CHAPTER THREE
EDEN
“Coming!” Whipping my Rainbow Childcare polo off, I toss it on the bed and reach for a clean tee from my closet.
I had just gotten home from work and started my daily ritual of unwinding from sticky hands and babbling toddlers when someone knocked on my front door.
I don't know who would stop by unannounced.
My parents aren’t the type to visit on a whim. Neither are the few friends I have. But clearly, someone needs to talk to me, and I hate making them wait. Even if they're the ones interrupting my evening and not the other way around.
Swinging the door open without hesitation, I begin rambling, slightly out of breath from rushing. “Hi, sorry for the wait! I—” My apology comes to a screeching halt once my brain registers the person standing on my doorstep.
It’s a man.
An extremely handsome one—chiseled jaw with dark stubble, piercing blue eyes that promise sin and danger—staring at me like I’m the last piece of cake at a birthday party.
Wait, what?
Blinking away the imagined hunger in his gaze, I brace myself against the door, my nails digging into my palms as I try to regain control of my wayward thoughts.
“Um, can I help you?”
He lifts the small toolbox in his hand. “Maintenance. I’m here to fix your dishwasher.”
“Oh!” Stepping back, I wave him inside. “I wasn’t expecting you to come so quickly.”
“Is it a bad time?” he asks. His gravelly voice scrapes along my nerves, causing a bolt of heat to flare to life under my skin.
If I were a different kind of girl, I’d flirt and explore this burst of attraction, especially since my only options for a love life between home and work are service providers who literally show up at my door—solicitors, the UPS guy, maintenance men .
But I’m me, and I’m not going to harass a guy who’s just doing his job.
“No, you’ve got perfect timing. I just got home,” I say, gesturing toward the kitchen. “The dishwasher is in there. I tried troubleshooting potential issues myself but didn’t get far. Hopefully, that’s just a me problem, and it’s still an easy fix.”
“Let’s find out, shall we?” He sets his tools on the vinyl flooring then crouches down to study the stainless-steel appliance before opening the cabinet doors under the sink. “I’m Luca, by the way.”
“Eden.” Obviously. I mentally slap my forehead. The man knows who I am because he’s fulfilling my repair request.
He's got my name, address, and phone number. He's even got Beanie's name since the maintenance team asks about pets that may need restraining.
I bite my lip to prevent another embarrassing mishap.
His navy tee strains across his broad shoulders as he ducks lower and fiddles with a few things after starting the dishwasher. It rumbles to life, but the sound of water flowing inside doesn’t happen.
“Hmm… I think I’ve found the prob—Jesus H.
Christ!” There’s a loud thump as Luca hits his head on the bottom of the sink while Beanie slinks along his exposed legs.
Gym shorts as part of a uniform aren’t what I would have chosen for a maintenance worker, but I suppose it makes it easier to bend and examine tough spots.
It also provides easy access for curious felines interested in scent marking newcomers.
“Sorry!” Scooping Beanie into my arms, I wince when a pained curse echoes from below. “Beanie has a hard time with boundaries.”
“Clearly,” Luca grunts, pulling his bruised head from the cabinets. “She skipped the pleasantries and went straight for my dick.”
An embarrassed blush rises to my cheeks as my eyes drop to his lap where a long, thick bulge rests across his inner thigh. Well, damn. I didn’t realize a man’s cock could hang that far down his leg. No wonder he freaked. Beanie was awful close…
“She didn’t mean any h-harm,” I stutter, forcing words past my suddenly dry throat and licking my lips.
All while staring at Luca’s dick.
What am I doing?
Ding, ding, ding!
Embarrassing Mishap #2.
I may never submit another maintenance request again.
Dragging my gaze away from Luca, it snags on the sofa in front of the living room window, and another flush of heat settles between my thighs at an inconvenient memory.
I was feeling particularly horny and adventurous after reading a sexy romance the other day and rode the couch arm to a wild orgasm, testing out the specially designed pillow I bought for self-pleasuring occasions.
A random ad on social media had intrigued me, and before I knew it, I'd ordered the blasted thing.
Luca cleared his throat and sat up with a groan. “It’s fine. At least your dishwasher is working properly now.”
