Read Online Falling For Zoe (The Camerons of Tide's Way #1) by Skye Taylor - Free Book Online Page A

but Ava smiled before turning away. “I’ll think about it.”

Chapter 10
    ZOE WAS UP TO her elbows in dishwater when she heard the knock at the door. Please, God, don’t let it be Jake , she thought as she wiped her hands on a towel. She made an effort to pull the escaped strands of hair that curled wildly about her face back into her elastic. She felt hot, tired, and frumpy, and not in the mood for company.
    Her conversation with Ava had gotten her down, remembering all the lost years of her growing up. And the boy next door she’d been so madly in love with who, it turned out, only wanted to grope her when her brothers weren’t watching. And the fact that her father had never had to worry about her dating because no one had ever asked her out. That definitely wasn’t going to be Ava’s problem. She was pretty as a picture, as Zoe’s grandmother would have said. Jake was going to have to fight them off.
    Zoe pulled the door open before thinking to look through the peephole. Jake stood on her porch looking tanned, muscular, and amazingly sexy in cargo shorts and a dress shirt with the collar open and the cuffs turned up. As her body reacted to all that undisguised masculine charisma, Zoe sucked in a ragged breath.
    “J—” She swallowed and tried again. “Jake? What’s up?”
    “I came over to thank you. Can I come in?” He bent to pat the eager heads jostling for space around his legs.
    “Sure.” Zoe stepped back to leave him room, but the front hall had suddenly shrunk. “I was, um . . . I was just washing the dishes.” She twisted the dishtowel in her hands and wished she could act her age instead of like a tongue-tied teenager.
    “Don’t you have a dishwasher?”
    He was definitely standing too close. Zoe edged toward the kitchen and bumped into Jet, stumbled, caught herself, and just managed to cut off the curse that rose to her lips. “I do, but when I turn it on, no water comes into it. I haven’t had time to call a repairman.” She pushed past the dogs and moved into the kitchen.
    “I can look at it for you,” Jake offered, following her through the door. “Might be something simple.”
    “Oh, I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
    “Why not? You took my daughter shopping and got her rigged out in some really decent gear without breaking the bank. I owe you.”
    Jake squatted in front of the dishwasher and turned a dial. Scotch immediately put two paws on Jake’s knee while Jet took advantage of Jake’s proximity to lick his face. Jake laughed, fended off the dogs, and pushed the dishwasher door firmly closed. He put his ear to the front panel. “Hmm!” He leaned sideways, going down onto one knee, opened the door beneath the sink, and peered into the gloom underneath it.
    “Jet, come here!” Zoe called the dog away when she would have stuck her head under the sink with Jake’s.
    “Found your problem. I think.” Jake reached in, and Zoe marveled at the play of muscles beneath the crisp white shirt. He did something beyond her line of vision, then backed out. “I wish all my problems were that easy.”
    Water began flowing into the dishwasher. “How’d you do that?”
    “There’s a valve under the sink, and it was turned off for some reason. Might be because the dishwasher leaks, so keep an eye on it. If you see water creeping out onto the floor, turn it off again. C’mere.” He crooked his finger and directed her to come closer.
    Close enough for her to see what he wanted to show her was too close for her libido. Now she could smell his aftershave and the clean masculine scent of him. She swallowed and tried to concentrate on what Jake was explaining.
    “Just turn this to the right if you see any water where it shouldn’t be.” He pointed to the valve in question, and his arm brushed against her breast.
    Zoe’s body immediately ran amok. I’m having hot flashes. I’m too young for hot flashes. God, he smells good! I’m as bad as Travis, for Pete’s sake!
    Jake