Turning on her heel, she stalked down the hallway. There were two bedrooms on that end of the long, narrow house, one very small and the other one larger. It had floor-to-ceiling glass on two sides.
The man was standing at the end of the bed in the larger room, his hands on the waistband of his wet shorts, about to peel them off. He looked startled to see her.
“You can’t stay here,” Terri said. His eyes were a beautiful shade of blue. He was older than she’d first thought. Midthirties, maybe. The hair on his chest formed a pattern from a centerline. He certainly wasn’t a boy! She noted that he wore no wedding ring. Not that it mattered.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I was told the owner of the house was in Florida.”
Nice voice. Really nice. Really, really nice. Terri’s anger vanished. “Technically, that’s true. My aunt owns the house, but I...” She straightened her shoulders. Why didn’t she brush her hair when she woke up? Why did she always have to wear baggy, slouchy clothes?
“Are you Terri?” he asked.
“I am.”
The man gave a nod of understanding. “This mistake is from my uncle. He mentioned that Terri might be staying in the house, but I thought that was the owner’s name and that she spent most of her time in Florida.” He gave Terri a quick glance up and down. “I’ll be out of here in minutes.” He walked to the closet, pulled out a canvas duffel bag and put it on the bed.
“Your uncle?”
“Kit Montgomery. Do you know him?”
“He and my dad are friends,” Terri said. “Why would he put you in my house? There are lots of cabins available. My dad is a Realtor and he handles all that.”
The man pulled some shirts from the closet and tossed them on the bed. “I’ve not met your father, but I know Kit wants me to like Summer Hill since I’m going to be moving here. He said I should spend my first three weeks here at the lake instead of in town. I guess he didn’t want to condemn me to staying in a house alone.” He shoved some shoes into the bag, then looked at her. “I just want to say that this is a great house. I’ve been here two nights and I like the glass front, the water, all of it.”
Terri knew that in the nearly two years that Kit Montgomery had been in town, he and her father had become great friends. “Thick as thieves,” as the saying went. The first winter Kit lived in Summer Hill, he and Brody had spent a lot of time plotting together. At least that’s how Terri thought of it. When Kit bought an old warehouse, remodeled it into a theater and put on a play in an attempt to win the woman he loved, Brody had been involved in every part of it. From buying the warehouse, to hiring construction workers, to casting the play, Brody had helped. When Kit got the girl, there had been several champagne corks popped.
As Terri watched the man pack, she considered the idea that Kit and her dad were again plotting—and this time, it was about her.
She looked at the man’s bare back as he reached up to the top of the closet and thought that her dad had certainly had worse ideas than this one. “You want some breakfast?”
Turning, he smiled at her—and Terri felt herself softening. Oh yeah, there were a lot worse things than having this man as a...as a roommate.
“Only if I’m allowed to cook it,” he said.
Terri smiled broadly. The men she’d known in her life couldn’t work a can opener. But then, Terri wasn’t much more advanced in that department. “Gladly. I hope you like Raisin Bran and I think the milk is still good.”
“I went to the grocery,” he said, then paused. He seemed to be waiting for something.
It took her a moment to understand. “Sure. Get dressed. I will too.” She backed out of the room, hoping she sounded like this wasn’t what she wore every day. Since she spent her life dealing with boats and motors and kids who thought “vacation” meant not bathing, she didn’t try to be a fashion plate.
As soon as she was out of his sight, she ran past the kitchen and down the hall to her bedroom. In the closet by her bathroom were three plastic baskets stacked on top of each other and filled with dirty clothes.