Page 7 of The Nice Guy
When she pulls out the bills, it’s hard not to notice the multiple hundreds. I’d be lying if this didn’t raise a few questions about why she’d want to start over in the middle of nowhere.
“Cash is fine,” he says and takes the fifty from her.
“Thank you both again. I would still be stranded on the side of the road not knowing exactly where I live without you, Rhett. I look forward to hearing from you,” she says and smiles again.
“Just give me a holler if you need anythin’ else,” I say.
We walk to her front door, and Brynlee says, “Be careful what you offer. You might regret it.”
Carter mumbles, “Doubtful,” under his breath, and I elbow him as discreetly as possible.
Yes, it is very doubtful I will ever regret doing anything for Brynlee Carmichael. I would do just about anything she asked me to. Which makes her very dangerous for a guy like me.
Chapter Three
Brynlee
Leaning back on my heels, I wipe my forehead with the back of my wrist and peel off the yellow gloves I wore to scrub the clawfoot bathtub. I loved the beautiful thing until it took two hours to scrub away the stains and calcium buildup. It’s vintage and gorgeous, and now that it’s clean, I’m not so upset about the work that went into it.
“I never want to scrub anything that hard ever again,” I say and let out a long breath.
It’s like I’ve just done an intense workout, but that likely has more to do with the lack of air conditioning in my house right now. There’s no power in the master bedroom or bathroom, either, so luckily, the windows provide enough sunlight to not need them. Yet.
When the doorbell rings, I stand and stare at my reflection in the mirror with wide eyes. I look terrible. My hair’s thrown up on the top of my head with a clip, and what little makeup I put on this morning has been wiped away with the sweat. Not to mention the clothes I’m wearing are the grungiest I own. Mama would be horrified if company saw me like this. In fact, she’s probably rolling over that I look like this at all.
“Calm down,” I say. “I can’t change how people see me, and if they don’t like me because I’m a sweaty mess while moving and cleaning my house, there’s not much I can do about it.”
But no one will like you. This is why you must be presentable at all times. Game face on, always.Mama’s voice never seems to stray too far, but I shake it off and walk to the front door.
Opening it, I smile when I see Rhett on the porch, but I’m horrified to let him see me this way. “Oh, hi, Rhett.”
“Hey, Brynlee. I tried callin’, but you didn’t answer. I wasn’t sure if it was okay to just stop by or not, but I thought you might want the list of things to order for the system you asked for,” Rhett says and hands me a couple of pieces of paper.
I try to ignore the way our hands graze as I take the list, and I hope he doesn’t notice how I steal glances at his appearance. His biceps in the T-shirt he wears has a strange effect on me I didn’t expect. Or maybe it’s just the heat.
Wait, he tried calling? I didn’t hear my phone. Slapping my forehead, I sigh. “I’m charging my phone in the kitchen and forgot it on the counter while I cleaned the bathroom.”
He gives me a small nod and enters when I remember my manners and step aside. His brows lift as his brown eyes captivate me. “It’s a little stuffy in here.”
“I know,” I groan. “The air conditioner isn’t working. It just blows hot air, and I’m not sure if it’s related to why I don’t have any electricity in the bedroom and bathroom or not. The electrician can’t come out until tomorrow, and I’m starting to think I may have bitten off a little more than I can chew. Maybe I’ll get lucky and just melt away.”
“Care if I take a look?” he asks, reminding me how he asked the same thing before looking at my car two days ago.
“Please.” I’d do just about anything to get cool air flowing through the house.
“Any idea where the utility closet is?”
He doesn’t live here, Brynlee.“Oh, yes, this way.”
I lead him around the stairs to the laundry room combined with the utilities. It’s rather convenient for me, actually. Not quite as convenient as having the washer and dryer in the closet like my last place, but at least it’s not in the basement.
Rhett opens the door on the gray box on the wall, and he flips two switches, a popping sound echoing in the quiet air. “Bedroom and bathroom should have power now. Somethin’ must’ve tripped it. I’m not an electrician, but I think you should be good there. This looks a little strange, though. I know your grandparents had work done within the last ten years or so.”
“Maybe it has to do with the renovations to the bedroom and bathroom. As beautiful as the house is, I doubt the walk-in closet and steam shower are original to the eighteen hundreds. Or central air,” I say with a chuckle.
Smirking, he nods. “Knowin’ your grandparents, they probably hired an apprentice to give him experience. They were like that.”
My eyes widen, and my smile grows as hope fills me. “You knew them? My grandparents?”
