"I didn't mean to startle you, but I didn't want to interrupt."
"Oh, well." Mortified, she snatched up her cleaning rag, twisted it in
her hands. "I was justa finishing up in here."
"You always were a pretty dancer." He'd promised himself he would put
things back the way they'd been between them, so he smiled at her as he
would a friend. "You always dance around the bathroom after you clean
it?"
"Doesn't everyone?" She did her best to answer his smile, but the heat
continued to sting her cheeks. "I thought I'd be done before y'all got
back. I guess the floors took longer than I figured on."
"They look nice. Foolish already had a slide. Surprised you didn't hear
it."
"I was daydreaming. I thought I'd--" Then she managed to clear her brain
and get a good look at him. He was filthy, covered with sweat and grime
and God knew what. "You're not thinking of taking a shower in here?"
Ethan lifted a brow. "It crossed my mind."
"No, you can't."
He shifted back because she'd taken a step forward. He had a good idea
just how he smelled at the moment. That was reason enough to keep his
distance, but worse, she looked so fresh and pretty. He'd taken a solemn
vow not to touch her again, and he meant to keep it.
"Why?"
"Because I don't have time to clean it up again after you, or the bath
downstairs, either. I still have to fry the chicken. I thought I'd make
that and a bowl of potato salad so you wouldn't have to worry about
heating anything up when Cam and Anna get home. I have to deal with the
kitchen after, so I just don't have time, Ethan."
"I've been known to mop up a bathroom after I've used one."
"It's not the same. You just can't use it."
Flustered, he took off his cap, dragged a hand through his hair. "Well,
then, that's a problem because we've got three men here who need to
scrape off a few layers of dirt."
"There's a bay right outside your door."
"But--"
"Here." She opened the cabinet under the sink for a fresh bar of soap.
Damned if she'd have them use the pretty guest soaps she set out in a
dish. "I'll get you towels and some fresh clothes."
"But--"
"Go on now, Ethan, and tell the others what I said." She shoved the soap
into his hand. "You're already scattering dust everywhere."
He scowled at the soap, then at her. "You'd think the Royal Family was
dropping by for a visit. Damn it, Grace, I'm not stripping down to my
skin and jumping off the dock."
"Oh, like you've never done it before."
"Not with a female around."
"I've seen naked men a time or two, and I'm going to be too busy to take
Polaroids of you and your brothers.
Ethan, I've just spent the best part of my day getting this house to
shine. You're not spreading your dirt around."
Disgusted, because in his experience arguing with a woman's made-up mind