Housekeepers Say I Do!: Maid for the Millionaire / Maid for the Single Dad / Maid in Montana

“It’s plenty. In fact,” he said with a wince, “if those water marks are roof leaks, we’ve got a problem.”

“Why?”

Cain caught Liz’s gaze and her insides turned to gelatin again. But not because of chemistry. Because of fear. His eyes were soft, his expression grave. He wanted to do a good job. But he also had to be honest.

She’d only seen him look this way once. When she’d told him she couldn’t plan a huge Christmas party he’d wanted to host for his business associates. She’d been afraid—terrified really—that she’d do something wrong, something simple, but so awful that she’d embarrass them both. He’d been angry first, but that emotion had flitted from his face quickly and was replaced by the expression he now wore. It had disappointed him that she couldn’t do what he needed, but he had to be honest and admit he still wanted the party. So he’d hired someone to plan it for him.

He’d moved beyond it as if it wasn’t a big deal. But the disappointment he’d felt in her lingered. Even now it reminded her that he knew they weren’t good for each other as a couple. They didn’t match. He wouldn’t want to start something with her any more than she’d want to start something with him. No matter how sexually compatible they were, he wasn’t here to seduce her. She actually felt a little foolish for even thinking it.

“A roof isn’t a one-man job. Even with a crew a roof takes a few days. At the very least a weekend.” He looked at Amanda. “But I’ll choose the crew with care.”

Amanda looked at Liz.

“We’ll talk it over with Ayleen, but we can trust Cain. If he says he’ll figure out a way to keep all this confidential, he’ll do it.” When it came to work Cain was as good as his word. “Plus, if Cain’s okay with it, we’ll only work weekends and you can take the kids to the beach or something. Not be around. Just to be sure no one sees you.”

Amanda nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Cain rose. “Let me take a quick look at all these things then I’ll make a trip to the building supply store.”

“Toilets are fixed. Showers all work,” Cain said, wiping his hands on a paper towel as he walked into the kitchen.

Amanda had made grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for lunch. Liz already sat at the table. Amanda was happily serving. He took a seat and Liz smiled at him. After walking through the house with him behaving like a contractor, not her ex-husband, not the man she shared unbelievable chemistry with, Liz was slightly annoyed with herself for even considering he was only here as part of a plan to seduce her. His work here might have begun as a way to thank her for caring for him, but now that he was here, he clearly wanted to do a good job. It almost seemed he’d forgotten their chemistry or that she had imagined his reaction as they stood in the hallway that morning.

Which was good. Excellent. And took her back to her plan of behaving like his friend.

“So this afternoon we paint?”

“I’d like to get the painting done before we put up new baseboards. With all the rooms that need to be painted, it’s going to take a few days. So it would be best if we started immediately after we eat.”

“Okay.”

Liz took a sandwich from the platter Amanda passed to her and handed it to Cain. Things were good. Relaxed. The more she was in his company this way, the more confident and comfortable she felt around him.

“I’ll do the ceilings,” Cain said, taking three sandwiches. “You guys handle the walls.”

Amanda grimaced. “I’m sorry. I scheduled a play-date for Joy. I didn’t realize you’d need me this soon.”

“It’s all right,” Liz said easily. “Cain and I will be fine.”

She genuinely believed that, until Amanda and Joy left and suddenly she and Cain were alone with two gallons of paint, two paint trays and a few brushes and rollers. Why did fate always have to test her like this? Just because she’d become comfortable around him, that didn’t mean she had to be tested an hour after the thought had formed in her brain.

“What’s the protocol on this?” she asked, nervously flitting away from him.

“First, we put blue tape around the windows and doors and existing baseboards so we don’t get any paint where we don’t want it. Then I’ll do the ceiling and you do the walls.”

He went out to his truck and returned with a roll of blue tape. Swiftly, without a second thought and as if he weren’t having any trouble being alone with her, he applied it on the wood trim around the windows.

“Wow. A person would never guess you hadn’t done that in about ten years.”

He laughed. “It’s like riding a bike. It comes back to you.”

He was at ease. He wasn’t seeing her as anything but a work buddy. Surely, she could follow suit.

“I know but you really look like you were born to this. It’s almost a shame you don’t do it anymore.”

“My end of things is equally important.” He turned from the window. “Come here. Let me show you how simple it is.”

She walked over to the window and he positioned her in front of it. Handing her the roll, he said, “Hook the end of the tape over the edge of the top molding and then just roll it down.”

She did as he said but the tape angled inward and by the time she reached the bottom the edge was still bare.

“Here.” Covering her hand with his, he showed her how to direct the roll as she moved it downward, so that the side of the woodwork was entirely covered by the tape.

Liz barely noticed. With his chest brushing her back and his arm sliding along her arm, old feelings burst inside her. The scent of him drifted to her and she squeezed her eyes shut. She had never met a man who caused such a riot inside her. She longed to turn around and snuggle into him, wrap her arms around him, simply enjoy the feeling of his big body against hers.

She stiffened. She had to get beyond this! If he could treat her like a coworker, she could treat him like a friend.

As if unfazed, he pulled away and walked to the paint. He poured some of the gray into one of the trays and white into the second one.

“Okay. I’m ceilings. You’re walls. But first I’m going to do the edge where the wall meets the ceiling.” He nodded at the tray of gray paint. “You take that and a roller and go nuts on the walls. Just stay away from the edges.”

“With pleasure.” She managed to make her voice sound light and friendly, but inside she was a mess. Especially since he seemed so cavalier. All this time she’d believed his attraction to her fueled her attraction to him. Now, she wasn’t so sure. Oh, she still believed he was attracted to her. His attraction simply didn’t control him.

And by God she wasn’t going to let hers control her, either!

For the next ten minutes they were quiet. Cain took a brush and painted an incredibly straight, incredibly neat six-inch swatch at the top of the wall, ensuring that Liz wouldn’t even accidentally get any gray paint on the ceiling.

Deciding she needed to bring them back to a neutral place or the silence would make her nuts by the end of the day she said, “How do you do that so fast, yet so well?”

“Lots and lots of practice,” he said, preoccupied with pouring more white paint into his tray. “Don’t forget I did this kind of work four summers in a row. That was how I knew I wanted to run a construction company. I learned to do just about everything and I actually knew the work involved when I read plans or specs.”

“Makes sense.” She rolled gray paint onto the far wall. She’d heard that story before, but now that she was a business owner she understood it and could respond to it.

“In a way, I got into cleaning for the same reason. Once I realized what would be required of my employees, it was easy to know who to choose for what jobs and also what to charge.”

“And you did great.”

His praise brought a lump to her throat. In the three years they were married he’d never praised her beyond her looks. He loved how she looked, how she smelled, how soft she was. But he’d never noticed her beyond that.

She cleared her throat. “Thanks.”

Occupied with painting the ceiling, Cain quietly said, “You know this is going to be more than a one-day job.”

“So you’ve said.”

He winced. “More than a two-week job.”

She stopped. “Really?”