There was no hesitation. She was on her feet immediately. “Dance. If I’m moving around, maybe I won’t get too sloppy.”
Taking her hand, he brought her away from the tables. Her body fit so well against his, it was hard to imagine that they hadn’t always been like this. Hadn’t always danced together. He looked into her eyes. And felt a smile forming within him.
“Can’t picture you sloppy.”
She laughed softly. The sound flirted with his stomach muscles, tightening them before he ordered them to relax.
“Thanks, I needed that. I guess I’d better keep you away from my brothers, then. They’d be more than willing to give you an earful of all my shortcomings. Especially Jimmy.”
He glanced over toward where he had seen the other man earlier. Like them, Jimmy was dancing. There was a redhead in his arms and a blonde a breath away, looking as if she meant to cut in at any second. He sincerely doubted that Jimmy could be torn away right now to give him a litany of Alison’s faults, real or imagined.
He liked them, he thought. Liked all of them. They were good people. Concentrating, he could remember Jimmy treating him in the E.R. “What’s your brother’s specialty?”
Alison followed his line of vision, although she knew he wasn’t asking about Kevin. Her mouth curved fondly. “Women.” As far back as she could remember, there had always been girls following Jimmy around, calling at all hours, turning up on the doorstep, wanting to see him. And though she’d teased him, he’d never really allowed it to go to his head. “But if you mean medically, he’s got his sights set on being an orthopedic surgeon. Right now, he’s practicing by setting broken hearts instead of broken bones.” She turned her attention back to Luc. “Why? Are you thinking of recruiting him, too?”
He looked at her, trying to decide if that had just been a random choice of words. “Is that what I did with you, recruit you?”
She shook her head. It was hard concentrating, when the music was whispering to her like this. Making her feel things.
“No, I guess you didn’t. I recruited myself. But I don’t think the frozen North holds much appeal to Jimmy. Especially if there’s a shortage of women.” She leaned her head back, her hair brushing against his arm. “Don’t get me wrong. He’s dedicated and all that, but he really likes to have his fun, too.” She paused, pensive.
“What is it?”
She looked away again, this time laying her head against his shoulder. “Nothing.”
Something small and warm moved through him, A wisp of smoke curling through his veins.
“I don’t think so. It’s something.” She made no answer. He didn’t like the idea of something bothering her. If she had doubts about this huge step she was about to take, he wanted her getting them out in the open now, while there was still time to change her mind. “One of the skills I developed tending bar in Hades is listening. I’m pretty good at it now. And at being able to tell when someone’s not telling the truth.”
She raised her head and looked at him. “I was just worrying—thinking,” she amended quickly.
“Second thoughts?”
It was too sweeping a term. “Not about the work.”
“The place?”
She bit her lower lip, wondering how far to let him in. Wavering between not at all and just a little bit. “The people.”
She seemed to get along so well with everyone here, he couldn’t imagine her worrying about getting along with anyone. “I can vouch for a good many of them myself.” It wasn’t that, he thought, studying her face. But it was something. “What about the people? Specifically.”
She tried again, telling herself not to freeze up. Feeling that iciness anyway. “I was just thinking—you said there was a shortage of women—maybe—”
It was as if her thoughts telegraphed themselves to him in clear, precise sentences.
“Nobody clubs you over the head and rushes off to the nearest cave, if that’s what you mean.” He thought of the way it’d been when Sydney had arrived. Men tripping over themselves and each other to make her feel welcome. “It’s kind of the reverse, really.”
“You’re going to have to explain that one.”
The song had ended, but Kevin had obviously thought it deserved an encore because it began again. “They’ll all vie for your attention. Shayne’ll probably suddenly have twice as many patients as he usually does, for a while.” That, too, had happened when Sydney had pitched in to help him at the clinic. Shayne’s brother, Ben, had left almost two years ago and everything had been chaotic ever since. “All coming to look you over. All coming to hopefully be looked over.”
The explanation didn’t seem to help. He felt her stiffening ever so slightly, saw the uncertain look in her eyes. It made him think of a kitten that had been mistreated and was afraid to draw near to the hand that was stretched out toward it.
“Nobody’s going to play tug-of-war with you.” His hand tightened around hers protectively, though he hardly realized it. “For one thing, nobody’s going to let anybody get ahead of them that way. It’ll be kind of like a system of checks and balances.” God, but she looked beautiful in this light. “And for another—”
Though she couldn’t explain why, she felt as if she were alone with him. As if there was no one else but them within the room. Within the moment. “And for another?” she coaxed when he didn’t continue.
“I won’t let them.” He paused, then forged ahead, knowing he had no gift when it came to talking. That was Ike’s department. Ike had the silver tongue. As for him, he was more of a doer, when things needed doing. “You’re kind of my responsibility.”
She raised her chin ever so slightly, independence coming to the fore even while something small within her rallied to his promise. “I can take care of myself.”
He hadn’t meant for her to think he thought otherwise. “I know that, but Alaska’s a whole other ball game. I’m just going to hang around in case you need some of the rules explained.”
She cocked her head, the light catching the tiny diamond studs at her ear, sending out flashes everywhere like tiny rainbows. “Rules?”
