locked the door! Had one of her neighbors come by to visit? They wouldn’t have just come in without knocking first. Who could it be then?
She sat up and listened. She heard the sound of something in her kitchen. But there was nothing in the kitchen to steal!
She thought about calling out and demanding that the person get out, but was that wise?
“Helen? You’ve been in there a while. Are you okay?” Dimitri’s voice called through the bathroom door.
“Dimitri?” she asked, all the tension coming right back. “I mean, Mr. Theopolis?”
He moved his head into the bathroom and winked at her. “Dimitri sounds better. I’m making you dinner. It’s almost ready,” he said and came into the bathroom. She noticed his sleeves were rolled up and he had a towel over one shoulder and a silk robe over his arm. “Here you go,” he said and left the robe on the counter within easy reach. “Will you be done in five minutes?” he asked.
Helen could only nod her head in response, too shocked to say anything.
“Good. I’ll have dinner ready by then,” he said and walked out, his broad shoulders turning slightly sideways since he was too large to walk through her small bathroom door straight.
Helen swallowed with difficulty. Dimitri was back in her house and was cooking for her? She looked at the silk robe and wanted to bury herself in the bubbles. That robe had been purchased on a whim and she’d only worn it once, the day she’d bought it. It had stayed in her closet all that time.
The intimacy of him going through her clothes and selecting that one for her to wear struck her body with such a pang of desire she wanted to cry out. Instead, she bit her lip and jumped up, afraid he might come back in at any moment. She toweled herself dry and walked into her room, ignoring the silk robe and pulling on her fluffy pink one. The pink wasn’t much better, but at least it wasn’t so revealing.
Helen almost groaned as she looked where her clothes, underwear included, were sitting neatly on the bed. She knew she’d just stripped her clothes off and left them on the floor but apparently Dimitri had come in and picked them up. Helen’s outer clothes might be sedate and boring but she loved sexy underwear. The little lace nothings were folded neatly on top of her brown tweed and Helen could vividly imagine Dimitri’s strong, large hands picking up that lace. He probably chuckled that such a boring little hen wore sexy underthings.
It was too much, she thought. She tightened the belt of her robe and marched out, intending to order him out of her house. But the smell that greeted her when she stepped out of her bedroom stopped her in her tracks. It was mouth wateringly delicious.
“Good,” he said, spotting her from the stove which was near the kitchen doorway. “Dinner is ready. I hope you don’t mind but I made enough for myself.” He brought two plates out to the family room and handed one to her, then led her over to the sofa to sit. “I’ve poured the wine already, so eat up.” He handed her a glass of rich, red wine, then took a seat opposite her.
“This smells wonderful,” she said tentatively. “Where did you learn to cook?”
“I snuck into the kitchens as a boy and would steal food from the cook. Finally, out of desperation, the man gave in and showed me how to make my favorite meals. That way, I could simply get what I wanted instead of stealing what he was trying to make for dinner that night.”
Helen laughed, enchanted by the picture of a little version of Dimitri sneaking to get food. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to have a cook.” He had probably been an adorable little boy with all the charm he currently had, with mischievous eyes and the humor of youth.
“Was your mother a good cook?” he asked.
Helen shook her head. “Goodness no. She was too busy fighting one cause after another,” she said. “My mother was a teacher and was always taking up some sort of cause. It might have been a stray animal or a kid in trouble but we always had appointments or banners to make, charities to run, or something crazy going on.”
“What happened to you?”
“I was dragged all over the place saving trees and bugs and whatever was the latest cause du jour,” she