Page 56 of Engulfing Emma

He stands up and puts his tools away. “Is there anything else that needs fixing while I’ve got my tools here?”

“I don’t think so, not unless plumbing is one of your hidden talents, too.”

“What’s the issue?”

“You really want to know?”

“I dabble in a lot of things, Emma. Show me what you need.”

He follows me into the kitchen, and I show him the problem with the faucet. We clear out the cabinet under the sink, and he lies on his back and takes a look. As he’s messing with the pipes, his shirt rides up and I see a strip of his abs.Oh, God. Why did I bring this up?

“Emma?” He scoots out a little and looks at me.

I’ve been caught gawking and turn beet red. “What?”

“Can you hand me the wrench?” he says, trying to hide a smile.

I fish around in his toolbox until I find one, then hand it to him. “I’ll be right back,” I tell him.

I leave but I don’t go far. I stand in the hallway and sink against the wall, needing a break from all the sexiness.

When I hear the faucet running, I go back in.

“All done,” he says.

“Wow. I don’t know what to say. You really are a Jack of all trades, aren’t you?”

“Say you’ll go to dinner with me.”

I shake my head. “I’m not going on a date with you.”

“Not a date. An exercise.”

I cock my head. “Exercise?”

“Have you ever been to Seasons Twenty-one?”

“The restaurant across the bridge on the twenty-first floor?”

“That’s the one.”

“I told you I don’t go into tall buildings.”

“Thus, the exercise.”

It finally dawns on me what he’s doing. “You don’t need to save me fromeverything, you know. I’m perfectly fine living my life on the ground floor. I suppose after that you’ll want to take me up in a plane. Oh, God, you’re not a pilot, are you?”

He laughs. “No. Come on. It’s just dinner. And it’s a great restaurant. You know you can do it. You went into the school. It’s only twenty-one floors. It’s not even a high-rise.” I’m about to say no when he hits me with, “Consider it payment for fixing your sink.”

Well, shit.I exhale deeply. “You are not kissing me when we get to the top.”

“Deal. Pick you up at seven?”

“No. I’ll meet you there.”

“How about we meet at the corner and catch a cab together?”

“Meet me in the lobby, or no deal,” I say, not wanting to give him the wrong idea.

---