One More Time (Ruby Falls #2) - Aurora Rose Reynolds Page 0,2

I finally had a washer and dryer, I decided to do all my laundry. I should have waited.

Breathing heavy, I look around at the mess then head back downstairs. When I see the destruction in the living room, tears begin to fill my eyes. I bought one towel yesterday while I was at Target, because I didn’t see the sense in wasting money when all my stuff will be delivered in just a few days. There’s no way one towel will ever be enough for me to clean up this mess.

I squeeze my eyes closed and allow one single tear to slip through my lashes before I pull in a breath and head for my cell. As promised, Sara sent me the contact info for the construction company yesterday. I didn’t think I’d be contacting them so soon, but now I don’t have a choice. I place the call and am told by an older gentleman that someone will be out as soon as they can. Since all my clothes are now in the bottom of the washer still full of water, I have no choice but to wait for someone to show up, wearing nothing but one of my favorite cotton sleep tank nightgowns without even a bra or underwear. Seriously, this day couldn’t get worse.

Okay, so obviously the day can get worse, I think as I open my front door to the over six-foot-tall man standing outside. Blond hair a little longer than what most men consider fashionable, blue eyes so clear I can see my reflection, muscles outlined with the help of his form-fitting T-shirt, and tattoos that seem like a living, breathing extension of him.

I knew Tide growing up. We were never friends, but I had a huge crush on him. Not that he ever knew I liked him. We didn’t hang with the same crowd. Heck, we didn’t even talk. I was too busy working to please my parents, and he was too busy playing football and dating every girl who put out. He never even spared me much more than a glance or a chin lift in the hall between classes or at lunch.

To him, I was just one more of the rich kids. To me, he was the guy I wanted, not just because he was, and obviously still is, seriously hot. He was kind to everyone, and he defended those who couldn’t defend themselves. I can’t even count the amount of times I saw him stick up for someone getting picked on, getting into fights to defend one of the kids who were an easy target.

I wanted to be like him. I wanted deep within my soul to have the courage to tell those jerks to stop what they were doing. I wanted to tell my parents to grow up and see what they were doing to me and to each other. I never did any of that, which doesn’t say much about the kind of person I was. I just hope it’s not too late to change.

“—flooding.”

That one word pulls me from my memories, and I shake my head. I know more words were said, but I have no idea what they were. “What?”

He studies me for a moment like he’s trying to figure out if he knows me or how he knows me then looks behind me into the house. “My foreman says you’re having an issue with flooding.”

“Sorry.” I shake my head again as I hold the door open for him to step inside, feeling my cheeks get warm. “The washer...” I shake my head once more. “Something must be wrong with it. Water was flooding the floor, and it broke through the ceiling in the living room. I think something is wrong with the washer.” Could I sound any more like an idiot?

“I’ll take a look.”

Without another glance in my direction, I watch him move through my house and head up the stairs without me telling him where to go. I follow, watching his ass in his jeans and his back muscles flex under his form-fitting tee. I never considered the back of a man attractive before, but now I know I should have.

When he stops at the laundry room, I stop with him then watch as he pulls the washer away from the wall like it weighs no more than a feather. When he disappears behind it, I get up on my tippy toes and try to see what he’s doing. It’s no use. At five one,