He knew the first scenario was probably true. He chose to believe the second. It played better with his plan.
She scooped a strand of her shoulder-length hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Her hair was the same color as the old mahogany desk, rich with red undertones and colors that, in the soft light, reminded him of the leather covers on his collection of antique anatomy books. She was wearing it longer than she had in medical school, and Noah watched it swing against her back as she walked. He supposed here on the island, with its slow pace and its minimal demands on her education and her skills, she had more time to mess with her hair. At least more time than she’d had in the old days, when the only time she had was for her work and the only thing she messed with was Noah’s life, his career and his heart.
Not a good thing to think about. At least not with Laurel only a couple feet away. Except for the one time it really mattered, she always had the uncanny habit of reading his mind.
Telling himself it was something he couldn’t afford to forget, Noah glanced around, from the frothy paintings on the ceiling to the chintz-covered furniture and the pink lightbulbs in the fixtures on the wall in back of the desk.
“It is an amazing place, and Maisie is an amazing woman to keep it all going.” Laurel said exactly what he was thinking. No surprise there. It was a knack they’d always shared. “The people who come to visit appreciate it for what it is,” she said. She ruffled through a pile of the day’s mail and sorted each letter into one of five cubbyholes. “Quirky. Different. Fun in its own weird sort of way. They’re nice people.” She stopped and reached for another pile of mail and as she did, she allowed her gaze to travel to Noah. She looked him up and down. “At least most of them are nice.”
Noah could ignore a lot of things. This wasn’t one of them. He was at least willing to act civilized. She, it seemed, was just going to be Laurel. He didn’t need to remind himself what that meant. Laurel could be bull-headed. She could be opinionated. She could be as tough as nails and as hard as rocks and as determined as anyone Noah had ever met.
Another whiff of perfume drifted by and reminded Noah of something else.
She was also the most sensual and passionate woman he’d ever had the misfortune to fall in love with, and she’d never been afraid to show that side. At least not to him. He’d spent plenty of time trying to forget that. He wondered if Laurel had, too.
A slow smile brightened Noah’s expression. She wanted to play hardball? Maybe he’d just found a way to score some points of his own.
He waited until Laurel started sorting a second pile of mail, and when she was paying more attention to the latest sale circular from the local grocery store than she was to him, he flattened his hands against the desk and leaned forward. When she was done, he was ready for her. He was only inches away, and when she looked up and realized it, she caught her breath. Her pupils widened. Her breasts pressed against her sweater. Noah allowed himself one quick look of appreciation before he raised his gaze to hers.
“You used to think I was nice people,” he murmured.
“Yeah, I did.” Laurel skimmed her tongue over her lips. Caught by the warmth of Noah’s look or maybe by the pull of the same memories that threatened to turn him upside down and inside out, she leaned closer. Closer still. Her lips a heartbeat from his, she gave him a one-sided, cynical smile. “What the hell was wrong with me, anyway?”
“Right.” Noah pulled back and gave her a smile that was so stiff and artificial it hurt. Make that Laurel Burton two, Noah Cunningham nothing. He watched her ruffle through four sets of keys.
“What will it be?” she asked. “You’re Maisie’s only guest for the night so I suppose you get your pick of the rooms. They’re right up the stairs.” She pointed. “And they’re all marked. You in the mood for a tropical paradise?” She jingled the key, and when he didn’t reach for it, she held out another. “A flashback to the sixties? A little rock and roll? Or a whole bunch of red velvet and gold paint?”
“I’m in the mood…” Noah thought long and hard about what he was going to say next. Well, maybe not too long or not too hard, but he did think about it. He thought about what Maisie had said earlier about getting the things he needed, things like a toothbrush and a comb. And when he thought about that, he thought about the way Laurel’s cheeks went dusky at the mention of the inn’s gift shop. He was looking for a way to break down her legendary self-control? Maybe he’d just found it.
“I’m in the mood for a toothbrush.” He sang the words in a low, pure baritone and when he did, he knew he hit the mark. Laurel stiffened and that nice, dusky color in her cheeks went a little ashen.
“Toothbrush. Fine. Sure.” Laurel’s fingers fumbled over the keys. She glanced across the lobby toward a room that looked innocuous enough. The door of the room was closed but Noah suspected it had once been an enclosed porch. The door had an oval glass insert that was covered from the inside by a lace curtain. On the outside of the glass in a beautiful flowing hand were written the words Cupid’s Love Shack.
Noah’s eyebrows rose along with his expectations.
“That’s the gift shop,” Laurel said. “Right over there. You’re looking right at it. We never lock it. Go on in. Get the stuff you need.” She headed to the other side of the desk. “I’ll just go upstairs and make sure your room is—”
“Oh, no!” Before she could zoom out of his reach, Noah grabbed her hand. “I think you’d better help me out.”
“Help? You?” Laurel made an effort to sound cocky. It might have worked if her eyes didn’t dart toward the Love Shack. If her pulse wasn’t beating double-time against Noah’s hand. “Since when does the great Dr. Noah Cunningham need help from anybody? I think you can handle it, Doc. There aren’t a whole lot of choices you need to make. Green toothbrush. Blue toothbrush. Crest or Colgate. Small decisions. The kind you should be able to handle all on your own.” She stopped and her eyes widened, as if she’d just remembered something. “No. Wait a minute,” she said. “The way I remember it, you were pretty good at handling even the really big decisions all on your own.”
If she was trying to distract him, it almost worked. Almost. They’d talk about the decisions each of them had made some other time. Now was not the time for soul-searching or introspection or regret.
It was time for a little sweet revenge.
Being as gentle as he was sure to let her know he wasn’t going to change his mind, Noah wrapped one arm around Laurel’s shoulders. “I just wouldn’t feel right going into Maisie’s gift shop and taking things,” he said. “If you’re with me, you can keep a list. You know, help Maisie out when it comes to inventory.”
Laurel took one more look at the closed door of the Love Shack. She drew in a long, shaky breath and gave Noah a sidelong look. “All right,” she said, and he felt her stiffen against him. “If that’s what you want.”
They walked across the lobby, Noah’s arm looped over Laurel’s shoulders. No big deal in the great scheme of things. At least it shouldn’t have been. At least it wouldn’t have been if every step they took didn’t make Noah remember how perfectly they fit together. Laurel’s blue jeans scraped against his cashmere suit. Her hip swayed against his. Her hair spilled over her shoulder and brushed his neck. By the time she swung open the door to the Love Shack and flicked on the lights, Noah’s skin was buzzing as if he’d been loofahed from head to toe.
“Toothbrushes.” Like a sentry on duty, Laurel stood in the doorway, her back to
