“He doesn’t think you’re happy living with them.”
That nicked at her. Of course she was happy. They’d done so much for her. She appreciated Ben and Paige. But… “I’m trying to give them privacy. They’re getting married, for god’s sake. His little sister can’t tag along forever.”
Isaac offered her that slow heart-melting smile. “Seems to me they want you around. Who wouldn’t, Julia? You’re fun.” The smile deepened into his cheeks. “Beautiful. Downright sexy, I’d venture to say.”
Damn that heat. She flicked it off and shoved him back before she fell into his arms again. “You’d better hurry up and go. Half a tank of gas won’t last forever.” And she needed space. A whoosh of cold snowy air to douse the lust.
He laughed. “Okay, then. Sit tight.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” What else could she possibly do?
After scooting out, he slammed the door and waved. She watched him jog to the fence, exhaling the aching desire that had collected in her lungs when he’d touched her.
Isaac was a problem. Bold. Shameless. Obviously on some kind of mission to unnerve her. What was she going to do with him?
Kiss him again. Let him take you right here in the truck, her lusty side cried out. Attempting to dam back that warm tingle, she dug out her phone. She desperately needed a voice of reason. And she could always count on Paige to say it like it was.
Thankfully her sis-in-law answered on the first ring. “Hi there. Did you have more questions about prescription medications, ma’am?”
“No,” she sighed.
“Julia?” Her sis-in-law sounded concerned. “Are you okay?”
“We went off the road,” she admitted, because someone should know. It wasn’t as if they’d be back by this afternoon the way they’d planned. They’d miss the special sleigh ride pre-wedding event. Not that she was complaining.
“Oh my god!”
“Don’t tell Ben,” she said before the woman completely flipped out. “We’re both fine. The truck will be fine.” At least she hoped so.
“What’re you going to do?” Paige didn’t sound convinced. “Do you want me to drive out there?”
“No.” That was the last thing she needed right now. A parade of her saviors gathering to rescue her. “You have enough going on. Isaac went to get help. We’re really close to the Gaffneys’ place. He’ll be back any minute.”
“Thank god,” she breathed, lowering her voice. “Your brother would die if he knew you were in another accident. He’d probably kill Isaac, too.”
“It wasn’t his fault.” He’d reacted so fast. He’d saved both of them from being severely injured. “And anyway, you’re not going to tell him. We can’t ruin any of your wedding plans. Got it?”
“Yes,” Paige murmured through a slight hesitation. “Right. Okay. I won’t tell him. As long as you’re sure everything’s fine.”
“Everything’s great,” she replied, brushing it away. Yes, they’d just done five donuts and spun off the road, but there were more important matters to discuss. She cleared her throat. “So Isaac kissed me.”
“What?” Paige gasped. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I heard you right. It sounded like you said, ‘Isaac kissed me.’”
“Wow. You turned your hearing aid up,” Julia grumbled.
“Ohmygod!” Paige ignored the jab. “He kissed you? Like tongue action and everything?”
Oh, yes. There had been action. Lots of action. Not that Paige needed to know. “Anyway, things are really tense between us right now.”
“I’ll bet they are,” her sis-in-law hummed. “You know what they say. There’s only one way to get rid of sexual tension.”
“I don’t like where this is going.”
“Just sayin’,” Paige chirped happily. “Isaac is great. Don’t tell Ben I said this, but if I wasn’t engaged, I’d release the sexual tension with Isaac any day, if you know what I mean.”
The whole world knew what she meant! Hopefully her brother was out of earshot. “I’m not going to have sex with him. Especially in my brother’s truck.” Gross. Even saying that out loud made her stomach churn.
“Suit yourself,” Paige muttered.
“I only called to ask you how to get him to back off. He’s coming on pretty strong.”
Paige laughed that loud guffaw that usually made Julia laugh, too. “And I already answered that question, honey. Now what else can I do for you?”
“Nothing.” So much for the voice of reason.
“Okay, then. All this talk about sexual tension makes me want to track down that brother of yours.”
