The VIP Room(90)

He cleared his throat and started to say something to indicate his presence, but she jumped sky high before he got any words out. She spun around, hose going full blast, and showered him with a spray of water.

"Whoa!" Derek jumped back, out of her range, but not fast enough. The front of his shirt took a direct hit.

"Oh! Oh!" The woman dropped the hose in surprise. The nozzle hit the ground with the spout turned upward, and the stream shot back her way, soaking her.

"Aaach!" Flustered, she attempted to grab the head and turn off the flow. But instead of moving out of the steady stream and picking up the nozzle, she leaned in to reach for it. The water hit her in the face, but she persevered and finally was able to grab the hose bib and turn it off.

She stood, soaked from head to toe, and glared at Derek. "Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?"

Rivulets of water dripped down the tip of her slightly upturned nose. Most of her long dark hair was pulled back in a rubber band, but the water had flattened her long bangs against her forehead. When she angrily swiped at them to push them from her eyes, she left a smear of dirt above her eyebrows. She put her hands on her hips.

Derek was mesmerized. It wasn't often that a woman left him speechless, but he couldn't focus on what she was saying. He noticed the outline of her massive breasts and her nipples popping out through the thin fabric of her bathing suit top, like she was a contestant in a wet tee shirt contest.

When he forced his gaze up to her face, he saw sea blue eyes flashing. Her cheeks were flushed, and wet ringlets of hair were forming along her neck where the short ends had escaped her ponytail.

Derek almost responded to the voice of his little head, which was begging him to untie the bathing suit top for an unobscured look at her heaving chest. He felt the little head poking up for a better view, urging him to bury his face between those beauties.

"Answer me!" she demanded, drawing his attention back to the situation.

Derek forced the big head to take control. "Derek Holmes, Ma'am. I'm here for our appointment about your landscaping work." He held his hand out, but didn't step forward to shake her hand.

A look of uncertainty remained on her face.

"I rang twice and when there was no answer, I thought I'd have a look around the grounds, rather than come out here again. I figured I could give you an estimate once we talked over the phone."

Clarity burst forth on her face, quickly followed by a horrified expression of someone who knows she's screwed up.

"Of course! I'm so sorry. I'm Lauren Daniels."

She leaned in and shook his hand, but then stepped back, looking horrified all over again. Her hand that left the muddy streak on her forehead had now dirtied his palm as well.

Derek wiped his hand on his wet shirt, thinking it was a good thing he came in his work clothes after all.

"Don't worry, it's just another smear of dirt in a day's work." He smiled to reassure her.

Lauren stood before him looking like she wasn't sure what to do next. She wrung her wet hands and cast her eyes about the terrace.

"Give me a minute to go inside and get you a towel. I'll be right back." She turned and disappeared into the house without waiting for his reply.

Derek glanced around the backyard, noting the one scrawny tree and weeds growing along the fence. He'd seen enough to be able to create a proposal and an estimate. When she came out, he'd tell he'd call her tomorrow with the information. He had to get to his next job.

Lauren returned moments later. She had pulled a large tee shirt over her bathing suit, but even as loose as it was, it clung to the wet suit around her breasts, hips, and belly.

Derek couldn't help notice the big, wet circles accentuating the areas, but forced his eyes to meet hers.

She held out the towel to Derek. "I'm so sorry about not being ready for our appointment. I came out here earlier to drink a cup of coffee and read for a while. I had plenty of time before you were supposed to come. But when I got out here, the dirt and mold on the stones distracted me, and I started to clean. I had no idea so much time had passed."

She stopped, waiting for him to take the towel. "Here, this is for you. I hope your shirt is the drip-dry kind that dries quickly without wrinkles."

He waved it off. "Forget about it. I've got more in the truck. Listen, I've seen enough to--"

She was looking up at him. He noticed she still had the dirt smear on her forehead, but what really caught his attention were her big eyes framed in thick, dark lashes. Talk about baby blues!

Derek tried to clear his head.

"You've seen enough to ... what?" she prompted.

"Why don't we take a quick walk around the grounds? I'll give you some suggestions on what you can do to add some pizzazz to this place."

Derek couldn't believe those words came out of his mouth. Little head was taking over this time. Now he was committed to at least another ten or fifteen minutes. He'd definitely be late, and the crew would be waiting for him, wasting time that he had to pay them for.

Lauren nodded. "That would be great. I'm overwhelmed with things to do since I've moved in. When I bought it, I thought it was move-in ready, but now that I live here, it's one thing after another. I've never owned a home before, but my vision of what my first house would look like included lots of pretty flowers, so I'd love to hear what you have to say."