“Down, girl. You’re eight months pregnant and your husband is ten steps away and will hear you.” Emma set down Xena’s bag, the dog still snoozing safely inside, and continued to ogle the man before them.
“Okay, okay. You go for him, then. Let me get some vicarious thrills.”
“No way. He’s still a jerk.”
“How do you know?” Ashley shrugged. “People grow up.”
“Not him.”
Ashley dragged her eyes away from Noah’s sexy form. “Emma, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. He’s the guy next door. Literally. Plus there are all those memories between you two.”
“Like the fire ants?” she whispered.
Ashley laughed. “Those were pretty funny, even though my mom didn’t agree. When Preston came out of his bedroom yelling and swiping ants off of him, I laughed my head off.”
“The fire ants?” Ashley’s husband, Gary Daniels, asked, coming up beside them. He looked down at his wife and shook his head. “Now you know why I’ve never given you any trouble, wife of mine.”
“Whatever. You are nothing but trouble.” But Ashley’s voice was soft as she smiled up at her husband.
Emma’s gaze drifted back to Noah. Even from there, she could see his blue eyes as he talked animatedly with her brother. A brown and white boxer dog, a big one, sat by Noah’s side. The picture he made with his faithful pet beside him sent something zinging through her, and she stood a little taller, pulling in her stomach and resisting the urge to pose on the tarmac.
Noah Sullivan, obnoxious boy next door, had grown up extra yummy. He looked like a movie star, reminded her of other big part-Polynesian actors with a sense of humor like Dwayne Johnson and Jason Momoa. He had incredible screen presence — and pretty good real life presence, too.
Xena stirred in the bag on the tarmac, noticed the boxer by Noah’s side, and jumped out, barking ferociously. She took off for the bigger dog, the bag flying behind her by the short leash — an epic-fail design.
Emma grabbed for Xena and the bag, but the little dog was on a mission to take down the intruder.
Oh. No.
Emma took off running to save her dog from the larger one.
Suddenly, Chief pulled at the leash, and Noah looked down. “What’s up, buddy?”
He’d been so deep in conversation that he hadn’t even noticed the little barking sounds, but now he saw a little terror of a dog — the tiniest dog he’d ever seen — coming at Chief like she wanted to eat him for supper.
He held onto Chief’s leash tightly. He didn’t want anything to happen to the little dog.
A woman raced after the dog, crying out, “Xena! Stop!” Her red hair was curly and loose about her face, bouncing as she ran.
The little dog raced closer and Chief began to move about on the end of the leash — but not in an aggressive way. He was actually moving back. “Are you afraid of that little thing?” he asked his dog, incredulous.
Preston moved Min behind him.
As the ferocious, tiny animal came within ten feet, Chief ran behind Noah. What the heck? Noah raised a cowboy boot up to bounce the little terror off with.
“Don’t hurt her!” the woman cried, racing closer.
“I don’t plan on it,” he called back, keeping his eye on the little thing. Timing it just right, he scooted her away from Chief and off her trajectory. She turned and headed right back, like a heat-seeking missile.
He bunted her off again. This next time, he’d try to grab the bag bouncing along behind the dog and lift it up to keep the dog in place without hurting it.
But then the woman was there and snatched up the little dog. “Naughty dog, Xena!” she scolded, but sounded relieved that the dog was all right.
Noah wondered about the dog’s mental health.
He studied the woman before him. She looked awfully familiar. Red curly hair, fire in her eyes. Her green eyes. Oh, my word, here she was, all grown up. “Emma?” he asked tentatively.
She looked familiar, but different, all at the same time. He saw her again as she’d stood below the tree house and superimposed that little-girl image on this beautiful woman. Her face was flushed as she worked to get the dog back inside the bag and the bag back on her shoulder.
Emma Archer? His cute little childhood nemesis with her hands on her hips and blazing green eyes? Now those hips curved lusciously curves, the green eyes still blazed, and she had full lips that begged to be kissed.
