Chapter Ten

Jade jammed the plug in the socket and switched on the fan. Everything became dark and silent. The music from her CD player abruptly stopped. The muted television screen blackened and every lamp snapped off.

It was early evening of a cloudy day. The light filtering from outside cast a dark gray shadow to the eerily quiet room. She had no idea what to do. Was power out all over the neighborhood? She peeked through the window to Logan’s house and saw yellow lights blazing from several windows. Okay, it was just her house.

Jade froze, her eyes roaming the darkened interior. Had the power been cut? Was someone downstairs waiting for her to come down? She'd been in a campy B-movie where this exact thing happened. She'd been the ditzy co-ed that stumbled downstairs to her early demise.

Well, she wouldn’t be this time. Searching the room for a weapon, she settled on a pair of shears. Carefully, she stepped into the hall. Nothing. Ignoring her mom’s warnings of running with scissors, she took off like the hounds of hell were nipping on her heels. Bolting down the stairs, she shot out the door and across the yard to the Bradley’s house in three seconds flat. If there was anyone in the house, that should have startled the heck out of them.

Her lungs burning, breath bellowing in and out, she depressed the bell. She searched behind her, making sure nothing followed her outside.

The door swung open and Jade realized her mistake. Logan’s eyes raked her face and then traveled down her body, his eyebrows lifting when he reached her chest. Belatedly, she looked down and realized she still had her workout clothes on: spandex bike shorts and a white sports bra that criss-crossed in the back. Her nipples were pebbled from excitement. He definitely noticed.

Clearing his throat, he forced his gaze back to her face. “Ms. LaRossa? Is there something I can help you with?” His eyes dropped to her chest briefly before snapping back to her face. Her hair was secured into a pony tail on the top of her head and not one stitch of make-up covered her face.

“Who is it, Daddy?” A little hand appeared on Logan’s leg and a cherub face poked around to peer out the door. “Jade!” Isabella squealed. “Did you come over to play?”

Jade bent down and brushed a curl off the girl’s face. “I wish I did, but I need to ask your dad for a bit of help.”

“My daddy’s the best at helping,” Isabella confirmed with all the seriousness of a three-year-old.

“Bella, why don’t you take Fiji and go play in your bedroom for a minute while I talk to Ms. LaRossa?”

“Kay, Daddy. Come-on Feejee.” The dog bounded after Bella, dancing at her heels. “Bye, Jade.”

“Bye, Isabella.” Jade watched the girl jog away, a smile on her face. She met Logan’s stare and her smile faded. “What?”

One eyebrow raised. “I was just going to ask you the same question.”

Good grief, she almost forgot. Whenever she was around this man and his daughter, everything seemed right in the world. She couldn’t even remember her own name. Either of them.

“All the power went out at my house and I’m not sure why.” Although she didn’t want to send him into a trap, she didn’t want to voice her suspicions of foul play…yet.

Logan’s brows bunched and he stepped out onto the porch. She followed and shrieked when he spun suddenly and crashed into her. His arms shot out to steady her.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were so close.”

She would've responded, but her mouth wouldn’t work. His callous-roughened hands were warm and comforting on her bare arms.

“The lights are on downstairs.”

“Hum?” Jade had no idea what he said. He was now running his hands up and down her arms.

“I said, the lights are on downstairs.”

Even though he repeated the words, it still took a few seconds before they penetrated her lust-fogged brain. Her spine snapped straight. “What did you say?”

He was giving her that look again, the one where he thought she was nuttier than a Christmas fruitcake.

“Why don’t you tell me what happened.”

Right. Stick to the facts.

“Well, I was working out and even with the air conditioner, I was getting hot so I plugged in a fan and then bingo, everything went dark.”

“It sounds like you threw a fuse.”

“Threw a what?”

“Fuse. You know, the electrical safety device consisting of or including a wire or strip of fusible metal that melts and interrupts the circuit when the current exceeds a particular amperage.”

Huh? Come again? Jade didn’t have one clue what a fuse was. “Wow. That sounds serious. I guess I need to call a fuse electrician or something…what?”

Logan made a strangled sound and then burst out laughing. “Fuse electrician, that’s a good one.”

What the heck was so funny? He’s the one who used the words electrical and circuit and amperage. Didn’t electricians usually take care of those things? She crossed her arms and stared.

Logan looked at her straight face and stopped. Although he was trying not to laugh, his lips were quivering. “You were kidding, right?”

She shook her head.

“Oh, honey, please tell me you know what a fuse box is and where it's located.”

Fuse box? Sure. Her head moved from side to side.

Logan wiped a hand down his face, as if trying to erase his smile. It didn’t work. His deeply etched dimple made an appearance. “Bella,” he called. When the little girl came running, he scooped her up and said, “We're going to go to Ms. LaRossa’s house for a few minutes.”

“Feejee, Feejee,” the little girl sang. Logan tilted her over the ground and she picked the poodle up in her arms.

“I’m a certified ‘fuse electrician’, Ms. LaRossa,” he informed her, still trying not to grin. “I’ll take care of the problem for you.”

