Chapter Nine #2
He looked good, really good. Normally, he was covered in dust or wood shavings or bits of grout.
Not that she was turned off by his bits of grout.
If anything, they appealed to her more than she cared to admit.
However, tonight, he was freshly showered and shaven and smelled like a bar of nice soap.
His outfit also won her approval. He wore a clean pair of slim jeans, ones that did nothing to disguise the muscles in his thighs, and a white T-shirt with rolled-up sleeves.
Her nephew Lucas would call it a muscle shirt, and it was an apt description.
Biceps alert!
He ran a hand through his disheveled hair, and the living room lights caught the golden shimmers in the tawny mass. His smile crooked to one side. “I brought beer.”
He might as well have said ‘I brought sunshine’ or ‘I brought world peace.’ Her temperature soared in response.
It must be his voice. It was so deep and soft. It tugged on her loins with expert precision. “Um, thanks.”
Next to her, Adele covered her mouth with her hand and murmured, “Going concern, I tell you.”
“Nick,” said Claire. “Let me introduce you to my friend. This is Dr. Adele Sanchez, best veterinarian in the Greater Toronto Area. Adele, meet Nick Zorn.”
They shook hands and made small talk. Adele asked Nick what it was like working on Handymen. He asked her about her practice. Pretty soon, the two of them were laughing like old pals.
Claire envied Adele’s ease and conversational skills. She’d always thought she possessed those qualities too, but for some reason, they’d flown out of the window since meeting Nick.
As he talked with Adele, he kept glancing at Claire. Especially her lips. He looked at her lips a lot.
She’d worn a sparkly gloss, one that Naomi had recommended. Maybe he liked it.
She made a note to keep that gloss in her purse for regular use.
Oh, brother. She wasn’t sure she was equipped to deal with these feelings. She was growing weary of all the awkwardness.
Not awkwardness.
Awareness.
The air crackled. She could almost see the tiny flickers of electricity dancing in the space between them. Between the chemistry and her fluctuating body heat, she might pass out.
Suddenly, a masculine voice shouted, “Foosball!”
Louie ran back into the living room from the covered back patio. Claire had been storing Arthur’s old foosball table there. He ran up to Claire. “You have a foosball table? Can I play with it, Claire? Pretty please?”
Several crew members began to laugh.
Nick explained, “Louie’s obsessed with foosball. He has a bit of a reputation in this crowd.”
“Well, Louie,” said Claire, “you’d better play it, then.”
“Yeah!” Louie gave her a high-five. “Any takers?”
Adele stepped forward, one hand on her hip. She looked Louie up and down. “I’ll take you on, big boy. But only if you’re prepared to lose.”
Louie bent over at the waist in a courtly bow.
“My lady. I accept your challenge.” He waved her into the back room.
Most of the partygoers followed them, which left Claire and Nick mostly on their own in the living room.
Aside from a couple of other small huddles, they might as well have had the room to themselves.
Unable to deal with the relative quiet, Claire said, “You must be hungry. I can get you a plate.”
“Don’t you worry about me. I can get myself a plate. Besides, you probably haven’t eaten either.”
In truth, she hadn’t. She’d been too busy making sure everyone had what they needed. She appreciated him understanding that.
“After you,” said Nick, his hand open to usher her into the kitchen.
For one, wild moment, Claire thought he might touch her lower back. Of course, he didn’t. He was too respectful. In any other situation, she would have appreciated such consideration from a man.
But, with this man, she really wanted him to touch her lower back.
She wanted him to touch a lot of things.
Once again, heat ravaged her face.
She was going to have to see a doctor for it if this kept up.
Luckily, the food provided some distraction. The caterers had brought in chafing dishes full of cheesy pastas, meatballs and salads, and they were currently serving out the food.
“Nice spread,” said Nick. “Thanks again, Claire. I know Lacey arranged the food, but I know you did a lot too. I’ve seen my mom and dad prepare a lot of dinner parties. I know how much work is involved.”
“You’re not really a dinner-hosting kind of guy?”
He laughed. “No, I guess I’m more a show-up-to-eat kind of guy.” He held up a finger. “But I never come empty-handed. My mom would kill me if I did that.”
“I like the sound of your mom.”
“She’s a good woman. She really cares for people. Everything she does is from the heart.”
Suddenly, Claire’s favorite handyman was even more alluring. There was something special about a man who wasn’t afraid to talk about how much he loved his mom.
They both allowed the caterers to load up their plates, then retreated to another part of the kitchen.
