Page 3 of Once Upon A Player
She gives a long sigh. “I’m Violet Henderson. I’m your cleaner.”
She’s mywhat? “Ah, right.”
“So, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get on.”
As she goes down the steps into the sitting room, I swing about and am once again confronted with the mess my so-called mates left. I grimace and follow Violet into the room.
“Look, I’m sorry about all of…this.” I wave my arm in a vague gesture, and she shoots me a glance over her shoulder before hastily looking away and picking up some half-empty glasses.
“It’s fine.” Her voice is neutral, but her rigid shoulders and the way she’s pressing her lips together tell me she’s not fine about this at all.
Can’t blame her, either. Not when all she was expecting was the usual quick flick around with the vacuum or whatever. My agent Bec told me she’d found a local cleaning agency for the penthouse while I stayed in the flat I’ve rented for the last four years in Cockfosters. The lease on the flat expires in a couple of weeks at the end of June, which is when I plan on moving into the penthouse. Yolanda and I only stopped by yesterday evening because she wanted to check out the place, but then the lads turned up, so it evolved into an all-nighter.
“Here, let me help.” I pick up a heap of takeaway cartons, and Violet faces me, clutching the glasses to her chest.
“Please just leave it.”
“Come on, Violet. I banged up my knee, not my hands. I can carry a few boxes.”
For the first time, I see a hint of a genuine smile hover around her gorgeous lips before she clamps down on it as though it tried to escape without her permission.Intriguing.
“That’s not the point.” She takes the glasses into the kitchen, and I follow her. I try not to admire her cute butt. Yeah, like that’s gonna happen. I exhale a long breath and dump the rubbish in the bin. “You’re paying us to do the job.”
I grin as I swing around to face her, belatedly recall my damn erection, and take up position on the other side of the workbench so she has no chance of seeing it. “So, don’t tell anyone.”
She blinks a couple of times as though my comment doesn’t make sense. Unfortunately, my damn dick finds her reaction irresistible. “Why would you want to help, anyway?”
“Because I don’t want you thinking I’m an entitled prat.”
A slow blush spreads over her cheeks. Guess she’d already come to that conclusion.
“I don’t think that.” And she’s a lousy liar.
“I’ll be right back.” There’s no way I can do anything useful until I’ve got some clothes on, which is ironic. Usually the only reason girls want me around involves me having my kit well and truly off.
“Yes, um, but Lucas…”
I halt jogging toward the door and glance over my shoulder. “Yeah?”
She’s staring at me with a bemused expression. It’s obvious her opinion of me is so low she can’t believe I’m capable of helping her clear up. I don’t know why that bugs me so much. I don’t even know her, but I sure wouldn’t mind changing that.
Except she’s not interested.
Then why’s she checking me out?
“Er…nothing.” She tears her gaze from me and starts to load the dishwasher with far more concentration than is necessary. I hide my grin and jog back to my bedroom where I grab a pair of shorts and drag them on.
It’s rare I need to do anything to impress a girl. Violet might be holding back, but she’s not as indifferent to me as I first imagined.
All I need to do is impress her with my mad skills at how to fill a black rubbish bag and whip the vacuum around the floor. There’s no way Violet’s leaving here today before she’s agreed to go on a date with me, or my name’s not Lucas Carter.
Chapter Two
Violet
I did not just ogle Lucas Carter’s hard-on.
Yes, I did. My face is still burning even though my unforgivable slip happened about three minutes ago. And much as I want to believe he didn’t notice, I saw the satisfied smirk on his face just before he left the room.
