Page 44 of Prudence
Panicking, I picked up my phone to Google an emergency plumber when, a second later, the doorbell rang. I hurried to answer it and found Derek on my front step. In my fluster, I’d all but forgotten that he was coming over to collect Gigi. Looking gorgeous with his dark hair messily styled, his blue, short-sleeved shirt displaying his thick forearms, I felt like a hot mess in comparison.
Derek took me in, and I was suddenly aware that my top was plastered to my skin, my black bra peeking through the pale material. Not to mention my nipples had beaded from the wetness, and my hair was all over the place. Derek’s gaze travelled over every disastrously damp part of me, and I was pretty sure his jaw flickered in some kind of discomfort before he asked, “What happened?”
I winced. “Water leak. Um, you’re here for Gigi?” I went to the foot of the stairs, calling up, “Gigi, your dad’s here.”
There was an audible groan followed by movement as she evidently crawled out of bed.
I suddenly became aware that Derek was standing right behind me, his warm chest at my back. “Show me where the leak is coming from.”
I turned and peered up at him, rubbing at the stress ache that was swiftly gathering in my temples. “You don’t have to—”
“Show me.”
“It’s coming from the kitchen ceiling, but I’m not sure what the source is.”
At this, Derek made his way past me and strode right into the kitchen. “Bloody hell,” I heard him mutter. “Is your water mains under the sink?”
“I think so?”
Derek went to the cupboard beneath the kitchen sink and pulled it open. I watched as he lowered to his knees and used a fair bit of elbow grease to turn off the rusty old valve that was stiff with age. He rose back to his full height, his eyebrows drawn together in thought. “I need to check your tank in the attic.”
I nodded and motioned for him to follow me upstairs. When we reached the top, I was vaguely aware of my open bedroom door and the messy, unmade bed before I focused on opening the attic and pulling down the ladder. Before climbing up, Derek turned to me, keeping his gaze trained on my face. Again, I spotted that same flicker in his jaw. “Go clean yourself up. I’ll call you if I need help.”
A blush stained my cheeks because I obviously looked a mess. I was practically flashing him with my wet, almost see-through top, which clearly made him uncomfortable.
“Yes, good idea,” I said, embarrassed, and hurried to my room. I’d finished pulling on a dry jumper and some leggings when Derek called down, “Your tank overflowed in the night.Looks like the ballcock is broken. What room is directly under the tank?”
I scratched my head. “Uh, the bathroom?”
“Go check if there’s leaking water there, too.”
I went into the bathroom and discovered masses of water flowing from the ceiling, along the wall and down through the floor, which was obviously then leaking down into the kitchen. The damage was massive, and I knew instantly it was going to be expensive, not to mention time-consuming, to fix. My blood pressure rose.
“The bathroom’s a disaster,” I said to Derek, stress evident in the high pitch of my voice as he climbed back down from the attic, moving by me to check the damage before swearing under his breath. He pulled out his phone, appearing to scroll through his contracts and then hitting Call on a number and lifting it to his ear.
“Paddy,” he said. “How are things?” A pause as he listened. “Yeah, not too bad either. Listen, a friend of mine has a leak in her house. Tank overflowed. How are you fixed to come over and take a look today?”
He was arranging for someone, likely a plumber or contractor of some sort, to come and repair the leak and water damage? Derek had no clue how grateful I was to him for taking charge. I mean, I was independent when it came to most of life’s challenges, but dealing with this kind of thing wasn’t my strong suit. Back in London, Deirdre and I lived in an upscale apartment building with a maintenance team that dealt with any issues. The rent was exorbitant, but at least I didn’t have to worry about stuff like this happening. Honestly, it probably would’ve taken me an hour to figure out the leak was coming from the attic when Derek had it sussed within minutes.
“Okay, thanks, Paddy. You’re a life saver,” Derek said as he got off the phone.
“Was that a plumber?” I asked, hopeful.
Derek shook his head. “He’s a contractor I know who’s done some work on the hotels. It’s not just a plumber you’ll need. Replacing the ballcock is the easy part. It’s the water damage that’s the biggest problem. The walls and floors will need to be examined and possibly even replaced, depending on the level of damage. It could take up to a week or more to repair, but in the meantime, it’s not safe for you and Deirdre to stay here. There’s a danger of the ceilings falling through. Can you stay with your parents for a few days?”
I shook my head as my stress levels rose. “They downsized a couple of years ago, and their spare bedroom is basically used as storage space. I don’t think it even has a bed.”
“What about Tara or Nuala? I’ll call my sister now. She has a spare bedroom,” Derek suggested.
“Nuala has two cats, and Deirdre’s fiercely allergic. Tara’s apartment is only a one bedroom, but don’t worry. I’ll figure something out.”
“You’ll stay at the hotel, then,” Derek said, catching me off guard. “I’ll arrange for a room.”
He looked like he was about to make another phone call when I reached out and grabbed his wrist. At my touch, Derek glanced down at me, his look questioning as heat seeped from his skin into mine. I dropped my hand and cleared my throat. “That’s not necessary. You’ve already helped enough. I can find a hotel room myself.”
“Not nearby, you won’t. There’s a big golfing tournament this week, and most hotels will be booked out.”
Oh, well, that complicated matters. I really didn’t want to lean on Derek to take care of this entire situation, but he was standing in front of me, so capable and full of solutions, and I found myself relenting. “Okay, then, but make sure it’s just abasic room. Deirdre and I can share a double bed. We don’t need anything luxurious.”
