One week later
“Your days in there are numbered.” Lucy gave the heel of her boot another tug, but it didn’t move. “Oh, come on, like I have time for this crap.”
“Problem?”
“No… thanks.” Lucy didn’t look up. She didn’t need a man’s help to get her sensible size 7.5, black boot heel out of the grate she’d stupidly stepped in.
Giving it another tug got her nowhere.
“Right here if you need me.”
“I don’t,” she gritted out. “Sorry. I’m fine… thanks.”
Another tug didn’t budge it.
She squeaked as two hands lifted her and placed her back on the ground to the right of her heel.
“Hey! Don’t touch me." She looked at the man who had man handled her, and her heart sank to her toes.
“Lucy? What the hell are you doing in Lake Howling?”
She’d not seen him in the daylight, only in that bathroom, which had been disturbing enough, even with his nose swelling. But this close, he was devastating. That night with this man had been up there with the best moments of her life.
“Hello, Noah.” Lucy took a deep breath in and hoped her heart stopped pounding soon.
“Why are you here in Howling?” He was frowning. It looked fierce due to his two black eyes, which in no way deterred from his good looks.
“I-I, ah, I was passing through.”
“To where? It has one road in and out.”
“I heard it was a nice place to visit.”
He had dark brows and lashes, and his eyes were the color of midnight. She’d known they were, of course, because Lucy had spent that night staring into them. His beard was cropped close, and she bit back a shudder at the memory of it rubbing over her skin. His body was hard and toned. This she also knew, as she’d touched it, licked it. Don’t go there.
She’d wanted to forget that night because it had been so out of character, but that wasn’t going to be possible if she was in the same town as Noah.
“How long?” He demanded.
“How long what?” This wasn’t the polite man she’d met that night.
“How long will you be here?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, hell,” he said, looking pissed off, which in turn pissed her off. Lucy hadn’t known he lived here or that seeing her again would annoy him so much.
“I didn’t come here to find you, Noah. How could I? We never discussed where you lived. Are you married?” The thought slipped into her head.
“No, why would you say that?”
“Steady girlfriend?”
His black brows lowered into a long, angry line.
“Do I look like the type to sleep with a woman while married or in a relationship?”
“How do I know what your type is? I barely know you.”
“We talked for hours, and you should know after that I wouldn’t cheat. Besides, you said I was one of the good guys.”
“Men can be nice to get what they want. And we talked in a bar while we were both drinking. You could be a completely different man in the daylight.”
“That makes no sense unless I’m a vampire, but the part that does is insulting.” His hands were on his hips now.
“You don’t think your reaction to seeing me is insulting?”
He exhaled slowly. “Okay, and you’re right. I forgive you, and sorry back at you for the way I just behaved. Seeing you was a shock.”
“Ditto.”
“So, Lucy, fancy you turning up in my town.” The anger fled as fast as it had come, and there he was again, the man she’d made love with.
She followed his eyes as he looked around him. Pride was there in that glance.
“You own it?”
“Funny girl.”
She was nervous now the anger had gone. The man was a lethal combination of many things. He had actually listened when she talked; not many people had done that in her life, let alone a man. He was hot… boy, was he hot, and way out of her league, even if she was interested, which she could never be. She knew Noah would be one of those people who knew what to say and when to say it, unlike her. Lucy just bet he’d been one of the cool kids in school. Comfortable in his own skin.
“Look, Noah, I’m sorry this is your town and now I’m in it, but there is no need to make a big deal out of this. What happened, happened, and we’re consenting adults.”
“Felt like a big deal when I woke in the morning and you’d gone.”
Color filled her cheeks, making them burn with humiliation. She’d woken, panicked, and run. Lucy didn’t normally behave like she had that night. She never let people close; it was too dangerous. She hadn’t been proud of her behavior, but she’d done it just the same because there had been no other option. With a last lingering look at the large male in the bed, she’d run, clutching her shoes as if the hounds of hell were on her heels.
“That’s how it works.” She went for bravado, like she slept with men and moved on all the time when in fact he was the first man she’d done that with. The one before that she’d thought she loved; turned out she’d been wrong there.