Maybe rules wasn’t a good word. “Things you should know,” he amended. “Like you called it the frozen North a few minutes ago. That’s only in the winter. Right now, it’s hotter there than it is here probably.” He was willing to bet on it. “And there’s about two minutes of nighttime. That makes up for the fact that six months from now, there’s almost nothing but night.” He stopped, wondering if he’d scared her off. He wasn’t exactly painting the best picture of the place. God, but he wished Ike was here. Ike liked Hades as much as he did. Ike would have been able to present it in its best light, glossing over its drawbacks instead of highlighting them.
He didn’t want to scare her away. He wanted her to come.
She appreciated his honesty. Above all else, honesty had always been important to her. She relaxed again, softening in his arms. “I grew up in rainy Seattle. I can handle gloom.”
He nodded, then pretended to be serious. “But can you handle perpetual sun?”
Her eyes danced. “I guess we’ll just have to see, won’t we?”
Luc had the strangest sensation that he was being taken captive, without ever having heard any shots being exchanged. “Yeah, I guess we will.”
He felt it.
What’s more, Luc hadn’t realized he was feeling it until it was there beside him, nudging him, demanding his attention.
He was attracted to her.
And, what was better—or worse, depending on his point of view—his attraction gave every indication of something that was in the middle of gestation. It was growing, blooming.
Except that it shouldn’t. He didn’t want it to. He’d been there, involved up to his heart in a relationship that he firmly believed was one thing when it was completely another. The upshot of it all was that he’d gotten his teeth kicked in and his heart demolished. He had no burning desire for that to ever happen to him again. Once was
quite enough, thanks.
Besides, this wasn’t about attraction, not for her. She was going because of some noble purpose she felt she was fulfilling. To boot, she was going to be doing him a favor, trying to save his pride. Another noble sentiment. Giving in to feelings that were scrambling around in him like so many laboratory mice looking for the right path, would be no way to pay her back.
And yet…
And yet all the common sense he was attempting to infuse into his brain seemed to disappear the moment they arrived in front of her house. The noise the car doors made as they were closed echoed through his head, pulsating. Adding to the beat that was going through him.
They were the only ones out on the street.
Kevin had remained at the restaurant to help Lily with cleanup. Luc and Alison had volunteered to lend a helping hand, but Lily had refused, saying it was their party, not their mess. And Jimmy had gone off to cover for the person who had covered for him so he could attend the party.
That left him alone with Alison. And with a fresh outbreak of attraction.
He walked her to the front door, feeling like an awkward teenager. “Your sister certainly knows how to throw a party.”
“That’s her specialty,” Alison told him. “Lily loves to throw parties, loves to organize.” A smile winked across her lips. She was missing her family already, and she hadn’t even left yet. “Likes to order people around, too.”
“Well, good night.”
He saw that same vulnerability in her eyes again, the one that made him want to protect her. The one that stirred him, churning up other emotions. Like desire. He thought he could stave it off with just a quick kiss good-night.
He thought wrong.
All the fleeting touch of her lips did was add new life to the growing attraction he felt rather than satisfy it. When his lips brushed hers, he wanted more.
But that was his problem, not hers. He kept himself in check. Because he didn’t want to frighten her after all his talk of her being his responsibility, and because she’d stiffened the moment the kiss had given the slightest hint of being just this side of intimate. One moment, she was leaning into it, the next, she was ramrod straight and backing away. For one brief second there’d been terror in her eyes.
Why? “Alison, I’m sorry, I—”
Her hands shook just a little as she jammed the key into the lock, twisting it quickly. “That’s all right. I’m just tired. I’ll see you in the morning.”
The next minute, the front door was closed and she was gone.
Feeling confused, Luc shoved his hands into his pockets and walked back to the garage. But instead of going upstairs, he sat down on the bottom step. The night air was still, except for the crickets that were vainly trying to summon one another.
Luc stared out into the darkness, trying to clear his head and sort things out. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on with either one of them.
That was where Kevin found him half an hour later, sitting on the bottom step, still staring out into the darkness, no closer to an answer than he had been when he’d first sat down. The only thing that had changed was that the stars had faded, giving way to the clouds.
Kevin came around the side of the garage. “What are you doing out here? It’s starting to rain.”
Luc looked up, not at Kevin, but at the sky. He hadn’t felt the rain until Kevin had mentioned it. “Kevin, can I ask you something?”
There was something in his tone that gave Luc away. “It’s about Alison, isn’t it?”
“How d’you know?”
He paused, leaning against the wooden banister. “Women aren’t the only ones with intuition.” He didn’t add that he’d watched them dancing together and, that in unguarded moments, his sister looked as if she were happy. He hadn’t seen that look about her when she’d been with Derek. Kevin turned up his collar against the pregnant mist. “Okay, what’s the question?”
He wasn’t sure how to put it and not give Kevin the wrong idea. “Is there someone Alison’s leaving behind?”
The question surprised Kevin. He hadn’t anticipated that. “You mean, other than her family? Like a boyfriend or something?”
