Page 24 of Hot and Bothered
But Evan hadn’t done any of that because he was getting paid to do so. He’d done it simply because…
I paused in the middle of fluffing a pillow.
Why exactly had Evan done all these nice things for me? Was it just because he was a good guy? Because he felt sorry for me? Because I had nowhere else to go and he felt bad kicking me out on the streets?
Whatever his reasons were, I was grateful to him. If I hadn’t wandered into Sin and Tonic that day, if I had somehow found myself at any other bar, I wondered where I’d be now.
Probably back at home, on the receiving end of my parent’s angry tirades. Or already hitched to Jacob, living with him and plastering on fake smiles to hide the fact that I was desperately unhappy.
But I didn’t have to worry about that now. Ihadstumbled into Sin and Tonic. I would thank my lucky stars and not question it. All I could do now was move forward.
But how exactly I was going to do that, I had no idea. That was the troubling part. I had no real plans, aside from continuing to crash at Evan’s and work at the bar. I couldn’t do that forever.
I wandered out into the hall toward the bathroom, my mind occupied with thoughts of my future. I didn’t notice the light was already on. I didn’t notice the sound of rushing water from the shower.
I did, however, notice the outline of Evan’s naked body through the frosted shower glass as I opened the bathroom door.
I squeaked and jumped back, startled. My hand closed tight on the doorknob, intending to swing it closed before Evan noticed I’d walked in on him.
But my attention was transfixed by the blurred figure in the shower. His body was only vaguely defined, but my mind filled in the blanks. Evan was tall and broad-shouldered, with slim hips. His strong hands were raised above his head and his chin was tipped back as he massaged shampoo into his hair.
My eyes wandered down the blurry chest, down his stomach, to his—
I squeezed my eyes closed. I didn’t know if I’d be able to see anything through the frosted glass, but I didn’t want to take the chance and invade Evan’s privacy.
“You going to stand there all day?” Evan called out, sounding amused.
I squeaked again.
“I’m sorry!” I blurted out. “I didn’t know you were in here and I just walked in without looking and—”
“You’re letting all the cold air in.” I could hear the grin in his voice. “You mind closing the door?”
“Right!” I said. “Yes. I’m going now. Sorry!”
I slammed the door shut with me on the other side. I rested my back against the door. My eyes were wide and my cheeks were flushed.
I couldn’t believe I’d walked in on Evan in the shower.
I hadn’t seen anything, not really. The glass had been too opaque for that. But still, how embarrassing. Would he think I’d done it on purpose? This was twice now I’d been caught watching him. First with the workout, and now this.
My cheeks burned even hotter as I groaned in horror. He was going to think I was some kind of perverted Peeping Tom at this rate.
Humiliation swirled within every fiber of my being.
I’d have to apologize again when he came out. I’d have to make sure he knew it was just an accident. Maybe I could do something to make up for it?
I decided to head to the kitchen. If I put together a nice breakfast for him, maybe he would be gracious enough to forget about the whole thing. I didn’t want him to start regretting letting me stay with him. Sure, I was making a little money now, but it certainly wasn’t enough to get my own place yet, or to even get a hotel room for more than a couple of days. I needed to stay on Evan’s good side.
Luckily, he seemed like such an easygoing guy I had to hope this wouldn’t sour his opinion of me.
Only minutes ago I’d been thinking about my future, wondering what I was going to do now. But I couldn’t get ahead of myself. I was still getting back on my feet.
Did it count as getting back on my feet if I’d never stood on my own to begin with?
Either way, I was in Evan’s debt. For now he seemed to be okay with me turning into a long-term houseguest, but I didn’t want to do anything to risk ruining that.
Acting like a Peeping Tom certainly wasn’t helping.
