Why on earth had she told a man that she was out on a date with that she wasn’t ready for a relationship? Especially after he’d kissed her and her entire body had responded? She must be three kinds of stupid.
It was just…gosh. She hadn’t been on a date since college. What was that, seven years? And then she’d babbled on horribly about her ex, and got all weirded out by her own words. So yeah. When the movie ended, they’d driven back to her place and he’d dropped her off without even trying to come in.
So much for that.
He’d even chickened out of work the next day. Cited a ‘plumbing emergency’ for another client and asked if they could reschedule. Emily knew a blow-off as well as anyone, and didn’t give him a hard time about it.
But she’d be damned if she made him cookies.
And really, she could fix her own toilets. Eventually. Maybe after she stripped the wallpaper from the bathroom. There was no rush. She’d just add it to her laundry list of things that needed to be done. Her Victorian was pretty, but it required constant upkeep.
Someone knocked at the front door. Emily’s heart thumped. Maybe he’d come by after all? She rushed for the foyer…only to see her storky, crazy sister Luanne. Her hair was pulled up into two pink-and-blonde knots and she wore a pink tank top with jeans and no makeup. “Hey, Em! How’s it hanging? Thought I’d swing by for some java and eats before heading to work.”
“Hey, Luanne,” Emily said, forcing a smile to her face. “I’ll put on some coffee.”
“Don’t look so thrilled to see me,” Luanne teased, heading into the kitchen after Emily. “I can drink the station coffee if you’re busy. It just tastes a bit like tire treads is all.”
“You’re fine,” Emily said. She headed back into the kitchen and poured water into the coffee pot, then flipped it on. “I was just about to bake some chocolate chip cookies. Maybe.” She shrugged. “Maybe not. I haven’t decided.”
Luanne moved to Emily’s side and pressed a hand against her sister’s forehead. “Not baking? You? You feeling okay, kiddo?”
Emily snorted. “Don’t call me kiddo. I’m two years older than you.”
“Yeah, but I’m taller. And wiser. Now fess up. What’s bugging you?” Luanne smoothed Emily’s hair back over her shoulder and then went and sat down at the breakfast bar, her watchful gaze on her sister.
Darn Luanne for being so intuitive. Emily pulled out a pair of coffee cups and debated lying to her sister. Truth was easier, though. “I had a date last night.”
“Oh snap! Your first one since the big divorce. Who was it with?”
“Jericho Lozada. Handyman. He’s new to town.”
“I don’t know him, so he hasn’t been to the police station,” she said with a grin. “Cute?”
Emily thought of Jericho’s wild hair, his gorgeous smile and tight pants. “Real cute.”
“Clearly it did not go well, hence the funky mood? Closet douchebag? Skeezy sex-hound?”
Emily shook her head. “I kind of wish he had been a sex-hound. Didn’t even kiss me goodnight. I think I kind of killed the mood with mentioning my ex.” She grabbed the coffee pot out from under the drip and poured a cup. “And then I told him I wasn’t ready for a relationship. And then I offered for him to move in to the house in a purely platonic fashion because I needed company and not a relationship.”
Luanne’s eyes widened. “Oh, Em. Did you lose control of your mouth or something?”
“I was just nervous. Really nervous.” Emily shoved the pot back onto the warmer and waited for more coffee to dribble out. “Like you said, it was my first date since the divorce and I haven’t been sleeping and I kept wondering what a guy like him was doing dating someone as boring as me—“
“Stop, Emily, stop!” Luanne raised her hands in the air. “What on earth are you going on about? You’re not boring.”
Maybe not to her sister, who loved her unconditionally. But to someone like Jericho? All she did was bake cookies and keep a big house. How could someone like that be exciting to him? She shook her head. “Braden thought I was boring.”
“Braden was a pompous douchebag and he’s only gotten worse since he started hanging out with those Ghostbuster nuts. I bet he’s insufferable on his TV show.”
Emily kind of bet that he was, too. Luanne was a good sister for making her feel better. “Well, I ruined the date. I’m just not confident like you.”
“Confident like me?” Luanne snorted. “Hank’s the first one that wanted to date the real me ever since, well, forever. You want something to do a number on your ego, have guys ask you to ‘dress up’ as your alter-ego in bed.”
Emily nodded, remembering Luanne’s stunt videos as ‘The Legend of Jane’, a web blogger with roller-derby style and zany antics. She knew her sister had tired of the persona long before her audience had, and appreciated being ‘normal’, working as an administrator and computer guru for Bluebonnet’s tiny police department.
“And if there’s one thing that being Jane taught me,” Luanne said, sipping her coffee. “It’s that you fake confidence and the rest sort of follows. Next time you see that guy, you be your brilliant self and act like you’re the best thing since sliced bread.” She grinned. “Since your sliced bread. Which is pretty awesome. And speaking of, got anything I can take to the station with me?”
To Emily’s surprise, Jericho showed up that next afternoon with his plumbing tools. “Oh,” she said at the sight of him. “I didn’t expect you over.”
He gave her an odd look. “Did you not want me to work on your toilets? I thought—“
She waved a hand. “No, no, of course I do. Come on in.”
He hauled his toolbox inside and she noticed today there was no leather jacket – just a black concert tee and jeans and a tool belt that emphasized his tight ass. She caught herself staring and then shook her head.
“Sorry about the delay,” he said casually. “The elementary school’s gymnasium was knee deep in shit from some backed up pipes and a friend needed some help with the job.”
Emily was surprised. “Oh wow, really?”
He set down his tool box and gave her an odd look. “Didn’t you get my text message?”
“Well, yes, but I thought…you know what? Never mind.” Emily smiled at him and gestured at a door down the hall. “Let me show you one of the bathrooms where I need the toilet re-seated.”