Page 16 of Pinch of Love

“Hey, stranger. I swear I’m not an unruly and bothersome renter.” Her lips pursed into a cute pout as her eyes sizzled into me.

I cleared my throat and grabbed the toolbox I kept behind my seat.

“We’ll see about that,” I teased gruffly, and her eyes narrowed on me as she came to greet me.

“Oh, yeah?” she asked. “You don’t take my word for it?”

I scratched my chin and looked over her shoulder to the house behind her. “Nope. I’ve been burned enough times by houseguests to know better.”

“Ouch.” She put her index finger in the air and made a searing noise.

Could she get any cuter?

I smiled, and so did she.

“I knew I could get you to crack one today.”

“Believe it or not, I’m not crotchety.”

“Whatever you say there, Cash.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I like your toolbox. It looks nifty.”

My brows rose. “Nifty?”

She smiled again, and I shook my head as I followed her to the house. “I’m really sorry the tub isn’t draining, though. I take pride in making sure my homes are up to par. I’ll be taking a night off your rent for the hassle.”

She stopped in her tracks right when we’d made it inside and spun around. “Don’t even think about doing that. It’s not your fault. These things happen.”

Regardless, the final charge would have it deducted.

“Okay, well. It’s just upstairs, as you know. I’ll be in the kitchen deciding whether I want to finally call back my ex or not.”

The way she snarled the word ex made me glad I wouldn’t be the one on the other end of that call.

I gave a quick nod and started toward the upstairs. When I’d reached the primary bedroom where the ensuite was located, I kept my head down. I just wanted to get to the tub, fix it, drain it, and get out of here.

As I made my way into the bathroom, I spotted a red lace thong peeking out from under a flannel nightshirt.

Exactly what I was trying to avoid seeing.

Of course, she’d wear sexy underwear under her everyday clothes.

Why?

Just to make my imagination go crazy.

I rolled my eyes and knelt by the tub filled with water and donned a pair of gloves from my toolbox. As I started messing with the drain, I spotted something white tucked underneath the drain. I leaned in for a closer look through the water. It looked like tissue.

As I began pulling, tissue started disintegrating between my fingers. It was like someone had stuffed a whole wad of toilet paper or facial tissue into the drain. The more I pulled out, the more the water drained. By the time the tub sat empty, I’d managed to pull an entire clump of tissue from the drain. I tossed it into the trash and turned the tub water on again to make sure it continued to drain normally.

“That should do it,” I muttered to myself, pulling off the gloves to wash my hands.

Would Maya have stuffed tissue to plug the tub? But why? I glanced at myself in the mirror and laughed.

Because you’re such a stud, Cash.

Realizing how absolutely ridiculous that idea sounded, I started toward the stairs when I heard Maya sniffle.

And then another sniffle before she blew her nose and sniffled some more.

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