The Island Hideaway, page 6
“You’ll see. Now step aside.”
He complied, and she closed her eyes and plucked a case from the shelves too. She held both films in her hands and said, “Okay, we’ve got Sixth Sense or Sweet Home Alabama.” She looked up at him, and Noah honestly didn’t care what they watched. He didn’t think he’d even be able to pay attention.
“I’m not feeling very much like scary,” he said, thinking she’d like the romantic comedy better.
“Sweet Home Alabama it is,” she said, stuffing the other one back into a spot where it didn’t belong. He grinned at it, wondering if his mother would notice next time she visited this house. Probably.
Zara took the movie, grabbed her bottle of lemonade, and headed into the theater room. Noah followed, the popcorn and his drink back in his hands. He waited for her to choose one of the recliners right in the middle of the theater, and then he sat right beside her.
“This is sweet and salty popcorn,” he said. “It has sugar and salt, and it’s delicious.” He offered her the bowl, and she laughed lightly as she took a few pieces and popped them into her mouth.
A flicker of surprise flashed in her eyes, and she said, “Wow, this is really good.” She reached over and took another handful and handed him the movie. “I don’t know how to put this in.”
“I got it.” Noah busied himself with getting the movie going, and then he took his spot next to her again. The bowl of popcorn rested on the arms between them, and Noah really wanted to reach for a snack at the same time she did, but he didn’t.
Finally, he gave up, quit eating, and moved the popcorn bowl because Zara had stopped snacking too. His pulse thundered in the vein in his neck, and he reminded himself that he’d held a woman’s hand before.
Not this woman, he thought, but he employed all the bravery he could and slipped his hand over the armrests and delicately took hers.
She looked at him, but he steadfastly kept his eyes on the huge screen in front of them.
“Noah,” she said.
But he squeezed her fingers and said, “Sh. This is my favorite part.”
She giggled, squeezed his fingers back, and adjusted herself so he didn’t have to reach quite so far to hold her hand.
Noah grinned, this level of happiness something he’d never truly experienced before.
Chapter Nine
Zara woke the next morning with the ghost of Noah’s fingers between hers. When he’d reached over and held her hand, Zara had no idea what to think. She’d wanted to talk about it, but he’d playfully avoided her.
And in the end, she didn’t need to discuss everything to death. He obviously felt the same current between them that she did, and he’d acted on it. Did that need to be hashed out?
After that, though, Zara had barely been able to concentrate on the movie. Her nerves marched through her body like they were on a parade route, and one of her favorite movies had passed quickly.
His hands had been full as they’d gone back upstairs, and she’d lingered in the doorway of the kitchen while he threw bottles in the trash can and rinsed out the bowl. “See you in the morning,” she’d said, taking a few steps backward.
He’d grinned and said, “Night,” letting her go. She’d been glad for that, as the thought of kissing him both terrified and excited her at the same time.
She finally rolled over when her alarm went off, silencing it and getting out of bed. She yawned, the dawn not that far away, and she didn’t want Noah to beat her to be ready to go. When she walked into the kitchen with her swim bag and her beach bag, she found him standing in front of the refrigerator, the door open, and the light spilling onto his face.
“Oh, you’re up.”
He swung the fridge closed, and even in the dim light, his gaze was powerful and penetrating. “You’re late. There’s no way we’re making it to the beach by dawn.”
Zara’s shoulder ached already, and her day hadn’t even started yet. But she wasn’t taking “you’re late” from the party boy prince. “Of course we will,” she said. “If you’re ready to go.” She walked past him and toward the garage door.
“Oh, I’m ready.”
“Great. The surf shop opens in ten minutes, and if we’re lucky, we’ll be the first ones through the door.” She walked into the garage, Noah catching the door so it wouldn’t hit her and all her bags.
He sat in the passenger seat instead of cramming himself onto the floor of the car. “Riding up here?”
“I’m going to have to go into the surf shop, right?”