His heart lightened and he had a sudden urge to have fun with Emma. This could be a blast. Look at her. She was magnificent!
Preston said, “Your dog is crazy, sis.”
Emma hugged the bag to her and turned to Noah. “Thank you for not letting your big dog eat my dog.”
“Yeah, like she was in so much danger from my vicious dog.” He looked down at Chief, who was still hiding from Emma’s miniature terror. “What is that thing, anyway? Half mouse and half Tasmanian devil?”
Primly, she said, “Xena is a long-haired Chihuahua.”
“She looks like five pounds of crazy.”
“Six,” she corrected, her face reddening.
He started to laugh and shook his head. “You’re still nothing but trouble, Miss Emma.”
“Back atcha,” she replied. She looked as though she were fighting to keep her expression serious.
He wished for one moment that he could make her laugh with him. Maybe caress her cheek, push back that errant curl that flopped over her cheek. Pull her into his arms and kiss her until she gasped.
He hadn’t been this attracted to a woman in, well, forever.
He was in so much trouble unless he could hide his attraction from Preston.
4
A Hundred-and-Sixteen Pounds of Crazy
Thompson had set up a fancy welcome dinner for their household at the Seafront, the resort’s five-star restaurant.
Noah had tried to secure a seat by Emma, but the friendly manager, Filipe Bari, surprised them with assigned seats. He asked where they were from and chatted with them easily, then thanked them for coming to help save the resort.
Noah found himself seated next to a very pregnant Ashley with her husband on her far side, and, on the other side, Min and Preston. He was surrounded by beautiful women, but not the woman he wanted to be seated by. Emma was five people away from him.
He tried to be personable, asking Ashley and her husband how their flights had been.
Ashley rolled her eyes and groaned. “Very long. I had to get up and walk every hour or two. You wouldn’t believe how nice people are when you’re as huge as I am.”
Gary smiled down at his wife. “Just remember when your due date is and make it back home. We don’t want to deliver this baby on an island.”
Ashley grinned and motioned toward Noah. “He delivered a baby in his last movie.”
“I do a lot of things in movies that I never want to experience in real life,” Noah said with a shudder. “Delivering a baby is definitely one of those things. Listen to your husband.”
“Don’t worry.” Ashley laughed. “I always go over my due date by at least a week.”
Noah caught Emma’s eye and she jerked her head away. He’d left his dog in the care of the pilot, Kyle Martinez, who was an introvert and an animal lover who didn’t want to come down to the fancy dinner. Instead, he’d offered to watch both of the dogs, in exchange for food brought back to him. He wondered if Xena had eaten Chief yet, but he hoped for the best because she’d seemed calm enough when he’d left.
The dinner passed in a blur of conversation and delicious food. He’d chosen the lobster plate and it was the best he’d ever had.
He found himself glancing again and again at Emma. She’d tamed her wild hair for dinner and wore a white sun dress and sandals, looking like an islander already. While in the sun she’d worn long sleeves at the airport and during the fifteen minutes to the large house they were renting, her arms were now bare. She wasn’t really tanned, being a redhead, but her skin
was pale with light freckles.
She looked cute. And sexy. And adorable. And extremely kissable.
What was wrong with him? Hadn’t he learned his lesson before?
Once he caught Preston looking at him, and he forced himself to chat with Min for the twenty seconds until her attention was back on her new husband.
The wait staff gave him covert glances, the women shyly smiling. He nodded and smiled to each of them. He didn’t know if they were fans of his movies, but he tried to be gracious to everybody. He was grateful for his fans. They’d given him every bit of success he had.
His phone buzzed. It was Deena again. Rolling his eyes, he said, “Excuse me a moment,” then rose from the table and answered. “Hello.”
“Noah, baby. It’s me.”
He left the main room and wandered out onto the balcony, which was surrounded by palm trees and offered a spectacular view of the ocean. Deena was being sweet. That wasn’t good. “What do you want?”
