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at him, listening to him, or even smelling him. He must’ve just got out of the shower because he smelled like one of her ocean candles with a hint of musk. Parts of her body were celebrating his nearness, parts that she hadn’t known were in really good working order.
    Kneeling at her feet, he checked out the long burn mark on the inside of her arm. It was red, angry and beginning to blister. “Do you have some aloe ointment?”
    “Yea, it’s in the bottom cabinet next to the sink.” She started to tell him that it wasn’t hurting anymore. All she could feel right now was excitement about him. Bowie. In her house!
    Bowie squatted. Bottom cabinet. Hmmm. Odd place to keep medicine. “Here it is.” Then, it hit him. Her cabinets were all normal height. She’d have the devil of a time reaching anything. “Damn.” That’s why she burned herself. “You pulled that pot down on top of you, didn’t you?” Yep, there was wax all over the floor.
    “I leaned up to grab it and got overbalanced.” Cassie started to explain more about her struggles, but he knew she was in a chair. “Usually, I manage pretty good.”
    Bowie harrumphed, he actually harrumphed. She stifled a giggled as he hunkered down next to her and gently spread the cool lotion on the burns. Frissons of awareness danced across her skin. “Thank you,” she murmured. This was totally unbelievable.
    “Hold on, one more thing to do.” Without even asking, he found a dishrag and a case knife and went to work scraping and cleaning the wax off the floor.
    “You don’t have to do that,” she protested.
    “All done!” He smiled after a few seconds. When he faced her again, he could see she was a bit embarrassed. “It was nothing. Glad to do it.”
    “Thank you.” She was grateful. The only problem was that this fiasco just drew his attention to how different she was than other women. And Cassie didn’t want to be different. “I’m sorry.”
    “Hey!” Bowie went to her, kneeling by the chair, lifting her pretty face with one finger under her chin. “Did you think after hearing you scream in pain that I wouldn’t come? What do you think neighbors are for?”
    “I’ve done it before. It’s no big deal.” Cassie clenched her hands into fists. She wasn’t angry, she was trying to keep from grabbing him. He was mere inches from her face! The man was almost edible and she had been on a lifelong starvation diet when it came to romance and sex.
    To add to her agitated state, Bowie enclosed her wrist in one big hand and turned her arm over. “How does it feel, does it still hurt?”
    “No, it’s better.” Truthfully, it was. “The aloe works wonders.” Actually, him touching her was more healing than any medicine could be. She was so aware of him—how broad he was, the strength of his biceps, the thickness of his forearms and especially the kind light shining in his eyes. “Could I offer you something to drink?”
    Not wanting to rush off, Bowie pulled out a kitchen chair. “That sounds good. What have you got?”
    She laughed at his seeming enthusiasm. “Well, cola, coffee or chocolate milk?”
    A sexy groan almost caused her to run into the cabinet as she headed to the other side of the table.
    “Hmmm, no contest, chocolate milk.”
    “Smart man.” She acknowledged his good taste. Opening the fridge she took down a half gallon of milk and headed over to get a glass.
    While she was getting his drink, Bowie had been scoping out her house. It was comfortable, colorful and welcoming—just like her. Everything was soothing earth tones with splashes of blue and green. “I see you have the beach theme going on here too. Which reminds me!” He was about to dig in his pocket and extract the charm bracelet, but when he turned around, he nearly croaked watching her stretch and strain to get a glass down. “Here, let me get that, baby doll.”
    Cassie almost had it—almost! It was on the tips of her fingers. If she could have stood up, just a