“Sorry, but you won’t believe the morning I’ve had,” Lauren said, out of breath.

She came toward him, closing the last button on her light pink man-styled shirt. Her feet bare, her long hair swinging as she moved, no makeup on her face, she was a breath of fresh air in this stuffy house.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“What isn’t? I woke up late, stepped into water all over the bedroom floor. The cat still has an upset stomach-and that’s putting it mildly.” She pulled her hair back into a ponytail with her hands, securing it with a covered elastic. “All of that and it’s just nine a.m.”

“It could be worse.”

She raised an eyebrow, hands perched on her hips. “Care to tell me how?”

“You could still be without a contractor instead of having the best at your beck and call.” He couldn’t help but tease her.

“Good point.” She shot him a wry smile.

“What kind of flood?” he asked, concerned that the old pipes were giving her trouble.

“The kind that isn’t going anywhere,” she said, turning and walking away. “I need caffeine,” she called over her shoulder. “Want some coffee?”

He blinked in surprise at her change of subject and, given no choice, he followed her. “Black would be great,” he said to her back.

Once in the kitchen, which appeared to have been renovated in the last decade at least, he sat at the table, placing his clipboard down.

Lauren worked quickly. She poured them both cups of coffee that had already brewed and handed him a steaming mug.

“Thanks,” he said.

She nodded, lifted the cup and finished her caffeine fix in short order.

“So where’s the fire?” he asked, taking a sip of the hot coffee.

She placed her mug in the sink and ran water inside it. “We have work to do.”

He wasn’t sure if she wanted to keep things moving quickly to avoid any serious conversation or because she really did want to get started on the job.

Regardless, he took the hint. Steeling himself, he downed his coffee and placed the cup in the sink, rinsing it as she’d done with hers.

“Let’s start with the flood.” Picking up his clipboard, he gestured for her to lead the way.

After surveying the water in the large bedroom on the main floor, he realized things didn’t look good. “Where’s the water heater?”

“There’s a laundry room over here.” She led him out of the bedroom, which he appreciated since the bed hadn’t been made and the rumpled sheets only served to remind him of what he’d rather be doing.

What she’d prohibited him from doing, unless he could convince her otherwise. But he was a professional and he knew she needed to sell this house, so he focused on the job first.

“The laundry room backs up to the bedroom,” he said, reaching for the door. He opened it carefully and, just as he’d feared, found the old water heater surrounded by a huge puddle.

“Is it bad?” Lauren asked, hovering over his shoulder, so close her scent surrounded him.

“Seems that way. Considering how old and corroded the water heater looks, I’d guess it needs replacing, which means a big expense. Plus labor.” He turned to see her shocked expression.

“Well, that’ll put another huge hole in my bank account, but I don’t have a choice. When will you know?”

“Contrary to popular belief, I’m not an expert at everything.”

She propped one shoulder against the wall. “Really? What a disappointment.” Despite the situation, her eyes sparkled with amusement.

He laughed. “Plumbing’s not my thing, unfortunately. I’m going to have to subcontract the job. I’ll make a few calls and see what I can do.”

The first plumber who came to mind was Uncle Edward, but the notion of asking him to work on the old Perkins house seemed wrong. Jason didn’t want to jeopardize his uncle’s recovery by pushing him too far.

“Let me start with JR Plumbing.” He called and the owner answered on the first ring.

Jason explained the situation, the emergency nature of the flood and the need to inspect the rest of the pipes in the old house as soon as possible.

“I understand and thanks.” Jason hung up. “All his guys are busy working at the elementary school. One of the pipes burst and they’re getting it fixed.”

Lauren gnawed on her lower lip. “What next?”

“He has a new guy who he just interviewed but hasn’t officially hired yet. He says he’s eager. Keeps checking in to find out if J.R.’s got room to hire him. He’s going to give the guy a call and send him over.”

She exhaled hard. “Okay, that’s one down. Ready to see the rest of the house?”

Half an hour later, he had a basic list, certain he’d be adding more as he started to work. Lauren would be in charge of cleaning and removing her grandmother’s clutter and deciding what large items needed to go. The buyers were coming from a small apartment and had agreed to take most of the existing furniture.

“We need to test the appliances and see if any require repair or replacement, check the overhead fixtures for the same thing, repaint the walls, refinish the floors, check the windows and doors, and that’s just off the top of my head.”

She nodded, appearing pale and overwhelmed.

“Before we go further, what’s with all the holes in the walls?” he asked. “It looks like someone deliberately broke through the Sheetrock.”

She shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. They weren’t here the last time I visited my grandmother.”

“What about the alarm system?” he asked.

“Broken.”

He made a note of that and realized Lauren had clenched her hands into tight fists.

“Listen, the next step is for us to talk budget,” he said.

Lauren drew a visibly shaky breath. “Let’s sit,” she suggested, leading him to the den, where he sat beside her on the couch.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, reading the worry in her expression.

“It’s the budget. There’s just so much more to do than I originally expected.”

He nodded in understanding. “I assumed as much.”

“Look, I make a great living. That’s not bragging, it’s fact.”

“Based on the Porsche in the driveway, I figured as much,” he said, grinning.

“It’s preowned but it’s my baby.”

He caught the satisfaction in her voice and understood. “I bought the Carrera after I nailed my first sponsor. And I sold it after the scandal.” It wasn’t easy to reveal his biggest humiliation, but he wanted her to know he truly understood her. Better than she might think.