“I met Emily and Bernie,” she said. “Your sisters-in-law are really nice.”
“Yeah, they are. My brothers are two lucky dudes.”
“You could have brought someone too, you know, if you wanted.” Nice, Claire. So smooth.
“I’m not seeing anyone, but thanks.” Nick gave her a funny look, one she wasn’t able to read.
Maybe she should stop trying to read into his looks, and just ask him.
As she tried to find the words, he volunteered the info. “I was involved with someone a while back, but it didn’t end too well.”
Claire wanted to say she knew what had happened with Kristy Moran, that she thought Nick had been treated shabbily, but all she ended up saying was, “I’m sorry.”
“It was probably for the best. It was fun when it started, but it went downhill quickly enough. I guess we just weren’t a good fit.” He took a bite of pasta and swallowed. “Besides, with me going away soon, I figure it’s best not to start anything I can’t finish.”
“Of course. Long-distance relationships are the worst. I would never get involved in one of those. Too hard.”
“Right. What about you?”
“Me?”
“Are you dating at all?”
“Oh, that. I did try going on a couple of dates not long ago. Like you said, though. Not the right fit. I really only went on the dates to appease Mia. She’s been urging me to get out there again.
It’s not that they weren’t nice guys. On paper, they looked great.
They were cute and polite. No red flags, you know? ”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah,” said Claire. “The first guy was a divorced dad and he said he had a healthy relationship with his ex. He was his daughter’s soccer coach. He loved the same kinds of food that I do, the same kinds of movies.”
“He sounds nice.”
“The second guy was even better. He was a banker who did a lot of charity work. He liked working on old cars, and he even looked a little bit like a superhero.”
“Hell,” said Nick. “I’d date that guy.”
“There was only one problem. I just felt no—”
“Spark?”
“Yeah. No spark, not with either of them.”
“Chemistry’s important. I guess you either have it or you don’t.”
Kind of like the little lasers zinging between them. Even though Claire was tempted to overanalyze the sensation, there was no denying the pleasing sting. It made the hair on her arms lift.
“You deserve to feel excitement.” Nick put down his plate of food. “Claire, I—”
A huge shout of triumph went up in the back room.
“I wonder what that was all about,” said Claire.
“My guess is Adele just beat Louie at foosball.” He put his hand to his ear. “Hear the other noise, the faint gnashing of teeth? I think that’s Louie crying. He’s never been dethroned.”
She laughed. “Adele is competitive.”
Other partygoers began to filter back into the living room and kitchen.
Claire had a feeling Nick was about to say something important, but as some of the others returned to refill their plates, the moment was lost. One of the crew members excused himself and reached between them for a dinner roll. A couple of others lined up behind him.
Claire and Nick looked at each other over the guy’s shoulders.
“We’ll talk later?” said Nick.
“I’d like that.”
“Okay. Catch you later.” Nick nodded and went back into the living room.
Deflated, Claire stifled a sigh and poured herself a glass of white wine.
* * * *
This was turning into the longest night of Nick’s life. Pure torture.
Okay, maybe that wasn’t quite accurate. After all, people had gone to a lot of trouble on his behalf. All night long, friends and colleagues had been congratulating him. He’d been toasted by no fewer than five of the crew members. Everywhere he looked, someone was wishing him well.
He was grateful, he really was.
But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t seem to steal Claire away for two minutes. Every time he walked in her direction, someone else headed him off at the pass.
A couple of hours ago, in the kitchen, he’d been about to ask her on a date. A real date that didn’t involve hungry contractors and Louie pretending to sulk about his foosball loss. Of course, Louie wasn’t really upset. He’d been grinning ever since Adele had trounced him.
Even now, Louie sidled up to Nick with a dreamy expression on his face. “She said yes.”
“Who said yes?” asked Nick.
“Adele. I asked her out a few minutes ago. I’ve got a date with Dr. Adele.”
“That’s awesome, Louie.”
“Yeah.” The big man wiped a bead of perspiration at his hairline. “But have you seen her? She’s gorgeous and smart and she plays, like, professional-level foosball. Plus, she puts broken little animals back together. She’s brilliant. I think I’m in love.”
“Whoa,” Nick said, laughing. “Do you think you might be jumping the gun there, buddy?”
“Nope. I’m definitely in love with that woman. I mean, I will be. I understand we need to get to know each other, but it was just so easy talking to her. She’s hilarious and she asked me so many questions about myself. She seemed so…interested.”
“Aw, I’m happy for you, my dude.”