Jade didn’t know Logan was an electrician. How lucky for her that he lived right next door! She felt guilty for not asking about his occupation sooner but then he might ask what she did for a living and no sense opening that can of worms. The fewer people who knew where she was staying for the summer the better.

Quelling the urge to skip, she led her hunky neighbor to her rented house.

 

Logan didn’t know whether to believe the sexy Ms. LaRossa or not. How many people in the world didn’t know what a fuse was? Either she lived one sheltered life or she was a few fries short of a Happy Meal.

He almost had a stroke when he opened the door to see her standing on the porch all sweaty and half-naked. Instant thoughts of another scenario where she was sweaty and all naked flashed in his mind. It was all he could do to force his eyes to her face. He failed a couple of times, having to ogle her world class chest, but hey, he was a guy. It was instinctual as breathing.

He bit back a groan, watching her sexy backside sway in shorts that might as well have been painted on. Good thing his hands were full with Bella or he might not have been able to resist reaching out and shaping his palms to the slightly rounded globes.

“Lucky for me I live right next door to an electrician,” Jade tossed over her shoulder. “I have no idea how much it costs to fix a thrown fuse, but I'll definitely pay you for your time.”

The sexy Ms. LaRossa was a darn good actress. She almost had him believing she really didn’t know what a fuse was. He decided to play along.

“No telling how long this will take. Tripped fuses can be a tricky business.”

“If it takes too long, I can order some food in so you don’t miss dinner.”

Logan’s steps faltered. Dear Lord, now he didn’t think she was kidding. She was kidding…wasn’t she? “You are kidding, right?”

She twisted around. “Of course not. It’s the least I can do for you coming to my rescue.” She flashed him a dazzling smile and he thought, damn, she really does know how to throw fuses. His not only melted, but had caught fire and was slowly burning him from the inside.

Jade opened the front door and ushered them inside. “I don’t know much about tools but if you can tell me what you need, I’ll do my best to find them in the garage."

Logan held up his index finger. “This is the only tool I will need.” He deposited Bella on the floor. “Stay here, be good and don’t touch anything.”

“Kay, Daddy,” she said, her attention riveted on her puppy.

“So you really don’t know what a fuse box is?” He thought he would ask one more time, just in case she was yanking his chain.

“Sorry, I don’t. But if you describe it to me, I might've come across it. Is it jewelry box size or bread box size or bigger? It might be in the garage.”

Oh honey, he thought, you are too naïve for your own good. How did she survive this long without a keeper? Pushing those thoughts aside, he debated about the most logical place for a fuse box. His was located in the kitchen pantry.

“Does the kitchen have a pantry—you know, a room or closet used for food storage?”

She flashed him an exasperated frown. “I know what a pantry is, Mr. Smart-alec. And yes, there's one. This way.”

His mouth twisted into a rare smile, something this woman seemed to pull from him often, whether she meant to or not. She opened a set of louvered doors and flipped on a light. He brushed past her, trying hard not to initiate any body contact.

He located the fuse box right off and started forward. He almost groaned out loud when the scent of wildflowers wafted to his nose. What would it hurt to just bend down and smell her glorious hair? One little, teeny-tiny sniff.

“Daddy, can I push the button?”

Ah, Bella. Coming to his rescue.

“Sure, baby.” He'd blown a fuse just a few weeks ago and she helped him fix it. He picked her up and opened the gray door.

“I see it, I see it.” Bella pulled the switch, just like he taught her. Music blasted from upstairs and he turned to face Jade.

She glared at him, her hands fisted on her thin hips. “Are you telling me a three-year-old just fixed my fuse?”

“‘Fraid so.”

He thought she mumbled “just freaking great” under her breath. Her face burned bright red, accentuating her sea green eyes. “Thank you, Bella,” she mumbled, her gaze never meeting his.

“Welcome,” Bella responded.

Logan and Bella bid their goodbyes and returned to their house. The slightly ditzy, sinfully sexy Ms. LaRossa was just too darn tempting.

#

Jade thanked Isabella and reluctantly, the shit-eating grinning Logan. She slammed the door in their wake, falling back against the wood panel. Her face was flaming, her ego non-existent. She felt dumber than dirt, dense as a dipstick, dim as a doorknob.

How was she to know what a fuse was or how to fix it? Her parents had pampered her so she never had to do those kinds of things growing up. When she left for college, she stayed in dorms and apartments and then moved to another apartment with Vanessa. Soon after, she hooked up with Kyle and they paid people to run their house. She'd never lived by herself.

She knew Logan enjoyed his little tutorial on what she should do if it happened again, explaining it to her as if she were the same age as his daughter. His grin and laughter bursts told her as much.

First, she didn’t know that a lawnmower needed gas and now that the electrical wiring of a house included fuses. She should feel good about herself for learning so much on her own.

Instead, she felt like the thickest, most brainless twit around. Here she thought the loss of power could be the result of an overzealous fan, as in the murdering kind. Instead it was the work of an overworked fan, as in the blowing kind.

Totally humiliating. She was an actress, had co-starred in dozens of films. Loved the spotlight. Hunky Logan Bradley got a front row seat to her performance of “Woman too stupid to live.”