Page 31 of The Homemaker

“Mind if I borrow it?”

“I … uh … yeah.” I nodded again like a bobblehead doll. “I’ll have to lower the seat for you.”

“Is that too much trouble?”

“Nope. Just give me a minute.”

“No hurry. I’m going to make a smoothie and get dressed. Have you had breakfast?”

“I have.”

“Cool. Just let me know when it’s ready.”

Like a child playing hide and seek, I closed the door and counted to one hundred to give her time to go inside before I headed to the garage to lower the bike seat and check the tires. Then I knocked on her door twice and stepped inside.

“It’s ready,” I called.

“Oh, that was fast,” she hollered.

I slipped off my shoes and poked my head around the other side of the galley kitchen. Alice was brushing her teeth. She spat and dabbed her mouth with the towel.

“I thought it might be a good idea to get it ready now so I can focus on work the rest of the day.”

She frowned, shutting off the bathroom light. “I’m a distraction. I’m sorry.”

“No. Don’t apologize. I’m happy to do it.”

Alice stepped into the bedroom and returned a few seconds later with a pair of socks. “Well, thank you.” She sat at the dining room table to put them on.

“What is your job? Something with wood, I’m guessing, since you don’t keep your car in the garage, just some interesting tools and lots of wood.”

“I like woodturning. My dad taught me. But I have a day job as a freelance technical writer.”

“What does that entail?” She glanced up and squinted while pulling on her socks.

“Technical writing or woodturning?”

Alice chuckled. “Both.”

“I write support documents for technical and complex information like instruction manuals. As for the woodturning, that’s just cutting and shaping wood using a lathe and different tools. A lathe is a machine that spins the wood so the shapes I create are symmetrical.”

“Huh. That’s interesting.You’reinteresting.”

I pinned back my shoulders, chest out because I enjoyed being interesting in her eyes.

Alice curled her hair behind her ears then rested her hands on her legs. “We had sex.”

I tried to control my grin while rubbing the back of my neck. “Yeah.”

She bit her bottom lip for a second. “It was fun. Thanks.”

My shit-eating grin took on a life of its own because this woman never disappointed. “Happy to do it,” I said.

Her cheeks pinked. “I checked the listing, and it wasn’t under the amenities, so I may have overstepped.”

“You think I should add it under amenities?”

Alice stood. “Nah. I like to feel special.” She sauntered to the back door, but I didn’t move because I just wanted to watch her. Alice Yates was the epitome of special.