Really? Okay, that was another reason she had to go away. Far, far away. “I just threw up in my mouth.”
Paige busted out laughing again. “Call me later. But give it at least twenty minutes.”
It was the perfect opening. She couldn’t resist. “Twenty minutes? That’s pretty gener—”
Before she could finish insulting her brother, Paige hung up.
Dandy. Just dandy.
When it came to figuring out how to evade Isaac, she was on her own.
Chapter Six
The glowing numbers on the dashboard clock blurred together. Julia had been studying them for twenty-eight minutes. That seemed like more than enough time to run a mile and find the Gaffneys’ driveway, right? Worry bubbled up and made her drum her fingers against her thighs. She never should’ve let Isaac go out there. She should’ve insisted that he stay warm and safe in the truck with her. They could’ve called someone.
What if he’d gotten hypothermia? That happened to people in the mountains all the time. They’d get disoriented and wander off and someone would find them hours later half naked. Not that she’d mind seeing Isaac naked…
She had, once. Years ago. She’d accidentally walked in on him when he was getting out of the shower. It was the morning after he and Ben had thrown a party at her house while her parents were out of town. To be fair, she’d knocked before opening the door, but she never heard a reply. When she’d walked in, Isaac was standing there in front of the shower toweling himself off. He didn’t move to cover himself, only kind of smiled at her. “Sorry, kid,” he’d said, as if she was six years old instead of thirteen. “I’m almost out of here.”
She’d done her best not to gawk, to act mature instead of shrieking and giggling, but she’d never seen a naked man before. Even back then, Isaac had been an impressive sight—solid, strong body, sculpted muscles, and his—
A knock on the window rattled the truck.
Isaac waved at her.
A hiss of steam escaped her lips. Of course he’d chosen this moment to come back, when she’d been thinking about him naked, when her lady parts were all revved up.
After switching the heat to air-conditioning, she unlocked the doors, then cracked her window trying to breathe in the frosty chill before he saw how red her face had gotten.
“Took you long enough,” she said, focusing on the clock so she didn’t have to look at him and picture sixteen-year-old naked Isaac.
“Sorry about that.” He climbed into the truck and cut the engine, then withdrew the keys. “Tollie and Cecilia had to get chains on their tires.”
“Tollie and Cecilia?” Now he was on a first-name basis with the dog breeders? She glanced up the hill and sure enough, there was a man and woman, both short and round with graying hair, standing outside of a massive pick-up.
“Yeah. Oh!” He reached into his coat and pulled out a travel mug. “I almost forgot. She sent along some cocoa.”
“Cocoa?” So while she sat here worrying her ass off about Isaac wandering around naked in the woods, he’d been enjoying a cup of cocoa with his new best friends.
“You want some?” he asked, holding it out to her.
“No thanks.” I’m already hot and bothered. Not that she was about to tell him that.
With a shrug, Isaac set the travel mug in the cup holder.
“I was worried about you,” she said, trying to s
ound annoyed.
He grinned. It was the same way his lips used to quirk when a girl would flirt with him in high school. “Were you now?”
“Yes.” She fought the urge to flip her hair. He made it way too easy to flirt. “You were gone for over a half hour. Way back when, you could’ve run a mile in under seven minutes.”
“I do a lot of things better now than I did then,” he insinuated. “But running is not one of them.”
What do you do better now, Isaac? The words were there, tripping up her throat, but she didn’t have to ask. She could imagine. Yes indeedy. That impressive physique of his made it a little too easy to imagine. Another round of heat rose from her lower hemisphere and flooded her face. Whew. She really had to take off her coat.
“I guess we should head up to their truck.” Seemingly unfazed by the sizzle between them, he elbowed open the driver’s door.
“Guess so.” At least with more people, she’d have a distraction. Julia went to slip on her gloves. Wait! The rings! “Hold on.” She tugged on Isaac’s jacket with one hand while digging out the rings with the other. “We have to wear these.” She held them out on the palm of her hand. Two simple gold bands. Nothing fancy. After all, this was a sham.
