of the door opening startled her from her reverie just as a man stepped out onto the porch. It wasn’t merely any man, though. It was the pirate she’d noticed inside. A coat covered most of his costume now, but he still wore the unmistakable tricornered hat. He paused to remove it. His mask came off next. A soft gasp filled her lungs as the golden light of a nearby lantern illuminated his handsome features. Shock eased his name from her lips with a mix of amusement and exasperation. “Rhett Granger.”
He spun toward her. His eyes widened as she stepped from the shadows. “It’s you. What— Why are you out here? In the cold porch. On the cold. In the porch. I mean...” He shook his head and gave up.
Tilting her head, she stared at him in confusion. Land sakes! What had happened to him all of a sudden? She hadn’t heard him stumble around with his words like that since he’d been sweet on Amy.
From what she’d seen, Rhett had been left truly brokenhearted by Amy’s elopement. Isabelle had gotten to know him relatively well in the few months since her best friend, Helen, had married his best friend, Quinn. Before then, she’d only really thought of him as one of Amy’s admirers. Now she knew for certain that he was as honest, trustworthy and honorable as his reputation said he was. He was also about ten times as exasperating—usually.
Tonight, his amber eyes showed a vulnerability she’d never seen before. It prompted her to offer a gentle smile. “It was getting a little crowded in there. What about you? Where are you going?”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Home. I’m not really in a party.”
He didn’t seem to notice his mistake this time, and she didn’t have the heart to point it out. Stepping forward, she grabbed the lapels of his coat and rattled them lightly in an attempt to shake him to his senses. “But it’s New Year’s Eve!”
“Yeah, I’m aware of that.” He softened the statement with a teasing grin. She felt his chest swell against the coat as he took a deep breath, which made her realize she was still holding on to his coat. She immediately released it. Before she could step back, he’d taken off the coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. “You must be freezing.”
“I didn’t realize how much until now.” She snuggled into the coat’s warmth. “Thank you.”
He slipped his hands into the pockets of his black leather pants and tipped his head toward the door. “You should go inside where it’s warm.”
“I’d rather not.”
“Then will you at least allow me to walk you home?”
Suddenly realizing she still had her mask on, she lifted her chin. “Do you know where I live?”
She was really asking if he knew her true identity. He seemed to understand that because he stepped even closer. He lifted her chin to survey her more closely. She watched his gaze trail from the tip of her nose over her cheeks. It rested upon her lips for an interminably long time before dropping to her chin and returning to her eyes. It only seemed fair that she take the same liberties. The dark shadow of a two-day-old beard covered his square jaw, stopping right below his perfectly sculpted nose and cheekbones. His eyebrows were two thick slashes over his dark lashes. As she watched, the color of his amber eyes deepened.
Encircling his strong wrist with her hand, she tugged lightly. He released his hold. She stepped back and struggled to gather her thoughts. What had they been talking about? Oh, yes.
“Well? Do you know where I live?”
* * *
Rhett could do nothing but stare into the face of Isabelle Bradley. Had she felt it, too? There had been some kind of tug between them. He’d felt in that moment as though he could have done something crazy—like kiss her.
He’d noticed little things like the myriad shades of green that made up her eyes and how they shifted like when the sun hit the waters of a slow-moving creek. Her lashes were so dark brown they almost would have looked black if not for the hint of gold that shone in the lantern light. Her lips were pink and bow-shaped. He couldn’t help wondering if they were as soft as they looked. Startled by that thought since he had no business thinking it, he gave his head a little shake.
This was Isabelle Bradley. The woman had made no secret of the fact that she found him exasperating. In truth, that was no surprise because he’d tried his hardest to be exasperating. Something about her had always gotten under his skin. She made him uneasy—not in a way most women did that so often resulted in his stuttering and stammering. It was more akin to when he was at the forge waiting for something to reach the right temperature. That anticipation, that sense of knowing was the same. He merely hadn’t realized it until now.
“Rhett?” The impatience in her tone made him realize she was still waiting for an answer.
Of course he knew where she lived. A person couldn’t be in town more than a few minutes before hearing about Bradley Boardinghouse. It was one of the best and most reputable places to stay in Peppin. The only reason he wasn’t living there was because the man who’d sold him the smithy had offered him a cabin as a package deal. However, that didn’t mean he was going to let Isabelle know that he was onto her. He figured if Isabelle had wanted him to know who she was beneath her mask, she would have already told him. He didn’t see any harm in playing along with her. “Sure, but Egypt is pretty far away. Don’t you think we’d better start walking?”
The triumph in her smile told him he’d made the right choice. “Actually, I have a better idea. I don’t want to go back to the party and neither do you. So let’s don’t. Let’s go on an adventure instead.”
If he’d had any doubts to her identity, they would have been put to rest then and there. He only knew two women who’d suggest something like that. One was inside dressed like Cupid and attacking people with arrows. The other was standing before him on the porch with pure mischief in her smile. He lifted a brow. “Is that right? And what makes you think I’d go anywhere with you? If I remember my history lessons correctly, men who hang around Cleopatra for too long end up dead.”
She gave a delightful little laugh. “Oh, and associating with a pirate isn’t dangerous?”
“I prefer buccaneer, but you make a valid point.” He took her hand and pushed back the sleeve of his coat to reveal the set of bracelets draped around her wrist. He trailed a finger across the most expensive-looking one. It was gold with a set of emeralds. Realizing the clasp was slightly open, he eased it closed. “Perhaps you should reconsider giving a command like that when you wear treasure such as this.”
“There’s nothing to reconsider.” She affected a haughty tone to fit her character. “I’m not a woman whose decisions or opinions can be easily swayed by danger...or men.”
“An admirable quality in a queen to be sure. However, there is one small problem.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice to confide, “I’m not a man who’ll accept a command without question.”
“And what is your question?”
He broke from her gaze for only an instant before whispering, “Where are we going?”
That won him a smile. “If I told you that, it would take away part of the adventure. I can tell you a few things. It’s somewhere not far from here. Few people know about it. We will be able to view the fireworks undisturbed. How does that sound?”
Scandalous. Yet,