She moved her hand, covering his, squeezing tight. “I’m sorry. That must have been awful.”

“By then there’d been so many degrees of awful, it didn’t matter all that much.”

“Liar,” she said softly.

His mouth pulled upward into a smile. Leave it to Lauren to call him on it. “Let’s focus on you, okay?”

“For now,” she said, giving him fair warning she wasn’t finished with him yet. “Anyway, after the first of the year, my dresses are debuting for a huge label in Paris. If it’s successful…” Her eyes widened, filled with excitement and anticipation. “It would be the answer to my dreams.”

“Then I have no doubt you’ll succeed.” He placed his hand over hers.

“Really?” She tilted her head to one side as she looked for his reassurance.

“Really. You have the drive, you have the talent and you’ve already been discovered. Now you just need for the world to see it, too.” He smiled, his pride in her growing as he spoke.

“But it doesn’t matter how much money I earn after the show. I don’t have a lot now. Whatever my grandmother had in her estate went to creditors I didn’t know anything about until she died, and the bulk of my savings has gone to keeping my sister’s lawyer working on her case.” She curled one leg beneath her, shifting positions, not looking at him as she spoke.

He didn’t much care what happened to her arsonist, Corwin-hating sister, but he didn’t blame Lauren for her family’s sins. He’d had enough of being blamed for his own, and he was innocent.

It galled him, though, that the price of fixing her family’s mistakes fell on her shoulders. “Are your parents still building toilets and roads for the poor?”

She grinned. “Yes, they’re still out of the country doing humanitarian work.”

He hesitated about asking his next question then decided what the hell. He wanted to get to know her again, to understand what drove her and why. “That explains why they aren’t here to help now, but what about financial help for your sister’s attorney or for this house? Didn’t they write some huge self-help book?”

She pursed her lips. “They co-wrote a parenting book, and between sales, television appearances and new editions every few years, they earned themselves a huge amount of money. They promptly took their earnings, kept a modest sum to live on and donated the proceeds to charity, something they continue to do yearly. There’s nothing left to help me. And frankly even if there was, I don’t think they’d find my issues outweighed those of the poor.”

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t have thought giving to charity could be a bad thing.” And at the expense of their children, he thought, disgusted.

Lauren shook her head and laughed, a low, dry, humorless sound. “Tell me about it. They believe their money is going for a good cause, whereas my income, earned through a materialistic lifestyle, is expendable. Hence Beth and this house have become my responsibility.” She swept her arm through the air.

He was speechless. She’d stepped up to take care of responsibilities that should rightly belong to her parents. He admired the adult she’d become in light of the obstacles she faced.

“I have enough to cover these repairs, even with the water heater, but it’ll be tight,” she said at last.

“I understand. And I promise to do this as quickly and efficiently as possible.” He’d fix as much as he could himself to save her outside costs, and he’d do it without letting her know. He had plenty of time to spare.

“Thank you for that. And for not judging.” Her smile lit up the room as well as his heart.

It was the first time they’d had a genuine conversation and a swell of emotion filled his chest. He met her gaze and wanted to kiss her. To reassure her that she could rely on him in a way she so obviously couldn’t on anyone else in her life.

He leaned in closer.

She didn’t back away.

And the doorbell rang, breaking the connection between them.

She pulled back, eyeing him warily before heading to answer. Leaving him to dissect the complicated, protective feelings she aroused.

“Where’s my nephew?” a familiar voice bellowed.

Uh-oh.

Uncle Edward was here. Jason didn’t know how he’d found him or why he’d shown up now, but it couldn’t be good news and he didn’t want Lauren greeting the older man alone.

Jason ran to catch up and the three of them converged in the marble entryway.

One look at his uncle and Jason knew something had set him off.

“Hi, Uncle Edward. How’d you get inside?” Jason asked.

“The door was already open, so I let myself in. If she didn’t want visitors, she should’ve locked her door. I always lock mine.”

Jason swallowed hard. The rambling was a sign of his agitation. “Well, I’m surprised to see you here. I’d like you to meet Lauren,” he said, deliberately omitting her last name.

Edward looked her up and down. “She’s a Perkins, isn’t that right?” he asked, running a hand through his hair and making it a mess.

“Well yes, and this is her house you barged into,” Jason reminded his uncle, hoping he’d take the hint and be polite.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Corwin,” Lauren said, extending her hand.

Edward jumped back as if she were poised to attack. “How could you take a job working for a Perkins?” he asked his nephew.

Jason stiffened, mortified on Lauren’s behalf as well as his own. “How did you find out?”

“I was at JR’s Plumbing Supply House when you called, that’s how! You can’t work here. Not without invoking curses and trouble. Curses. They’re the cause of all the problems we’ve had and it’s her family’s fault.” Edward began to gesture at Lauren, clearly upset.

Jason shot Lauren an apologetic glance. “Let me get him home and settled and I’ll be right back, okay?”

She nodded, her eyes wide, a combination of sadness and regret in them.

“Uncle Edward, let me take you home to Clara.” Jason wrapped his arm around the older man.

Edward shook his head. “Clara’s gonna put one of her spells on me, too.”

Jason let out a groan and directed his uncle toward his car. Edward had walked here, as he did to most places in town. But right now, Jason needed to get him home as soon as possible.

He dreaded Clara seeing Edward in this state. His uncle had only recently begun to soften toward Clara, but now it seemed he’d reverted to his old fears and behavior.