right to be. The head-to-toe black. The stretchy pants that hug every inch of her ass and hips but are loose down her legs. The scoop-neck T-shirt that clings… to everything. The no-nonsense ponytail.

I shift my stance and take another drink of my champagne.

I’m not a creep.

I won’t act like a creep.

I won’t get a boner until the appropriate time.

“Where do we start?” I try to sound casual and not like I’m being choked with lust.

She faces me, then bends down and pulls the dishwasher open.

A plume of steam fills the space between us, and it makes Rosalyn appear like she’s from a dream.

Or a long-ago memory.

ELEVEN

ROSALYN

I clear my throat. “I just need to dry these, then refill the washer.”

Nathan takes a step closer. “Do you have to wait for that… load to be done?”

He paused, like he didn’t want to say the wordload. And now my mind is stuck on the dirtiest connotations of that word.

Blinking the thought away, I use my towel to grab a hot plate out of the dishwasher. “I usually stay to empty the final… round.” I can’t bring myself to say load. “I try to make it so I don’t leave any cleanup work for the clients.”

Nathan makes a humming sound, then does the same thing, grabbing a plate with his towel and drying it.

The muted music and chatter from the backyard are our soundtrack as we work in silence.

I reach for a bowl on the top rack, and Nathan’s fingers bump against mine as he reaches for the same one.

I jerk my hands back and lift my eyes.

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