The swish of water drowns out the awkward moment, and I sigh in relief. “Thank you so much! What was the problem?”
“When it was installed, they didn’t turn the water back on once the piping was hooked up. I just needed to turn the little knob back there.” He points to a silver ring toward the back of the sink cabinet.
“Oh, so it was a simple fix.” God, I should have been able to figure that out. “Sorry for wasting your time.”
“Don’t apologize.” Luca stands in a mesmerizing display of shifting muscles until he towers above me, my head craning back to maintain eye contact with his face rather than his impressive… package . “There’s a system to input maintenance requests for a reason. I’ll always come when you need me.”
The intensity in his rough-hewn features sets off a flurry of butterflies in my stomach. His seriousness should be a red flag. We’re talking about replacing air filters or fixing leaky faucets, but for some reason, my only concern is not appearing as dumb as I feel.
“Well, I appreciate your patience. I promise not to bother you unless it’s an emergency. Same goes for any of your team members assigned to my case first.”
“That won’t happen,” he growls. My teeth catch on my bottom lip to hide a pleased smile until he coughs into his fist and recovers. “I mean, this building is my responsibility, so it’ll always be me.”
Tomato red is not my color, but that doesn’t stop the flush on my skin from deepening in self-recrimination.
Of course, the complex assigns their maintenance workers to zones.
That’s a logical way to keep everyone organized.
My reading into Luca’s immediate denial of anyone else helping me except for him is a result of too many nights staying up late to finish my beloved romance novels.
All those alpha heroes have warped my brain if I’m imagining this guy, who is just doing his job , being interested in seeing me again for more than professional reasons.
“Right. Thank you again,” I say too brightly, walking him out once he’s gathered his toolbox. As soon as he’s gone, I slump forward and bang my forehead on the closed door.
But I don’t have too long to wallow in self-recrimination because another knock rattles the doorframe.
“What is going on today?” I rarely get visitors, and now two in one day?
Please don’t be Luca.
My poor body can’t take another encounter with the hot maintenance man so soon after flustering through this last visit. However, instead of a man, there’s a cardboard box that greets me, my name scrawled across the side.
“What do you think it is?” I ask Beanie as she rubs against the box edge after I drag it inside.
Tearing off the tape at its sides, I unfold the top flaps to reveal a foam box housing an elaborate bouquet of chocolate-covered fruit.
Cool air wafts from the chilled container as I reach inside.
The attached card lists multiple fruits and a variety of chocolates.
It’s an extravagant arrangement, and frankly, I’m not sure how I’m going to eat all of this before it goes bad, but I’m sure going to try because this probably cost a fortune.
“This must be the final gift. The grand finale to the Spring Falls welcome campaign.”
Beanie doesn’t respond except to start chewing on the plastic cellophane wrapped around the bouquet. Obviously, I’m not the only one who thinks the new arrival looks delicious.
Unraveling the ribbon tied around the top, I pull the plastic back far enough to grab a skewer with a pretty pineapple star half-dipped in chocolate. The first bite is a juicy combination of sweet fruit and bitter dark chocolate, and a hum of pleasure sticks in my throat.
When I researched apartments, I pored over online reviews to avoid getting into a bad situation, especially since my parents’ warnings constantly whispered in the back of my mind.
Spring Falls had high ratings and all the amenities I was looking for, but no one mentioned how generous a company they were.
Every few days, a surprise gift has awaited me either in my mailbox or the welcome mat in front of my door. First, the butterfly light catcher arrived. Next, potted tulips, which are my favorite flowers.
Then came a book of recipes for healthy cat snacks.
That one caught me off guard because my browser history is filled with cat recipe sites, and it felt a little too big brother is watching .
But I shrugged off the unease and chalked it up to Spring Falls being extra thorough by gifting items specifically tailored to tenants’ needs.
I’m sure the dog owners around here received similar books.
But this last gift…
This is beyond generous, and I’ll miss the surprises.
While each present was unexpected, they were proof that someone was thinking of me—even if it was a random leasing agent.
Someone thought of Eden Marino. The perpetually overlooked and forgotten. And it was a nice feeling. One I don’t get to experience often.
My shoulders deflate. “Guess we better savor this, huh?”
Beanie continues to gnaw at the wrapper in complete agreement.