Seemed she might need to remind Isaac of that, judging from the way his mouth and eyes went all soft and nostalgic. When his gaze moved from the rings to her eyes, his mouth quirked on the right side, the same way it used to when she would say something to amuse him.
Instead of taking his ring from her hand, he held out his ring finger and she had no choice but to slip it on him herself. Before she could put on her own ring, Isaac stole it and slid it on her finger. “I do,” he said too softly, too close to her lips. Holding her breath, she closed her eyes and waited for his lips to brush hers. But they didn’t. Instead he pushed open the door and climbed out of the truck while she fanned herself, eyes honed in on his ass.
God, she was so weak. And this was so much harder than she’d thought it’d be.
The passenger door whooshed open. “Come on, darlin’,” Isaac said with that dizzying grin.
He scooped her up so fast that she had to throw both arms around his neck to steady herself.
Holding her tightly against his broad chest, he trekked up the slope to the couple waiting anxiously on the road.
“Darlin’…” Somehow he managed to infuse even more charm into his drawl. “This is Tollie and Cecilia.”
A sudden wave of nerves shuddered through her. What if they didn’t like her? What if they didn’t want to give her the dog? “Hello.” She smiled as brightly as she could, given the fear that crept in. They were pretending to be married…
“Such a pleasure to meet you, love,” the old man said, clasping her hand and pumping it up and down. He was as short as his wife, but looked strong. Cheer blared from his red, shiny cheeks and wise brown eyes. He wore a stocking cap, but a rim of white hair peeked out underneath.
“It surely is a pleasure!” Cecilia agreed. Her knitted cap had a ring of dogs circling the hem. Long white hair fell past her shoulders. Her cheeks were as bright as her husband’s.
“Come on now.” She ushered them toward the truck. “You’ll catch your death out here without a hat, you will.”
Julia did her best not to look at Isaac as he transported her into the backseat of the idling truck.
Once he’d settled her, he rose, searching her eyes again, damn him. “I should help Tollie get everything hitched up.”
“And I’ll keep Julia here company,” Cecilia added, scooting herself into the front seat. “It’ll be a blessed thing getting to know each other better before you take sweet Oliver home.”
“We’ll take good care of him,” Isaac promised, then slipped out of the truck and slammed the door.
Tears welled in Julia’s eyes. She would. She’d take good care of Oliver. If they would let her. She smiled at the woman. This was her chance to make a good impression, to make Cecilia like her. “Thank you for rescuing us,” she said. “And for choosing me. I promise I’ll take good care him.” Even if she was on her own. She’d be the best dog mom in the world.
“Of course you will, love.” Cecilia waved her off. “We knew you were the right couple as soon as I saw your application.”
Couple. An onslaught of guilt forced her face to the window.
“And this will be such fun, it will!” the woman went on. “We never have company, being so far away from everything.”
“Company?” Surely Cecilia didn’t think they were staying long. “We can’t stay,” she said carefully. “We have to be home by this evening.” So she could get away from Isaac. Maybe pack a couple of moving boxes…
“You won’t be able to leave today,” Cecilia said, looking aghast. “Didn’t Isaac tell you?”
Julia’s blood pumped faster. “No.”
“Why, the back tire was shot in the accident, it was. We called around but no tire shops are open due to this nasty storm.” She leaned closer and rolled her lovely blue eyes. “Any excuse for a ski day around here, don’t you know.”
So their tire was shot and they had no way to fix it. This was not part of the plan.
“Not to worry, missy. We’ll get it fixed up better than new first thing in the morning. Then you can be on your way.”
Julia realized her head was shaking. “But…we can’t spend the night.” She couldn’t spend the night with Isaac! Not when the air between them was so charged and magnetic. Not when they were faking a marriage.
“Sure you can, love,” Cecilia bubbled. “You’re more than welcome. We have a beautiful guest cottage. And we’ll make you a grand meal tonight—bangers and mash. Tollie’s favorite.”
