When the alarm went off on Monday morning, Abby Greene woke in a sweat. Her bangs were plastered to her forehead, her neck damp. She peeled the moist sheets from her body and sat up in bed. She needed to shower. 

The cool water felt amazing, but within five minutes of stepping out, she felt like she needed to do it all over again.

Why was her apartment so hot?

She dressed and walked out into the living room. Her apartment was small enough that it only needed one air conditioner, but it wasn’t running. She pressed the power button, and nothing happened.

“You can’t be broken; I just bought you!” She called the hardware store where she’d bought the unit, and they said they would send someone over with a replacement. Thank God it was still under warranty.

Abby watched the local news while she waited. 

According to the weather report, it was ninety degrees out and expected to hit ninety-four by noon. Humid, too. The meteorologist called it “the air you can wear.”

Today marked the beginning of a heat wave that would last the whole week.

There was a knock on her door. She looked outside. A man in a gray uniform stood on the front step, a clipboard in one hand and a tool belt resting on his narrow hips. A white van was parked in the lot behind him. She opened the door.

“Ms. Abby Greene? I’m from Logan’s Hardware. Your air conditioner isn’t working?”

She knew that voice, deep and smooth. It brought back a memory of when she was a freshman in college. He sounded just like her roommate’s older brother.

He removed his sunglasses. She recognized those sea-green eyes. That dimple in his chin. It was definitely him.

“Matt McCoy? You’re the repairman?” She couldn’t help sounding incredulous. The Matt she’d known couldn’t keep a steady job. He got by on his good looks and charm.

And he was even more attractive now. Tall and muscular with broad shoulders. He wasn’t a college kid anymore. He was a man. A ruggedly handsome man. 

“You remember me?” he asked.

“Yes. Do you remember me?” she returned.

“How could I forget?” He gave her a boyish grin.

And there it was. That easy charm.

“May I come in?” he asked.

She hadn’t realized she was blocking the door.

“Of course. Where are my manners?” She stepped back, allowing him to enter. “The AC is in the living room window. I tried and tried, but it won’t come on.”

“I’ll have a look.”

She led the way. 

Matt set his clipboard on the floor and checked the AC unit.

“What’s the verdict?” she asked him.

“I’m afraid it’s shot.”

“The man I spoke to told me the warranty covered a replacement?”

“Yes. I’ve got a brand-new unit in my van. It shouldn’t take me that long to install it.” He rolled up his sleeves, exposing thick arms. He had tattoos now. One was of a heart, with the name “Maisey” etched inside it and a date below it: 7-11-2020.

Her curiosity was piqued. Who was Maisey?

“If you have someplace to be, I can come back,” he added.

“No. I work from home,” she explained. She worked for Ticketline in their customer service department as the faceless person behind the chat box. She had graduated from college with a BA and had worked a terrific job in Baltimore, but recently she’d decided to leave when her parents’ health issues made her want to be closer. 

Working for Ticketline was not her dream, but it paid the bills.

“I’ll try not to make too much noise,” he promised. 

Her apartment was small and felt smaller now with Matt in it, but noise wasn’t going to be the problem—being distracted would be.

She sat down at the island that separated the kitchen and the living room, opened her laptop, and logged on to her job portal.

The keyboard clacked as she typed. She was helping a customer with a refund, but when she was done, she started zoning out.

She remembered the first time she met Matthew McCoy. He was helping his younger sister Trisha move into the apartment they’d rented through student housing. He was wearing a white T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and he’d reminded her of James Dean. 

Abby saw a lot of him that freshman year. Mostly in the mornings when she found him crashing on the futon following a night of heavy partying. 

This Matt appeared sober and settled. 

Her thoughts drifted to his tattoo.

Who is Maisey? His wife? Was he wearing a wedding band? I should have checked. Was Maisey his girlfriend? What does the date mean? An anniversary?

“That part’s done. I need to take this old one with me.” He deftly picked up the unit.

“I’ll get the door for you.”

Outside smelled of freshly mowed grass and charcoal burning in a grill nearby. The orange sun glared off the hood of the van, and she shielded her eyes. It was high noon, the hottest time of the day.

She waited on the step, watching him lift the new unit onto his shoulder. She opened the door for him, and as he walked by, his elbow brushed hers, making her skin tingle.

Matt set the new AC unit on the floor by the window and started unpacking it. “This is going to blow you away, pun intended.”

She groaned good-naturedly.

“That’s what Maisey does every time I make a joke.”

“Maisey?” The tattoo.

“My daughter. She just turned six.”

He had a daughter? It hadn’t occurred to her. The tattoo was her birth date!

“Here.” He pulled out his phone, unlocked it, and showed it to her. The wallpaper of his home screen was a child with his sea-green eyes and that same dimpled chin.