“Baby, I just want to talk with you.”
“You never just want to talk with me. How much do you need this time?”
“I’m not all about the money, but I really need a new car, baby. Mine broke down and I can’t get around.”
“Deena, I’ve paid for your house, for the new car you say doesn’t work, for that school you wanted to go to that you dropped out of. It has to end sometime. Our divorce was over two years ago, and, correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re living with another guy. Have him buy a car for you.”
“But I’m not with him anymore. I want to get back together with you. I’ve missed you, baby.”
“That’s not a good idea.”
“We were good together, Noah.”
“Oh, no, Deena. We were so incredibly bad together.”
“We weren’t. We could be good again. Come on. Just give us another chance, baby.”
“Deena,” he said, lowering his voice, trying to stay calm and still say this in a way that got past her determination to see things her own skewed way. “We’re over. For good.”
“No, baby — ”
“Yes. This has gone on too long. Get your boyfriend to buy you a car and don’t call me again. In fact, I’m going to block your number.”
Instantly, the honey in her voice disappeared. “You’ll be sorry, you — .”
He hung up. Then he went in and did block her number, stuffing the phone in his pocket. He should have done it over two years ago.
He turned, his mouth set in an angry line.
Emma Archer stood staring at him from the doorway to the balcony, and he wondered how much of the conversation she’d heard.
He smiled at her and she smiled back but didn’t say anything, just hurried back in to rejoin the others.
He sighed. He wasn’t off to a great start.
After dark, Emma slipped into her swimsuit and a wrap and, carrying her flip-flops, made her way quietly from her bedroom. She’d have taken Xena with her except the little dog was in a deep sleep on a pillow, so she closed the door of the bedroom as she left it. The hallway led to two circular staircases moving elegantly down into the grand foyer and she crept downstairs, stopping halfway to listen for any sounds.
The group had been noisy earlier, splashing in the pool, but she hadn’t wanted to join them. Not tonight. Not when her emotions were this unsettled.
She headed toward the rear of the house, past the two master suites on the right, and turned left. Past the kitchen. Before reaching the theater room, she slipped into the game room. She couldn’t imagine having the wealth to own a home like this, but she figured both her brother and Noah could afford it. Their company had really taken off. Everyone said her brother had the Midas touch where movies were involved, and Noah certainly pulled off the hero role. Together, they were box office magic. Who knew? The boys-only club, adult version?
She opened the French doors and stepped out onto the large verandah.
The pool was the best part of this amazing house. It was shaped in circles along the outer edge, with the hot tub being a smaller circle at the far edge.
Down farther was a private beach.
There were several soft lights. She’d heard the others laughing out here for a couple of hours after dinner, but they were inside now, maybe sleeping. Jet lag had kept her awake.
She hadn’t wanted to run into Noah, especially after she’d overheard his conversation with what must have been his ex-wife. Weirdly enough, she felt jealous, even though she understood from personal experience what a pain an ex could be to deal with. Trevor had taught her lots of unpleasant lessons.
She wanted the hot tub tonight. All by herself. It was in a darkened alcove. No lights and no bubbles meant she had it all to herself, which was exactly what she wanted.
She dropped her wrap and the large beach towel she’d found in her room onto a lounge chair. The temperature was in the mid-sixties, and the breeze against her skin cooled her. Apparently June was winter in Fiji, though this was nothing like the winters in Waco, where the temps tended to hover around freezing. When she’d left, though, it had been in the nineties, so this cooler weather was a relief.
Carefully making her way toward the darkened hot tub, she didn’t turn on the lights, but fumbled for the timer and turned the jets on, then stepped down the steps.
She paused. The water was really hot. After a moment she took another step down in.
When the water reached mid-thigh, a man said, “Feel free to join me.”
She screamed and flailed, falling into the water.
A large hand grabbed her and pulled her into the air. She came up punching. She wasn’t going to be attacked on beautiful Mango Island.
