Free Monkey Wrench by Nancy Martin

the paper and be on her way.
    As she unlocked the front door, Susannah wondered if the Tyler Citizen was still the same small-town paper she remembered—short on world news but long on the important events of the town, like hospital admissions, birthdays, obituaries and who was selling beagle puppies or used washing machines.
    Just as she unfastened the latch, another noisy bang sounded on the porch. She opened the door, but didn’t find a teenage paperboy standing on the porch in front of her.
    Instead, she found herself face-to-face with a very amused Joe Santori.
    â€œWell, well, Miss Suzie,” he said, sending a smiling glance down her satin-and-lace robe with the flowing fabric of her white flannel nightgown showing beneath. His voice was smooth and bone-tinglingly low. “Did I get you out of bed?”
    Susannah snatched her robe closed, appalled to be caught in her nightie by anyone, let alone Joe Santori! Did a man have a right to look so handsome in a plaid shirt and jeans?Did his smile have to be so bold and knowing, his air so rakish?
    Suddenly Susannah knew exactly why Rose had been in such a hurry to leave the house. “Damn her eyes, she’s making sure I fall over you every time I turn around, isn’t she?”
    Joe blinked politely. “Beg your pardon?”
    Susannah shook herself, mustered some composure and said, “Nothing. I’m just going to murder someone when she gets back. What’s all the noise about?”
    â€œI dropped my toolbox here and went back for some other junk I’ll be needing.” Joe indicated the carved wooden toolbox sitting at his feet on the porch, but his gaze remained on Susannah, absorbing all the emotion she tried too late to conceal. He said, “I woke you, didn’t I?”
    â€œOf course not.” She edged behind the door as best she could without feeling like a fool. Seeing Joe’s expression, she felt more exposed in her nightgown and robe than if she’d answered the door dressed in plastic wrap. “I just...I haven’t had time to dress yet, that’s all.”
    Joe tilted his head so he wouldn’t lose sight of her as she tried to hide behind the door. “That costume looks like cotton candy. And you look delicious.”
    â€œIt’s not a costume, and I’m not... I’m—” Susannah found herself so tongue-tied that she started to blush like a love-struck teenager. “Oh, blast!”
    His smile widened. He had the face of a lady-killer, she decided in that moment—not handsome, but very charming, with a dark glimmer at the back of his eyes.
    In a languid drawl, he said, “Do I fluster you, Miss Suzie?”
    â€œYes, but I haven’t the faintest idea why!”
    â€œMaybe we ought to talk about that,” Joe replied, his grin growing wider. “As soon as I take a look around the house, that is.”
    â€œA look around the house?” Susannah repeated stupidly. “Oh, you’re here about the repairs, aren’t you? I forgot.”
    Standing at the door with the cold morning air whisperingaround her bare toes and Joe Santori smiling down at her, Susannah felt very vulnerable. She was completely dressed, of course—swathed in layers of material, in fact. But something in Joe Santori’s gaze made her feel as if she was wearing much less.
    He said softly, “Would you like me to wait outside while you dress?”
    â€œThat’s not necessary. It’s freezing cold and you shouldn’t...I mean, it’s foolish to—”
    â€œThe neighbors will wonder if I step inside, though. You’re the famous Susannah Atkins, and greeting a man at your door is risky business, wouldn’t you say?”
    â€œI’m sure there aren’t any nosy reporters lurking in the bushes.”
    â€œBut with everyone owning a video camera these days, who knows what might happen? ‘Oh, Susannah!’ could end up being exposed