“Cable guy,” said the man on the monitor. Marco, according to his lanyard.
“I’d be better if you let me do it without the boot,” he said. “But that’s not why I’m here. I finished the job. I should go.”
Marco shook his head. Then, quietly: “I noticed you’ve been keeping your left foot elevated even when the boot’s off. The arch must be taking extra weight.”
Ivy didn’t know what to say. Most men stared at her chest or her legs. Marco was staring at her feet. Specifically, her bare left foot—the slender arch, the pale coral polish, the faint imprint of her sandal strap. Love Her Feet - Ivy Lebelle - The Cable Guy -05...
Ivy raised an eyebrow. “You an orthopedist now?”
He started to rise. Ivy’s bare toes brushed his wrist.
Ivy let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. “Cable guy,” said the man on the monitor
Ivy should have been creeped out. Instead, she felt seen. After weeks of feeling like a broken doll, someone had noticed the smallest, most honest part of her body language.
“Most people don’t even look,” she whispered.
She let him in.
Marco smiled—the first real smile of the afternoon. He wrapped both hands around her foot like it was something precious, and for the first time in weeks, Ivy Lebelle felt her body relax completely.
He was younger than she expected, with careful hands and a soft voice. He didn’t make small talk. He just nodded at the boot, asked where the main junction box was, and got to work. Ivy retreated to her leather chaise, propping her feet—one bare, one booted—on the ottoman.
“Then stay a little longer,” she said. “Cable’s not going anywhere.” “But that’s not why I’m here
Outside, the sun dipped lower. Inside, a different kind of connection was being wired—one no remote control could navigate.
“To be held. To be massaged. To be admired without apology.”