by Hope Ramsay
“Duke,” she whispered.
He nodded. “He died on the day my Babe Ruth baseball team lost the championship. Connor Peebles struck me out three times that day.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“So what? Everyone has a bad day now and again.”
“Yeah. But you see, later that day, Daddy hit the dog with his truck. He was pissed at me for striking out and I…”
“Oh, Noah. He didn’t do it on purpose. I’m sure he didn’t.”
He nodded. “I know. But it might have been different if I hadn’t struck out three times.”
“And it might not have.”
He let go of a long breath. “Yes. You’re right. And that’s the point. See, I get the whole guilt thing, Lia. I look at you and I see a mirror-image of myself.”
“Really? But you’re so much better-looking.”
He laughed. “What? Are you kidding? I’ve been having erotic dreams about you ever since that day I saw you naked. I’d like to see you naked again. But I’m just warning you before we go there that I…” His voice faded out, and his throat got tight.
“What?”
“I want more than just your body. I want you, Lia.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that I want all of you. Even the parts that you think are unlovable.” He meant what he said. He was falling for this woman. Hard. “Maybe you can’t forgive yourself for that guy who chose death over life. But I can forgive you.”
A tear escaped from the corner of her eye. He leaned in and kissed it away, the salt pungent on his tongue.
He linked a string of kisses down her uninjured cheek until he found her mouth. She opened for him. And it felt like a beginning of something important. A meeting of the minds and hearts and bodies.
Maybe if he forgave her, he could learn to forgive himself. And Daddy too. Although that might take a while.
* * *
Noah’s kisses were electrifying, but the words he’d spoken right before he dove in a second time had busted down the wall she kept around her heart. His hands roved over her body, awakening it in all the right places. But it was her heart that was opening.
Her own hands explored the hard muscles up his back, the bones of his spine, the silky texture of his hair, but when they came chest to breast, she could almost feel his heart racing in sync with her own.
These emotions were dangerous and seductive. Sex was one thing, but falling in love was…
Something she’d never dared to do before. She’d learned so many hard lessons, as a child and in the navy, about forming deep attachments. And yet, his words seemed to suggest that he wanted something more than just a one-nighter. He made her feel precious and wanted. And forgiven. So here she stood at the turning point. Should she send him home? Or should she risk it all?
She knew what her younger self would have done. Her younger self had embraced every attachment, every offer of friendship, and the kitten named Whiskers that she couldn’t really take care of properly. As a kid, she’d thrown her heart open. And it had been ripped up over and over again.
But this was different. She’d come here to make a home. Mom was off living in Panama or some place. She’d lost track. There wasn’t anyone to tell her she had to move. She could do this.
Couldn’t she?
“So,” he whispered wetly against her ear, “about getting naked…”
He wanted her. He’d made it clear with his body and his words. Only an idiot would walk away.
She disengaged from the spot on his neck that she’d been nipping and looked up at him. “Here?”
He glanced around the room. “I guess it’s kind of antiseptic.”
“And I don’t want to have sex on an animal exam table. Just sayin’.”
He snorted a laugh. “I love the way you cut right to the point.”
“Your place or mine?” she asked, throwing caution to the wind. This wasn’t going to be a casual thing.
His grin widened. “Your place. I don’t want to explain you to my mother.”
She frowned. “I don’t know; it might be good practice for when she comes to live with you.” Now there was the rub. He’d made it clear that he wanted to leave this place. Like Mom. Except he was going to a permanent home. So it wasn’t the same.
Was it?
He rolled his eyes. “There’s a difference between sneaking you into my mother’s house and sneaking you into my own.”
“Really? Either way we’re sneaking,” she said, suddenly unsure. Had she misinterpreted what he’d said? Damn. Maybe she should—
“Okay, your place then.”
She was totally ready for that plan until she remembered. “It’s Tuesday, right?”
“All day. Why does it matter?”
“The Piece Makers meet at Howland House on Tuesdays.”
She looked up at him as his twinkly blue eyes widened. “Granny will be there.”
“And the Heavenly Rest Altar Guild.”
“Oh.”
“And if they catch me…”
“They’ll stop trying to match you up with the preacher,” he said with a smug smile curling his beautiful lips.
“True. But will they hire me as their church secretary?”
* * *
They took Lia’s Trailblazer because they didn’t want his Lexus to be seen in the vicinity of Howland House. They had a plan, and it made Noah a little giddy, like a high school kid sneaking off somewhere for a booty call.
Except this wasn’t entirely a booty call. You didn’t kiss a woman like Lia DiPalma and walk away from the experience. If he made love to her, it would be hard to give her up.
It would be hard to give her up even if they didn’t succeed in sneaking up to her bedroom past the church ladies out in the solarium.
She guided the car into the small parking area off Howland House’s circular drive, and then they tiptoed through the front door. The voices of the quilters came down the center hall. By the sound of it, the church ladies were having a lively discussion about something.