Large arms wrapped around her. “Stop. It’s just me,” the man said gently. “If I let you go, will you just sit down before someone calls the police?”
“Noah?” Her voice was shaky with adrenaline.
“Yes.” He released her and patted her shoulder awkwardly, then stepped back across the hot tub and sank back down. When the clouds shifted and the moon lightened the night, she saw his large form more clearly, and he didn’t look as menacing as his shadow had.
Her heart still pounded and she still wanted to punch someone. She raised her fist. “Come just a little closer.”
“I think I’ll just wait over here.”
“What are you doing out here?” she asked accusingly, as though she owned the island.
“I wanted some alone time.”
“Me, too,” she said, her heart still racing, but beginning to slow. “We didn’t plan very well, did we?”
He chuckled, and the sound sent a thrill through her. “Sit down. The warm water will help you relax some.”
She paused, deciding. Her arms tingled where his had touched her. Noah was a danger burrito, a danger sundae, a danger cupcake. He looked delectable, but was the most unattainable man on the planet. She began to shiver.
That decided it. She sank into the warmth of the water.
Twelve million women couldn’t be wrong. Right? Besides, she’d had a crush on him long before any of those other women. And they had been friends. Sort of. Well, she’d been his buddy’s almost tolerated younger sister, at least.
Her eyes were beginning to adjust so she could make out his form on the opposite side of the hot tub.
They sat that way, silent, for probably five minutes. Finally, she couldn’t stand it any longer. “So why couldn’t you sleep?”
He shrugged his shoulders and the muscles rippled. “It’s been an interesting year for me.”
“I understand that one,” she said. “But you had some great things happen, too. Preston was telling me how much your last movie brought in.”
“Yeah. The movie business is doing phenomenal.” He sounded melancholy.
Really? He had a job most of the men in the world envied and most of the women adored, and he was melancholy? “At least you don’t have to worry about paying the bills.”
“You don’t, either.
If you ever had a hint of any problem, Preston would swoop in and save the day.”
“But I wouldn’t want him swooping in. I don’t want my older brother taking care of me.”
He turned his head then and faced her, his gaze catching hers. “Do you worry about paying the bills?”
“That’s none of your business.” When he continued to stare, she said, “My photography business is doing just fine, thank you. All bills paid and money left over for a sundae or two.” Just not a danger sundae.
“Good.”
He sounded genuinely pleased for her. That surprised her. They’d never really talked before, unless you counted yelling at him and Preston to let her into the tree house counted. She had lots more memories through the years of tagging along after him and Preston, but they’d always done their best to shake her and Ashley off like they were pesky sparrows. And then his family had moved to Hawaii and she’d been heart-broken.
And yet here she was, talking with Noah Sullivan. Just the two of them. With too much water between them. And where had that thought come from? No way did she want to be on his side of the hot tub.
“What do you worry about, then?” he asked. “What keeps you from sleeping at night?”
“Jet lag.” She shrugged her shoulders back at him. “How about you?”
He chuckled. “Jet lag.”
“Copycat.”
He shrugged. “It happens.”
“No, really. I’d like to know.”
“You’d really like to know? Do you have a recorder going or anything?”
“If I do, it’s ruined in this water, that’s for sure. And that reminds me — where are your bodyguards?”
“They didn’t think they needed to protect me from you. They don’t follow me everywhere. They’re just around to help if something gets out of hand, which it can when there are a lot of people around. They’re another form of life insurance.”
“To reassure you, I’m not trying to get information to sell about you. You’re just my older brother’s pesky friend, and we found ourselves in the hot tub together and I’m making small talk. If you don’t want to tell me why you’re awake at two in the morning when you have to be presenting a workshop right after breakfast, you certainly don’t need to. Forget I asked.”
NOAH: A Childhood Nemesis Sweet Romantic Comedy (Waco Wranglers Reid Brothers Book 2) Page 3
