Page 6 of Mission: Merry Christmas
Avery:Had no idea this place was going to be so nice!
Corinne:Hot-shot athletes. Go figure.
Avery tucked her phone into her purse and got out of the car. The driver had already deposited her bags on the front porch. She thanked him and walked toward the door as he sped off.
ChapterFour
Drew heard the doorbell ring but didn’t budge. He’d left the front door unlocked just to see how long it would take this one to let herself in out of the heat.
The little voice in his head told him not to leave her standing there, but the other voice, the one that tempted him to prank his teammates, urged him to see for himself.Just a little test.
He turned the volume up on the television and sat there with a smirk.
The doorbell rang again, twice this time.
If only he’d had the forethought to not answer the gate when they’d buzzed earlier, he could’ve pretended he wasn’t even home.
“Hello? It’s Avery Troupe.”
He heard the roll of suitcase wheels along the natural stone tile, click-clacking along the grout lines.
“Excuse me?” She flipped the light switches, the whole room illuminating at once. She left her bag and walked over to where he sat in front of the television, half-watching Sports Center.
“I let myself in when you didn’t answer, Mr. Martin.”
“Mart—? Oh, yeah.” He muted the television. Avery Troupe was not what he’d expected at all. Pretty for sure, but not like the women who had traipsed through here as assistants the past couple of weeks. Those had seemed more like candidates for the next casting call for The Bachelor than actual help. None of them seemed to have been qualified for much more than sunning by the pool and ordering takeout.
Avery’s gaze held his, and she didn’t look ready to give in.
Her auburn hair hung past her shoulders, the ends curling this way and that, making him want to reach out and smooth them. Drew’s twin sister Brooke always complained the humidity messed up her hair like that, too, but he liked the curls.
Drew gathered himself. He hadn’t intended to be anything near impressed, but she seemed not only willing, but capable, and well, frankly, pleasant.
“Thank you for coming,” he said. “I had a misunderstanding with the last person they sent.”
The lift of her eyebrow told him she’d probably already heard about it. Now he could tell his side of that story.
“I didn’t ask for help. My sister set this up. I’m focused on training, so what I need mostly from you is to just keep things out of my way. You know, go through the mail. Field phone calls.”
“Oh, really?” She took in a long slow breath, her smile spreading in a way that made her look even prettier. Unlike the other woman who had shown up dressed to the nines, Avery Troupe stood before him, all five-foot-seven-ish of her and in obvious good shape, wearing a nice pair of black slacks, a sports top with a blouse over it, and sneakers. Actually, she looked ready to work.
“You see, Mr. Martin,” Avery said, “I’m here to get you through rehab. From what I understand, you injured your right knee. Nothing too serious, but you’re off your game. After looking at the physician notes your sister provided, you are not meeting the physical therapy goals that he’d set.”
“I’m doing the physical therapy.”
She folded her arms across her chest, crossing one leg over the other. Her legs looked very long. He tried not to stare, but failed.
“Doing the prescribed exercises on your own?” she asked.
Drew bristled. Who did she think she was? “Yes. I’m quite able to get through an exercise program.”
“Well, let me get settled in, then I’ll walk you through what I’m being paid to do, and how I will guarantee you that, with my help, you will be where your doctor expected you to be a few weeks ago before the end of the year.”
Drew laughed. Well, she’d already proven to be more capable than the last one. That girl had stood out there sweating for over an hour. By the time he went to see if she’d given up and left, he’d found her sitting on the front porch fanning herself with one of the fallen palm fronds. “Yeah. That’s fine. The cleaning service just left. Your room is at the end of that hall. Make yourself at home.”
“Excellent,” she said. Her mouth opened, but then she seemed to stop herself. Without a word she pasted a smile on her face and gave him a quick nod. “Great. I’ll go get unpacked, and then we can discuss your rehabilitation plan.”
“Okay,” he said.