Lia turned in his direction and pressed a finger across her lips as she headed down the hall. The stairs to the upper stories opened onto the hallway by the kitchen, which was near the solarium at the back of the house where the quilters had gathered.
“We’ll need to figure some way to throw them together on Thursday,” one of the women said, and Lia, who’d been walking down the hall as if on eggshells, stopped in her tracks.
“I don’t know. After seeing them in the closet holding hands, I’m not sure we need to do much of anything,” another voice said.
Holding hands? In the closet? Were the women talking about Lia and Micah? Damn.
She turned in his direction, a wide-eyed look on her face. She mouthed the words, “I can explain,” and then pressed her finger to her lips once again.
What the hell? Had she lied to him? No, he didn’t think so. But the whole business of holding hands irritated the crap out of him. He turned toward the solarium and took two steps in that direction, intent on setting the old biddies straight.
Lia grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back in the direction of the staircase. He stumbled up the first few stairs and then lost his footing. She let go of an utterly adorable squeak when he fell forward on top of her.
The fall happened in slow motion so neither of them were injured. And the contact of his front to her backside was nothing short of exhilarating.
But the high faded when someone said, “Hello,” behind him, followed by an audible gasp. He pushed up, releasing Lia, and turned to find Ashley Scott standing in the hallway, an odd expression on her face.
Lia muttered an expletive under her breath as she stood up, pushed Noah to one side, and stepped back down the stairway.
She walked right up to Ashley. “Whatever you think you saw on Sunday isn’t what you saw at all.”
Ashley frowned.
“The Rev holds hands with lots of people, especi
ally when he’s doling out his special brand of spiritual comfort.”
“Oh.”
“I mean it. There’s nothing going on between us. The coast is clear.”
“What are you talking about?”
Lia rolled her eyes. “Micah St. Pierre. He’s a great guy.”
Ashley cast her gaze from Lia to Noah and back again, her frown deepening.
“And I would really appreciate it if you didn’t tell the members of the Altar Guild that you just saw me out here with Noah. I mean, I really, really want that job as church secretary. Which, if there was anything going on between the Rev and me, would be inappropriate, you know?”
Ashley blinked a few times and then her shoulders stiffened. “Oh,” she said, a half-smile softening her face.
“Yeah. So…?” Lia’s eyebrow lifted.
“So.” Ashley nodded and turned.
“What was it, dear?” Someone asked from out in the solarium. Damn. That sounded like Granny out there.
Noah turned and quickly headed up the stairs, two at a time, but he heard Ashley say, “Nothing. Just one of the guests. Stubbed her toe on the stairs,” as she walked back into the solarium.
Two flights up Lia broke into giggles. The sound was joyous and so unexpected. She didn’t seem like the type of woman who could giggle, but there she was laughing her head off, tears forming in her big brown eyes.
“What’s so funny?” he asked as he followed her down a narrow hall and into an attic room with a dormer window and oddly angled ceiling.
She turned and stepped into his arms. “You. And the look on your face when Donna called from out in the solarium.”
“I had a look on my face?”
“You did. Like the kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.”
“The cookie jar?” He gave her a naughty smile as he reached for her breast.
She sighed. “Yeah, the cookie jar.”
He got a little closer and nipped at her earlobe. “So you think Ashley is going to tell them what’s going on up here?”
“Not a chance,” she murmured against his neck as she kissed his Adam’s apple, sending shocks of desire rippling over his flesh.
“Why not?”
“Because she’s the one who belongs with Reverend St. Pierre.”
He stopped and looked down at her. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. But she’s got to figure it out on her own. Now, shut up, and kiss me again, Doctor Cuthbert. Your kisses are pretty terrific. In fact, I’ve never been kissed better. You’re one of a kind, you know?”
One of a kind? Not him. But she certainly was. He’d never met anyone like Lia DiPalma in his life, and he wanted to know everything about her.
He glanced at the door. “Is that locked?” he asked. “I mean, you didn’t use a key to get in here.”
She giggled again. “Um, well, you know this isn’t actually a guest room. So…”
“Great.”
“You just have to be quiet, is all.” She advanced on him, kissing him senseless.
Chapter Eighteen
Noah lay on the narrow bed up in the garret bedroom, watching the sky beyond the window turn a pearly shade of gray. Lia’s head rested on his chest, her dark hair a tangle across his skin. And underneath her head, where his heart beat, something had changed, broken loose, come unhinged.
If he lived to be a hundred, he would never understand what she saw in him that made her say he was one of a kind. He wasn’t.
He was good at his job, but he’d always sucked at relationships. He’d always been afraid of getting in too deep. Afraid of falling. Afraid of being hurt. Afraid of ending up like Momma and Daddy. So afraid of giving his heart away again that he hadn’t even allowed himself to have a dog.
He was the only vet he knew who didn’t have a house full of animals. And he’d been happy living that way.
Until right now.
Suddenly he wanted to spread his wings and take the leap. Adopt Prince, and give Lia the forever home she’d never had.
But would she be happy in Charleston?
