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The last of the logs glowed orange in the darkness.
“Do you think Flora’s in her room yet?”
He hadn’t thought of her all night. What a jerk. “I should see if she texted me.” He took his phone from the inside pocket of his jacket. “Yes. She did text. Oh my God.”
“What is it?”
“She’s staying overnight at Dax’s,” Brody said. “What the hell? Mom’s at home with Doctor Waller and Flora’s sleeping with her high school boyfriend.”
Kara giggled before clamping her hand over her mouth.
“It’s not funny.” Brody smiled. “This is my worst nightmare.”
“I just had a thought,” Kara said. “Do you think Flora’s had sex since she saw him last?”
“Oh my God.” He put his hands over his ears. “Don’t talk about that.”
“No, seriously. Think about that. Forty-five years.”
He threw his hands up in mock disgust and shuddered. “Well, she must have had sex at some point. I mean, no one can go that long.”
“I seem to be testing that theory,” she said.
What had she just said? How did that fit with the bad breakup? He forced his voice to remain teasing and casual, even though he wanted to pounce. “Yeah? How long’s it been for you?”
“Over a year. I violated my rule and dated this guy at work—one of the doctors—and we used to meet in the supply closet occasionally. That’s the only time he had available. Until he got transferred to another hospital.”
Over a year? What about the ex-boyfriend she left town over? A chill ran through him. There was no ex. She wasn’t starting fresh because of a bad break up. Relief came first, followed quickly by fear. If it wasn’t an ex, then what was it? He would get her to tell him the truth. Tonight. “What about your boyfriend? The one you moved away from?”
Silence, other than the sound of waves crashing to shore.
“Did you move here to get away from an ex or something else?” he asked.
Another long moment of silence. Finally, she spoke, with traces of tears in her voice. “It wasn’t an ex. I haven’t had a serious boyfriend since college.”
“Then what is it? I know you’re hiding from someone. No one leaps out of a booth when someone whips out their phone unless they have a good reason.” Kara had held one arm away from her body as if to protect herself from the poison rays of the camera. It wasn’t merely modesty, or that she didn’t like the way her hair looked. She was terrified to have her photo taken. What was she involved with? What had she done?
Her chest rose and fell. “I can’t tell you.”
He studied her face, yearning for clues to her thoughts. Her eyes glittered in the firelight as she continued to gaze into the flames. What was this tender feeling that he had for her? This desire to protect her and keep her close? To take care of her. God, was he in love with her?
No. He was not in love with her. She’d lied to him. He knew nothing about her. Brody dug into the sand with the heel of his boot. “What did you do that you’re afraid to tell me? Is it debt? Were you in prison? What is it?”
“It’s nothing like that.” Her voice broke.
Suddenly, he didn’t care what it was that she was hiding. All he wanted was to pull her close and kiss her. He traced her jawline with his fingers. “Please, let me kiss you.”
“Brody. No.” She reached up to the collar of his jacket like she wanted to push him away, but instead gently wrapped her fingers around the dense leather material. “This is not a good idea.”
“I disagree.”
“If you kiss me, I won’t be able...” Her words withered in the night.
“You won’t what?”
“Once I’ve been kissed by you, I won’t be able to go back to the way it was.” The words tumbled out as if she wanted to inject chaos into the moment, so that he would come to his senses. But nothing could distract him from wanting her.
“I can’t stop thinking about you. I don’t want to.”
“You should,” she said.
“Then why does it feel like nothing will ever matter as much as kissing you?” His voice was as rough as the sea.
“We’re caught up in the moment. Tomorrow we’ll wake up with nothing but regret.” The defeated sound in her voice broke his heart. “Take me back to my room.”
He poured the rest of his beer over the dying embers and helped Kara to her feet. She stumbled in the sand. He put out his arm around her shoulders to steady her. She was shaking, either from cold or fear.
A recklessness was just under his skin, screaming to get out. Staying away from her was harder than pushing a sled across the field. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep it up.
He took her hand as they walked across the sand to the path that led up to the lodge. She squeezed his hand so hard it almost hurt.
When they reached her room, Kara leaned her head against his shoulder as she used the card to unlock her door. She hesitated before entering and looked up at him, her brown eyes soft and unfocused. “Thanks for taking me out today. It was fun. I haven’t had fun in a long time.”
“Come on, let’s get you inside and into your pajamas.”
“I’m fine, Brody. I can tuck myself in.”
“All right. Sleep in tomorrow, okay? We’re kind of on vacation. Text me when you want to get breakfast.” He looked at his watch. It was almost eleven.
After she shut the door, he leaned against the wall.
There was only one way to get this woman out of his head and that was finding another one to replace her. He went down to the bar.
It didn’t take long to find her. He’d just taken a seat at the bar when he spotted a tall blond with legs for miles sitting there. Pretty face and round, probably fake, breasts. She was with a girlfriend, equally attractive but with a sparkling wedding ring. He was a jerk, but he didn’t sleep with other men’s wives. They had almost empty glasses of white wine and laughed a little too loudly. He sent a round of drinks over to them and waved when the bartender delivered them. They looked at him. Their eyes widened. Aren’t you Brody Mullen?