“Oh my gosh, Matt! She is adorable!”

“Thanks. I am blessed. She’s healthy and happy.” His face lit up when he spoke of her. “I have more pictures if you’d like to see them.”

“Absolutely.” She took his phone and sat down on the sofa, her legs tucked underneath her as she scrolled through the photos.

And there were a ton of them.

“I cannot get over it, Matt. You have a daughter.”

“I know I partied hard back when you knew me. I was just messing around. But when Maisey was born, I guess you could say I traded red Solo cups for sippy cups.”

Abby continued to scroll through the photos but stopped when she saw a young woman holding a newborn.

“Is this Maisey’s mother?”

He sucked in a breath. “Yeah. That’s Brandi.” He took back his phone and closed the screen. “She’s not around anymore. She couldn’t handle the responsibility of being a parent.”

“I’m sorry. You’re raising your daughter on your own?”

“Yeah. Being a single dad has its challenges, but like I said before, I’m blessed.”

A bead of sweat ran down his tanned face, and he took a handkerchief out of his back pocket and wiped it away.

“I’m going to get a drink. Want an iced tea?” She offered.

“That would be great. Thanks.”

Abby went to the kitchen, and when she opened the refrigerator door, the cold air hit her. It was delicious. She shut her eyes and leaned in, toes curling.

“Aah, relief!” She sighed, then opened her eyes, grabbed the pitcher of sweet tea, and filled two glasses. She handed one to Matt, and when he took it, his fingers brushed hers and made her shiver, even in this heat. Their eyes met, and her mouth went dry. She took a sip of her drink.

“This heat is insane, isn’t it?” he asked.

She nodded.

The air was growing thick between them, and electric.

Did Matt feel it too?

“I will have this up and running in a minute.”

Abby was anxious to have the new air conditioner finally working.

However, she was not anxious for Matt to leave.

In the few months since she’d been back in her hometown, she hadn’t had anyone to keep her company. She had not even been on a date in, well… it had been too long.

There was a click and then the hum of the air conditioner running.

“All set.” He stood up and began to put his tools away.

“Fantastic! I’m sure if you’d come an hour later, I’d have been a puddle on the floor. Thanks for coming on such short notice!”

“You’re welcome.”

He paused.

“You know, I never forgot you. In fact, I looked you up after you graduated and heard you

moved to Baltimore.”

“For a job. I came back recently to be closer to my parents. They have health issues,” she

explained.

“I get that. Family is everything.”

He ran his fingers through his dark hair.

“Look, to be honest, when I saw your name on the order this morning, I had to take it. There was a chance it might be someone with the same name, but that was a chance I had to take, Abby Greene.”

It took a moment to register what he’d just confided, but when it did, her heart squeezed.

Matt not only remembered her after all these years, he’d also never forgotten her.

He had taken this assignment in the hopes of seeing her again.

“I was wondering if sometime we could get together? I have a boat. Maybe you could join me for a ride on the lake?”

Abby hesitated for a moment. It would be so easy to fall for a man like Matt. She knew she could get hurt, but she was tired of playing it safe.

She was ready to take a chance too.

“I would love that.”

He lowered his eyes, his gaze on her lips. “I used to wonder what it would be like if I kissed you.” 

This was happening so fast. Things could get complicated. Abby knew she should stop and think about his daughter and her parents. She had spent the past few months considering how every decision she made would affect her mom and dad, but right now, she did not want to think about her parents. Instead, she looked up at him and whispered, “Now we can find out.” 

He pulled her into his arms. Their lips met, softly at first. Then his tongue ran along the seam of her mouth. Her lips parted invitingly, and the kiss deepened. It felt good.

Good did not describe it; she felt attractive and desired. After months of responsibilities and stress, she gave herself over to his kiss. And that kiss…

It was everything she needed in that moment. Matt tasted like sweet tea and home.

His rough hands slipped under her blouse, grazing her soft skin and heating it with his touch, and a moan escaped her lips. She fisted his shirt.

His phone buzzed.

The kiss ended. They both groaned.

Abby smoothed her blouse while Matt checked his phone.

“It’s my girl,” he told her. He answered the phone. “Hello, sweetie. Daddy is working. Yes, you can have a chocolate chip cookie. Save one for me. I’ll be home soon. Love you too, Munchkin!” He put his phone away. “I’m sorry about that. My mom always makes her ask.”

“No, I understand. You’re a dad now. It’s sweet. I love how much you love your daughter.”

“But you’re disappointed?”

“Yes.” She was still feeling heady from their kiss.

“I am too, so why don’t we go for that boat ride this weekend, just the two of us, and pick up where we left off? Say yes?”

“Yes.”

He grabbed his things and gave her one last kiss.

After he left, Abby fanned herself despite the coolness of her apartment.