Normally, she loved a good English meal, but her stomach seemed to have shriveled. She couldn’t get past the thought of spending the night with Isaac. Where would they sleep? “So…the guest cottage…” Her throat felt raw. “What’s it like?”
“Oh, it’s a modest little place. But lovely,” Cecilia assured her. “Very romantic. Just the place for a young couple in love.”
“It’s a one bedroom?” she asked in a near whisper.
“A studio, actually,” Cecilia prattled excitedly. “But it’s all been redone inside, it has. We even put in a new king-sized bed and a fireplace just last year. We’re hoping to rent it out someday.” Worry lines deepened across the woman’s forehead. “I do hope you’ll like it.”
“Um…”
The door opened and Isaac slid in beside her.
“It sounds lovely,” Julia assured her. It really did. A cozy romantic cabin. In any other situation, it would have been perfect.
“What sounds lovely?” Isaac asked.
“The guest cottage,” Cecilia chirped. “I was telling Julia how romantic it is. The perfect li’l love nest for newlyweds.”
Isaac’s gaze captured hers and he definitely did not look disappointed. “Can’t wait to see it,” he said, draping an arm around her shoulders.
She did her best not to stiffen, but somehow she had to battle that all-consuming swoon his touch brought.
“What’s the matter, darlin’?” he asked, biting his lower lip around a tempting grin. “You seem tense.”
“Well, you two have been through a lot, you have,” Cecilia broke in. “We’ll get you back to the house and get you settled. Then you can have a rest and meet little Oliver before dinner. How does that sound?”
“Perfect,” Isaac answered for her. “It all sounds perfect.”
* * *
Well if this didn’t help his cause with Julia, nothing would.
Isaac sauntered past the river rock fireplace that was nestled into the far corner of the room. A king-sized bed sat on the opposite wall with a canopy draped over log posts. One leather couch sat near the fireplace and the south wall had a kitchenette that included a mini fridge, a couple of cabinets, and a coffee maker. There was no television. Not even a clock. It was a small space, rustic, but nicely decorated and well kept
. Exactly the kind of place a couple would escape to if they had nothing on the agenda besides sleep and sex. Which sounded pretty damn good to him at the moment.
“Where will we sleep?”
Those were the first words Julia had spoken since he’d pushed her chair in here five minutes ago. Instead of looking at him, her bewildered gaze wandered the room like she couldn’t quite understand how they’d gotten here. It was all he could do not to laugh. Judging from the way she kept putting him off, this was the last place she wanted to be. Trapped somewhere romantic with him. Pretending to be married.
“It’s nice,” he commented casually.
Without a response, she continued to look around as if she thought the place might be haunted: eyes wide, mouth pulled into a grim frown instead of the smile that made her face shine.
“Relax.” God, did he really scare her that much? “I’ll sleep on the couch.” Though she obviously would prefer it if he camped out on the porch. Normally, he was a gentleman; he’d give a woman what she wanted, including space, if she asked. But not when there was a damn blizzard outside.
“Okay. Right. The couch.” Julia gave the wheels of her chair a good jerk and faced him. “That’s a good plan.” Her face had hardened back into a mask of control. She wanted to call the shots.
Some things never changed.
“We can’t mess this up. They have to believe we’re married or I won’t get the dog,” she reminded him.
“Why do you want the dog so bad, anyway?” As far as he knew, she’d never been a huge pet person. Gracie Hunter Noble wouldn’t allow any animals inside their house, which was why they’d had a barn. But her mother had always kept Julia so busy with “appropriate activities for a debutante” that she’d never spent any time in the barn. He knew that for a solid fact.
“I’ve always wanted a dog,” she insisted coldly. “Besides, this dog is special. He’s trained.” She shot him a glare. “He’ll be able to help with simple things that aren’t easy for me to do by myself.”
He almost laughed again. Hell, you coulda fooled him. Julia Noble seemed able to do just about anything all on her own. She sure seemed to want things that way. But he also knew Ben wouldn’t allow it. “Don’t you have an assistant?” Far as he knew, Ben had hired the best help for Julia.
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