Upstairs brain, buddy…
“What?” I ask dumbly.
“Glued?” she repeats with a smile. There’s that damn dimple. “The woman with the superglue? Did she get you?”
I snort softly.
“No, but I did near freeze to death. Jackson forgot to mention that the windows in question were in the barn, not the house.”
She winces in sympathy.
“Ooh, chilly.”
“No kiddin’.” I had damn near frozen my balls off.
“You wanna come dance with me?” she asks. Hands in front of her chest, she bounces from foot to foot, like a martial artist psyching themselves up for another bout. “It’s a great warm up.”
I’d have to agree, given how much my blood pressure has risen since entering the house.
“I don’t dance,” I say, my lip curling in disdain. “Especially to eighties rock anthems.”
Lizzie’s feet stall and her mouth falls open.
“You take that back, sir!” she orders.
“I won’t. That stuff is cheesy as all hell.”
“Oh, and you listen to classier stuff?”
How on earth did we end up here?
“Can’t really say I do. I was just surprised, is all. Thought you’d be into something more like… like… Taylor Swift or something.”
“Taylor Swift?” One of Lizzie’s eyebrows rises. She’s laughing at me.
“That’s her name, right?” I feel surprisingly defensive.
“Yeah, I’m just surprised that you know it, is all.”
“I’m not that much of a hermit,” I say. “That chick is everywhere.”
Feeling myself reach my limit for social niceties, I decide now is as good a time as any to bail out.
“I’m going to grab a shower and then find something to put in the oven.” I try to keep my gaze as platonic as I try to avoid admiring her post-workout physique. “You good to wait a minute to wash up? I stink of horse.”
Lizzie shakes her head, thankfully still smiling. The hurt I had seen just a second ago seems completely gone now, which eases my conscience at least a little.
“You don’t smell. But sure, it’s your shower. You have permanent dibs. I need to stretch out anyway. I won’t be too long.”
I offer little more than a nod and then hurry in the direction of the bathroom.
Lizzie can take as long as she needs to stretch out. So long as she does it alone. Staying to witness all those lean muscles and supple curves bending and extending would be a very bad idea.