“Yeah.” Maybe that was why she seemed so easy to be with one minute and so stiff the next. God knew it wasn’t because he was a threat. No one had ever seen him as a threat. Maybe there was someone in her life and he wasn’t around right now because they’d had an argument or something. Maybe she was having doubts now because of him.
Kevin shook his head. “No. She hasn’t had a boyfriend since her divorce.”
Luc looked at him in surprise. “Divorce?”
“From the sound of your voice, I guess she hasn’t gotten around to mentioning that she was married to Derek. Not that she probably will. She doesn’t talk about that much.” He didn’t blame her. The way Kevin saw it, it had been a mistake from the moment the vows had been exchanged. Even before that. Derek hadn’t been worthy of her, although he supposed in the man’s defense, Derek hadn’t understood what he was getting himself into. “It was a quickie thing, over before it started. I’m not really sure why she ever married that guy. I don’t think she was, either. I always had a feeling she was trying to prove something to herself.” He was talking too much, he thought. Going places only Alison had the right to take Luc. He shrugged, dismissing his words. “But whatever it was, she didn’t prove it. She just found out that one mistake doesn’t erase another.”
Luc’s brows drew together. “Another?”
Kevin glanced at his watch. “It’s getting late. You’d better get some sleep if you’re catching the early-morning flight. For that matter, so should I.” He clapped him on the back. “I’ll see you in the morning, Luc.” He started to walk away, then looked over his shoulder. “Oh, and by the way, I’m holding you personally responsible for my sister. Anything happens to upset her, I’m coming after you. Just a friendly warning. Good night.”
Luc wasn’t sure if the man was kidding or not. “Good night,” Luc murmured after a beat. Shaking his head, he got up and slowly went up the stairs. To spend most of the night awake.
Chapter Nine
The trip from Anchorage’s airport to Hades had been smooth and swift, passing quickly. The wind had been with them. Luc found himself hoping it was a good omen.
He was the first one out off the small Cessna, opening the passenger door the moment the plane had stilled. Very carefully he scanned the area, trying to see it through eyes that were other than his own.
It wasn’t easy. He had always loved Alaska, loved Hades, but he knew firsthand that his feelings were in the minority. This was a place that people left. He and Ike and Shayne had remained, natives from the first. Natives till the end. But they had all had friends, lovers and family leave. Ike’s sister, Juneau, had wanted to leave from the start, and when Ike had tried to talk her into staying, she’d run away. Even though she hadn’t managed to leave the state, she had left Hades as far back as she could. Alaska affected a lot of people that way, making them yearn for something different, something more.
On others it had the reverse effect. Shayne had tried to conduct a practice in New York City, but his heart hadn’t been in it. It belonged out here.
And Luc supposed he and Ike had tried in their own way to modernize the little town. It was an uphill battle. While Hades had electricity, phones and running water, and even a movie theater now to call its own, it was light-years away from being thought of as the next hub of civilization. Civilization came to places like Hades to rest, to rejuvenate and to remember where it had come from.
Luc realized that he was just the slightest bit nervous, wanting Hades to put its best foot forward for Alison. There was no way to make the town seem any better than it was. For him, in any stage, that had always been enough. But what about Alison?
The thought had haunted him since last night. He felt responsible for her coming here. And for any disappointment she might be experiencing, now and later. If he hadn’t t
old her about it, about Shayne, she’d still be home with her family.
And poring over letters from places just as out of the way as Hades that were clamoring for her, he reminded himself. It might as well be here than there. Here, at least, she could start out with a friend. And quickly make more.
Luc looked at her now as Shayne jumped down from the pilot’s side. They’d landed near Shayne’s house. The way the land sloped made it easy to see Hades from here, especially from Alison’s vantage point as she stood on the threshold of the plane’s entrance.
He tried to read her expression.
Alison shaded her eyes, squinting into the horizon. She could make out rectangular shapes in the distance.
Was that it?
It had to be. There was nothing else around for miles that even vaguely fit the description of a town. She looked harder. It looked like a doll’s village. A cluster of buildings huddled together for company, and not all that many buildings at that. The entire town looked as if it could be wrapped up in a handkerchief and tucked away for safekeeping.
Squinting even more, she saw dots here and there which, she supposed, might represent other people’s houses. These people liked their open spaces, she thought. It looked as though there were miles between properties. She didn’t know if she found that picturesque or desolate, but that was something she figured she’d find out.
Alison jumped when she felt someone taking her hand.
He hadn’t meant to scare her. She looked whiter than the mountain peaks in winter.
“The first time I saw Seattle, I thought I’d been dropped headfirst into a blender—set on high.” His eyes on hers, he helped her down. “It’ll grow on you and sort itself all out in time.”
“I’m sure it will.” Although there didn’t seem to be that much to sort out, she added silently. There appeared to be more homes in her one development than there were in the entire town.
A pang of homesickness assaulted her. She fought it back. She was very proud of herself for not giving in to tears, especially when she’d seen them shimmering in Kevin’s eyes. Even Lily had cried, and Lily never cried. But she had remained strong. She wasn’t about to break down, not in front of Luc.
Found: His Perfect Wife Page 11