“Good sex, then goodbye?”
She risked a look at his face, and he was still smiling at her, but it was a knowing smile now, like he knew she wasn’t telling the truth.
Of course she’d told him she wasn’t experienced, and of course he’d remembered her words. Damn.
“It was for the best. I’m not good with that stuff.” Her voice rose. Great, now she sounded hysterical.
“Stuff?” He leaned his weight on one hip and folded his arms like he was settling in for a nice long conversation.
“Look. We likely won’t see each other again, so bye.”
“It’s not a big town, to be fair, so we likely will if you stick around.” He was teasing her now. “What are your plans while you’re here?”
Her eyes shot over his left shoulder to the cake shop, or more importantly the small white card in the window that had the words Help Needed.
“Mrs. Cribbins is a lovely lady, if you need work. She would be awesome as an employer. Eccentric, and a bit crazy, but nice.”
Her eyes shot back to his.
“It started out as Cribbins Cakery because Mrs. C thought it sounded posh, and then the locals nicknamed it the Howlery and it stuck. It’s the only place in town that does celebration cakes and cupcakes.” He leaned in closer. “I’ll be honest, it needs modernizing. We’re all a little over purple flowers on top of our cakes.”
“I don’t need a job,” Lucy lied. In fact, she did desperately, but she wouldn’t be taking one in Noah’s town.
“Go talk to her, and I’ll put in a good word for you. Are you any good at cake decorating?”
“I don’t think so—”
“And there she is. Mrs. C, you got a minute?”
“What are you doing?” Lucy hissed as a tall woman approached. She wore an orange tracksuit with black stripes up the side. On her head was a wide turquoise scarf with two black braids sticking out the bottom.
“I don’t have my boots on,” Lucy hissed, dragging her eyes from the vision approaching. Her lips were painted a bright orange.
“She’s not employing you because of your boots or lack thereof.”
“Hello, Noah dear. Looking handsome as always.” The woman kissed his cheek, leaving a set of orange lips imprinted there.
“You been out walking the trails again, Mrs. C?”
“I have. Doc and Lizzie came with me, but I couldn’t drag Hank out of bed. That man’s getting lazy since he retired, and fat as a slug.”
“He sounds sensible to me,” Noah added. “Lucy, this is Mrs. Cribbins. She broke my heart when she married Hank, and I’ll be forever scarred, but what can you do in the face of true love.”
The woman swatted Noah on the arm.
“He’s a charmer, Lucy, this one.”
“I can see that.”
“I called you over, Mrs. Cribbins, to meet Lucy. She’s looking for work, and baking is her thing.”
“Oh, no—”
“Really?” The woman clapped her hands. “Would you consider working in my shop?”
“But you don’t know me.” Lucy had plenty of documents that she could hand the woman. References and papers, and she hated doing so as none of them were hers…. Well, technically they had her name on them, but when you lived a lie you had to do things you didn’t want to, to support that.
“Noah knows you, and that’s enough for me. You come on into my shop soon and we’ll talk.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Now, I must dash. I have a cake to decorate for little Sally Hyde’s birthday. I ran out of purple food coloring and my order doesn’t arrive for two days. I hope the grocery store has red and blue in stock.”
“They make purple,” Noah said, winking at Lucy.
“Well done, boy, you learned something at school.” Mrs. C waved a hand and hurried away.
“You’ll like working for her. She’s a really nice lady, even if you need sunglasses to look at her sometimes. The woman always dresses in bright colors.”
“I didn’t need you to do that.” Lucy looked at Noah again.
“Things are easier when you have friends helping.”
“We’re not friends.”
He clutched his chest. “Ouch, that hurt.”
“I need to go. Bye.” She wasn’t sure why she was panicking, but suddenly it was there, choking her. Coming to Lake Howling had been an impulse. She’d found it on the map and something had urged her to come. Lucy was seriously regretting that impulse.
Bending over her boot again, she decided to ignore Noah and used more force to pull if free. It didn’t budge.
He lifted her to the side again.
“I told you I had this!”
