remember you and the two kind women who took care of me. I remember a dog—a collie, I think.” She looked at him. “Or did I dream it?”
His eyes were sympathetic. “No, you weren’t dreaming. After I found you wandering along the coast road this morning, I brought you to our family cottage on the point. Bridget, my oldest sister, and Willie, the doctor next door, took care of you. My sister enjoys taking a week off from her practice in Boston to stay at the cottage while getting the place ready for the summer.”
Sara couldn’t help noticing how handsome Liam looked when he wasn’t frowning. Unwelcome shivers of awareness made her arms tingle. “Your sister Bridget,” she said, distracting herself from the inappropriate response she was having to this man beside her. “Does she have a family?”
“Her husband, David, and her kids will be coming later this morning, along with most of the O’Shea tribe. I have six sisters, all married. I was the only boy.” He shot her a smile, and her stomach fluttered.
Was he married? He didn’t have a gold band on his left hand, but that didn’t necessarily mean… She shook her head. “Does your family get together often?”
“We try. Today, almost all the clan will be congregating for the baptism of the newest member.”
She liked the way his eyes warmed when he spoke of his family. What was the matter with her? She might be married or at least engaged. Why was she reacting like this?
“Do you have…children?” she asked.
His lips curved, crinkling the corners of his eyes. “No, much to my sisters’ chagrin.” His smile broadened. “Of course, they would like to see me marry first.”
Something in the way he said that made her cheeks warm. “You and your sister have been very kind. I don’t think I’ve thanked you properly. I’m very grateful it was you who found me.”
“Try not to worry. Maybe once you see the motel and your things, your memory will come back.”
The thought of leaving the safety of Liam’s car and going into a strange place suddenly filled her with unexplained panic—at something unseen, yet so terrifying that she had to look away to keep Liam from noticing. She fought through the panic, but it was hopeless. Maybe if she concentrated on what she could remember…
Her gaze studied the corded muscles along Liam’s tanned forearms as he gripped the wheel. An image of how he had looked earlier this morning when he’d practically jumped out at her, half-naked, flashed through her mind. He was definitely athletic, with incredibly broad shoulders, muscular biceps and forearms. The thick black hair covering his wide chest had trailed down to a V inside his jeans. She felt her cheeks blush at the thought. She turned her face away, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
Dear God, but this man was attractive. Maybe she didn’t have the right to look at any man like that. Was she married? Did she have a lover? Children? Her gaze flew to her own hand. No ring. No watch on either wrist. No jewelry of any kind. Nothing.
Her hands weren’t callused. What did she do for a living? Was she good at what she did? Why would she think of such a thing?
Sara turned toward him. “Did you say the older woman who helped your sister take care of me was called Dr. Willie?” She shook her head. “It’s all so fuzzy. Like a dream.”
He nodded. “Dr. Wilhelmina Prescott. She’s an internist who summers here on the island who still makes house calls. Dr. Willie is a legend around these parts.” He raised his brows and glanced at her. “You weren’t very cooperative. You refused to go to the hospital. Willie and my sister think you should be x-rayed, and I was hoping that later you’d let me take you to the E.R.”
“No!” Gasping, she clutched the dashboard with one hand and the armrest with the other. Her eyes squeezed shut as she fought the white panic, like a snowstorm in her mind.
“Are you okay?” He pulled the car to the side of the road and parked, his eyes filled with genuine concern. “Take deep breaths. You’re having a panic attack.”
She struggled for control, gulping air. “I—I don’t know what’s wrong with me. All I know is that if I go to the hospital, something terrible will happen.” Even to herself, she knew her reasoning wasn’t making sense.
Liam put his strong arm around her shoulders. She leaned into his hard chest, fighting the overwhelming terror with his comforting embrace. Was she a fool to trust him? She didn’t know. Yet something about him made her want to believe she could. Ignoring her pounding heart through willpower alone, she forced herself to focus on the man beside her.
She breathed in the clean scent of his aftershave. His black leather jacket was open, and against her cheek, the soft cotton fabric of his black T-shirt felt comforting. Blue-black stubble covered his strong jaw. A thin scar creased his chin left of the cleft. She stared at his firm, chiseled lips. Lips made for laughing, for teasing, for kissing.
She blinked free of the trance and pushed away. “I—I’m okay,” she said, her voice a scratchy whisper.
His piercing blue gaze questioned her. “You’re not okay. Let me take you to emergency.”
“No!” Sara took in several deep gasps, aware of his arm still curled firmly about her shoulders. “Maybe later,” she added, not wanting to appear hysterical. “First, let’s go to the motel. Maybe if I see something familiar…” She held on to that hope as she stole another sidelong glance at him.
His arm uncurled from her shoulders, and he straightened, restarting the engine. The wind tousled his thick black hair as he pulled the convertible onto the road.
She drew a wisp of hair from her face and turned to stare out the windshield.
“The motel isn’t much farther,” he said finally. “Officially, we’re on an island, Bellwood Island, which is connected to the mainland by a causeway. The island is surrounded by sand dunes, which makes a great tourist attraction. The town of Bellwood Harbor has a winter population of 260, swelling to 20,000 between the Fourth of July and Labor Day.”
She glanced at the lobster boats bobbing in the harbor. “Nothing seems familiar.” She stared out the window, her head reeling in an effort to remember anything. Along Main Street, empty colonial homes and vacant boutiques lined both sides, silently waiting for their owners to return with the warm weather. Empty flower boxes hung from the storefront windows, waiting for summer’s red geraniums, blue verbenas and white petunias to spill from the planters. An empty flagpole stood in the park square, and she could imagine Old Glory waving proudly as the Fourth of July parade streamed past.
So she knew about small New England towns, after all. Was her memory coming back? The idea filled her with excitement and dread. Dear God, why was everything so confusing?
Judging by the dashboard clock, it had taken them less than five minutes to drive through the village. Now more sand dunes stretched along both sides of the road. To the east, the Atlantic glistened, a blue horizon. When her eyes turned back to the road, an L-shaped single-story building appeared ahead. She stared blankly at the white block letters painted across the black slanted roof: SAND DUNE MOTEL.
Now maybe she’d find some answers.
“NOTHING LOOKS FAMILIAR?” Liam asked, relieved that his voice didn’t betray the skepticism he was feeling. From what Willie had said, Sara