He didn’t know that answer for sure, but he worried that the answer might be no. She’d been here for no more than a week and already she’d made friends with dozens of the locals.
She’d wrangled an invitation to join the merchant’s softball team and organized extra practice time for some of the less-experienced players.
She’d wormed her way into the Methodist ladies’ phone tree even though she was trying to get a job with the Episcopalians.
She’d used her church-lady connections to drum up business for the clinic.
The Episcopal ladies liked her so much they wanted to marry her off to their minister.
Damn. If he stole her away to Charleston, he might have an angry mob on his tail.
But could he ever live in Magnolia Harbor? Could he ever forgive Daddy? Could he ever find common ground with Ethan?
He didn’t think so. Forgiveness didn’t come easy to him. And besides, there was a good reason he avoided relationships. They were always messy. His heart wanted one thing, and his head said no. It was too hard. Too fraught.
He let go of the breath he’d been holding.
The sky was turning pale blue. The dawn had broken, and he should probably get going. He didn’t want to run into Ashley Scott on his way out. And besides, he didn’t have his car here.
It was a bit of a hike back to the clinic to pick it up before heading home, where he’d probably receive the third degree for staying out all night, even though he was a grown man.
He rolled on his side, sliding away from Lia. She opened one sleepy brown eye. “Hey,” she said.
“Hey.” He kissed her temple. “I need to go.”
She blinked. “Really?”
“It’s dawn. Probably after six. And I need a shower and a fresh set of clothes.”
“Oh. Yeah. I had a great time last night.” She gave him the kind of sultry smile one lover gives to another.
“Me too. See you in a bit.”
He left the bed and collected the clothes he’d tossed on the floor last night. He dressed quickly and headed to the bathroom he discovered across the hallway. When he was finished, he opened the door, intending to make a quick and anonymous getaway.
But on the other side of the door, wearing pirate PJs, stood Ashley Scott’s son, whose name Noah could not remember. His mop of hair was slightly mashed on one side, as if he’d just gotten out of bed.
“Hi,” the kid said. “Did you have a sleepover with Miss Lia?”
Noah’s face went hot. What the hell was he supposed to say? There was a reason he’d chosen not to be a people doctor or, heaven forbid, a pediatrician.
“Uh, yeah,” he muttered, sidling away from the door and hoping the kid had to pee really bad.
But apparently the boy had huge bladder capacity. Because he leaned against the wall with a sly look on his face. “Cap’n Bill says Miss Lia is a lost soul.”
“What?”
“He says she’s been adrift for a long time.”
“Who is Captain Bill?”
“He’s a pirate.”
“Oh. You mean like Bill Teal?”
The boy nodded.
“He’s dead.”
“I know.”
“So how can he say anything?” Noah asked.
The boy shrugged. “Don’t know.” The boy crossed his arms over the pirate skull on his shirt. “So you gonna help steer her to port?”
“What?”
“The Cap’n says she needs a home port.”
That was true, wasn’t it? “I guess I’m gonna try.”
The boy smiled. “Good. The Cap’n says that every soul he helps gets him closer to heaven.”
“Are you saying that Captain Bill is a ghost?”
“Well, of course he’s a ghost. Mom thinks I just made him up but she’s wrong.” The boy rolled his eyes and pushed off the wall and headed into the bathroom, leaving Noah standing in the narrow hal
lway feeling a strange mixture of fear, elation, and guilt.
Holy crap. This feeling was so crazy it must be love.
* * *
Grant pulled his Mustang to the curb outside Momma’s house. “I had a great time,” he said, leaning across the console to give Abby one of his toe-curling kisses. He was one hell of a good lover. He actually knew what he was doing. And boy howdy, did that make a complete difference.
Sex really was a lot of fun, wasn’t it?
Last night they’d stayed on the mainland at a hotel in Georgetown. They’d ordered champagne and strawberries. Who knew that those two things went so well together?
Sort of like the two of them.
His mouth captured hers and sent all her hormones into a fabulous rampage. He’d satisfied her numerous times last night, but she still needed more.
“I’ll see you tonight?” he whispered against her cheek.
“Yeah.” She reluctantly pulled away. The sky was starting to turn purple. She needed to hightail it into the house before Momma realized she’d been gone all night. “I gotta go.”
But before she could open the door, Grant was out of the car, running around the front to open it for her. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Obviously she was fully capable of opening the car door. But there was something old-fashioned and sweet about the way he treated her.
Like she was special. No one had ever treated her like that before. She liked it.
She slid out of the car and gave him another kiss before she scampered down the walk. She turned at the porch and waved at him as he drove away, and then she unzipped her small purse only to realize that she didn’t have her house key.
Maybe Noah had forgotten to lock up last night. She tried the door. No such luck. She looked under the welcome mat, but the extra key that usually hid there was probably in Noah’s pocket.
Crap.
She was about to check the back door when, to her utter horror, a gray Lexus turned into the street and pulled to the curb.
Oh, no. What the hell was Noah doing up so early in the morning?