“Sure you did, and I could see how well you were doing, but it’s the gentleman in me. I have to help. Standing behind you, while the view was nice, wasn’t something I could do when clearly you need my superior strength.
“I’m wearing baggy jeans, there is no view.” Lucy refused to admire his really nice butt in jeans. Worn and molded, they fit to perfection. Nice long legs and big feet in worn sneakers. Two large, tanned hands gave her boot a tug, and it came free with ease. Hands that had sent her to places she’d never been before.
“I know what your butt looks like under those fashion disasters.”
“I loosened it for you,” Lucy muttered, refusing to blush at his words. “And there is nothing wrong with my jeans.”
“Shame the heel didn’t snap off.” He was inspecting the wide, squat heel of her sensible boots.
“What? Why?” She reached for it, but he lifted it above his head.
“It’s ugly, and a fashion crime.”
“I like them. Now give it back.”
He dropped to one knee and held out her boot.
“Stop that!” Lucy snapped. “What are you doing?”
“I was being polite.”
“Whatever. I’m not the Cinderella type.”
He climbed to his feet with ease, movements graceful. She’d watched him deal with those men that night. He’d used moves that said he knew martial arts. Lucy knew how to defend herself and had learned a few moves of her own, but she had a feeling this guy was a great deal more experienced than her… in many aspects of life.
“So are you going to see Mrs. C?”
Lucy tried to take her boot out of his hand.
“Are you?” He raised it above his head.
“I, ah, don’t know yet, and I thought you weren’t happy I was in your town.” She shouldn’t even be contemplating staying here. What she should do was leave Lake Howling fast.
“I apologized for that. Seeing you was a shock. Don’t leave because of me, Lucy.”
“My foot is cold. Can I please have my boot?”
“Aren’t all sweet little girls into Cinderella?”
“What?” The jump in conversation threw her.
“The shoe thing. You said you weren’t into Cinderella. My sister loved that stuff growing up.”
“Not all little girls come out of the womb wearing pink, Noah.” She had, actually, but that girl was long gone.
His head tilted slightly. “True. My sister was more a camouflage girl. My name is Noah Harris, by the way.” He held out a large hand toward her. “I don’t think we exchanged last names, which is just plain wrong considering—”
“I understand.”
“And this is where you’ll find me if you want to.”
She looked at the building behind him. The sign said The Howler. “This is the business you talked about?”
“It is.” She heard the pride in his voice. “Now shake my hand, Lucy, because Howlers don’t bite, and you’ll enjoy your time here.”
“Howlers?”
“Locals.”
“Noah—”
“I don’t bite, Lucy.”
“What?” Her eyes shot to his as the color in her cheeks deepened. He’d bitten parts of her, and suddenly they were tingling. “Oh, ha ha, of course not.” She placed her hand in his. It was much larger, and hers was engulfed as he shook it. She felt callouses under his fingers, but the palm was smooth.
“What’s your last name?”
“Sullivan,” Lucy supplied.
“See you round, Lucy Sullivan.”
He smiled again, and Lucy wished he’d stop. The man looked like he’d walked out of the pages of Vogue magazine. She didn’t trust handsome men… well, any men, if she was going with honesty.
And you shared more intimacy with this man than you have with any before him.
“Hey, Noah, you booked that table for me? It’s a surprise for Lizzie.”
Lucy looked at the elderly man who’d just arrived. He was a great deal shorter than Noah and had a shock of white hair.
“Walt Heath’s the name.” He held out his hand to her.
“Lucy.”
“Sullivan,” Noah added.
She nodded. “I need to go. Bye.”
Lucy didn’t run but it was a near thing. Unlocking her Bronco, she climbed in slowly, knowing they were watching her. Turning the key, she then backed out of the parking spot and headed down the street.
“Relax, take some breaths.” After three big ones, she felt better. “Holy crap, Noah lives here!”
Panic had her wanting to turn toward the town exit, but she fought the impulse. He didn’t know her; no one here knew her. She was safe. She’d take a moment, eat the sandwich she’d picked up earlier, and decide on her next move. A move that had nothing to do with Noah Harris and everything to do with staying safe.