Page 9 of Second Chances
Chapter 5
"Shit," Megan's faceflushed as she jumped back to avoid the splatter of cabernet that was expanding in a river along the marble floor tiles.
"Are you okay?" the man asked.
"I—um, I ah, shit.”
"No, Timber. Sit," the man shouted. Megan looked down to see the gorgeous dog sniffing at the wine spots on the floor.
Timber sat on his hindquarters and stared up at Megan.
"Let me help you clean this up," he said. "Do you mind if I come in?"
"Please come in, but you don't have to clean up this mess,"
"Oh, you have servants that will do that?" he closed the door, stepped over the spilled wine, and looped his thick index finger under Timber's collar.
Megan laughed, she had forgotten that she was standing in the doorway of a multi-million-dollar home, drinking wine in the middle of the day. "They've got the day off," she joked.
"Of course," he murmured. "Thanks for calling about this escape artist. Now, where are your paper towels? This wine will stain these tiles if we don't do something right away."
"Let me find them," Megan jogged into the kitchen, frantically opening cupboards and drawers, trying to find any cleaning supplies.
"Try under the sink," he suggested. Megan opened the doors and pulled out a roll of paper towels and a spray bottle of cleaning solution. The man pulled the trash can out from under the counter and proceeded to return to the scene, picking up shards of glass and dropping them into the can. Megan bent down beside him and started picking up the smaller shards.
Megan glanced at the man out of the corner of her eye, she had been so flustered she hadn't noticed that he wasn't really a man at all, there were only hints of laugh lines on his tanned face, the brown hair that flicked out from under his wool hat showed no signs of gray, he couldn't have been a day over thirty, if that.
She sucked in her breath, wondering if she had just had her very first cougar moment. She ripped off some paper towels and sprayed at the wine on the floor. Together they erased any sign of her clumsiness.
She tossed the last of the crimson towels into the can and looked up, her eyes meeting his, and for the first time since he stepped foot inside the house, he smiled, "You're not so bad at this."
Megan felt her heart skip a beat, his perfect white teeth and wide smile disarming her, rendering her at a loss for words, or the ability to process his. "What, cleaning?"
"Yeah," he smiled.
"Oh, I've cleaned up my fair share of spilled wine," she smiled back at him, wanting to meet the warmth of his smile with her own.
"I'm Josh," he stood up and held out his hand.
"Megan," she smiled and shook it. His hand felt like a rough and hardened piece of leather, the callouses scraping against her soft hands.
"And you've met Timber."
Megan followed his gaze to the dog lounging on the sofa, his ears pricking in response to his name. "Let's go, bud," Josh shouted and whistled. Timber hopped off the sofa and stretched lazily before following his owner's instruction.
Megan bent down and scratched Timber behind his ears, "It was lovely to meet you, my friend," she smiled and brushed at the pieces of dog fur that were stuck to her shirt.
"Welcome to my life," Josh said and picked a piece of fur off her sleeve.
"Oh, I don't mind a little fur, especially when it comes from such a nice dog."
"Timber has his moments, but he is a good husky," Josh smiled and pulled his brown work jacket on over his flannel shirt. Megan noticed that his utility pants were made from the same canvas fabric as his jacket.
Alex had always been a suit guy, and Megan had thought nothing could look sexier on a man than a well-tailored suit, but today, this young man in his work clothes rivaled any sharp-dressed man she had ever met, including Alex when he was young.
"Yes, yes he is nice company. I'm so happy that we met,"
"Me too," Josh smiled, his hand on the doorknob. "Oh, you meant Timber, didn't you," he laughed quietly.
