Page 5 of Trophy
“I though you lived in the city.” He glanced down at her left hand, and she realized he was looking for a wedding ring.
She’d taken off her rings a year ago. “I’m moving here now.”
He nodded slowly, as if trying to piece together her situation, something he had no business knowing. “Well, welcome to town. I’ll get the rest of your stuff.”
“I don’t need any—” she began.
He ignored her, striding back outside as if she hadn’t spoken. Arthur had done that all the time—completely disregarded what she was trying to say. She hated it.
Rob might be a small-town, blue-collar guy, but he obviously wasn’t all that different from Arthur at heart.
He came back into the house a minute later with another huge load of bags. She couldn’t help but notice he had really good shoulders, and his biceps were impressive, clearly visible beneath his shirtsleeves as he held the bags. He set them on the opposite counter and then turned to look at her. “That’s itfrom the car. Do you want me to haul some stuff up from the basement for you? You at least need a chair or two and a bed.”
“I’m fine,” she said, managing to smile although she really wanted to scowl at him. “Thank you.”
He frowned. “You can’t get it all up yourself. Do you have some guys who are coming to help?”
Now she frowned too. “I said I was fine. Thank you.”
“What are you all snippy about?” he asked, looking at her curiously.
She gave a sharp gasp of indignation at his clueless rudeness. “I’m snippy,” she bit out, “because I’ve said several times that I’m fine, and yet you refuse to listen to me.”
His expression relaxed into almost a smile, as if he’d finally figured out her mood. “Oh, I get it. I’m not some creepy asshole, so no need to worry about that. I live across the street. I knew your folks. I figured you could use some help, especially since you’re all dressed up and everything.”
She looked down at herself in surprise. “I’m not dressed up!” She wore a sleeveless pale blue top, black capris, and sandals. The sandals had heels on them, but almost all of her shoes had heels. In terms of her wardrobe, these clothes were very casual.
He chuckled—a surprisingly pleasant sound. “Okay. If you say so.”
Allison heard a familiar sound just then. That damned toilet was running again, after she’d spent five minutes jiggling the handle before she left.
Rob must have heard the sound and seen her expression. “Sounds like it just needs a new flapper. I can look at it for you.” He actually turned around and took a step toward the bathroom.
“That’s okay,” Allison said quickly, relieved when he stopped at her words. “I’m sure I can take care of it.”
He turned to face her again, clearly disbelieving her, but fortunately he didn’t argue. “There’s a hardware store in town—just a block down from Dora’s. You can get a new flapper, and they can talk you through replacing the old one.”
There he was, assuming she’d need help again, based on nothing but her appearance. He could have no idea whether she was capable of fixing a toilet, and he shouldn’t make assumptions.
She didn’t like this guy at all. She really wanted him to leave.
She took a deep breath, making sure her voice was polite as she said, “I appreciate your help, and it was nice to meet you.”
“You really don’t mean that, do you?” he drawled, an irresistible half smile on his face.
She narrowed her eyes. “I’d like to unpack my bags now.”
“Got it,” he said, still smiling as if privately amused. “I’ll see you around.”
Finally he turned to leave. Allison was very glad to see him go, and it wasn’t because her eyes drifted down to his very nice ass as he walked away.
4
A coupleof hours later Allison was so exhausted she could barely move.
She’d unpacked her summer clothes, leaving her winter clothes in boxes since she didn’t have room for them anyway. She’d put away all the stuff she’d bought from the store, and she’d hauled up a chair, a couple of side tables, a bed frame, and a mattress from the basement.
The bed had been the hardest. It was just a full size, not even a queen, but she’d almost killed herself getting it up the steep basement stairs by herself. But after Rob had been so patronizing about it, she had to prove she could do it on her own.