“Yes. They’ll have to measure you.”
“Then I think I can—” His voice cut off as she backed out of the garage. “Wait.”
She hit the brake, her heart thumping painfully against her breastbone. “What?”
“Pull back in.”
She did.
“Close the door.”
She pressed the button and the garage door rumbled closed behind the car. “We’re really going to be late now.”
Noah didn’t answer, except to open the door and get in the backseat. “Cover me up.”
Zara twisted and started tossing the blankets over the top of him. For good measure, she slid one of her bags over too. He groaned, but she ignored him. “Ready?”
“Yes.” His muffled reply reminded her that there was no way she could have a normal relationship with him. The hand-holding felt stupid now, and she wished she’d ripped her fingers away from his.
With the garage open, she backed out again, this time glancing around like she expected a mob of reporters to manifest on the front lawn.
There wasn’t a mob, but a single car waited at the closed gate as Zara drove toward it. “Did you see this car?” she hissed out of mostly-closed lips.
“I had a feeling,” he said, and Zara kept going toward the gate, even though the two vehicles couldn’t pass on this private drive.
The other car backed up and pulled to the side like they’d have a friendly chat. Zara opened the gate and eased through, indeed stopping beside the other car. She pulled a little too far forward, so her window was nearly past his.
The man behind the steering wheel looked at her behind mirrored shades. He was definitely a reporter, and a tremor of unease ran through Zara. She watched the gate close behind her and then she said, “Can I help you?”
“Do you live here?”
“No,” she said, wondering how much to tell him. She had the inexplicable urge to blurt out everything, but she held her tongue and watched this guy right back.
“Do you know the people who do live here?”
“No,” she said. “I was hired to housesit, so that’s what I’m doing.”
“So the house is empty.”
“Well, except for me, yes.” Something bumped the back of her seat, and she didn’t appreciate Noah kicking her. What didn’t he like? What did he want her to say? And how was she supposed to know with just a tap?
She inched forward again. “I’m late for work. This is private property.”
“Of course.”
Zara pulled forward, very slowly, relieved when the reporter made a three-point turn and followed her down the tree-lined lane.
“He’s following us,” she said, her eyes glued to the rearview mirror and refusing to move her lips.
“Then go to work,” Noah said, his voice barely audible.
“I’m about three hours early,” she said. Zara wasn’t even sure she’d be able to get in the pool. An idea formed in her mind, and she seized onto it. “I’ll go to the community pool. Pretend like I have to do an early-morning workout before my practice today.”
Her stomach buzzed with nervous energy, and she didn’t like it. Noah couldn’t just stay in the car. It was warm already even though the sun was barely starting to rise. No way he could lay under all those blankets for very long.
“Do you think he’ll follow me around all day?” she asked.
“What did he look like?”
Zara described the dark-haired man, how combed back and slick his hair was, the neatly trimmed goatee, and the dark olive skin—like Noah’s.
“That’s not Tomas,” he said, and Zara didn’t know if that was good or bad. “What’s he driving?”
“Sleek, black luxury car.”
“Any flags?”
“Flags?” She checked the rearview mirror. “No.” He didn’t ask another question, and Zara wound down to the stop sign at the bottom of the bluff. She looked both ways and turned left, looking behind her more than in front.
“He turned the other way.” She’d never felt such relief in her life, and she almost drove right off the road.
“Where can we go to talk?” Noah asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You’ve lived here your whole life, and you don’t know where we can go?”
Zara wanted to pull off the road and leave him behind. Her life was so much simpler when she just had to manage her practice schedule and lay by the pool. Everything had become so complicated the moment she’d entered that mansion and heard Boomer barking at her.
Or maybe the complications had begun when she’d started thinking she and Noah could have a relationship. When had that happened, exactly?
“Zara?” he asked, and she had the distinct impression it wasn’t the first time.
“Let me drive for a minute,” she clipped out between her clenched teeth, her fingers clutching the steering wheel. She headed out on the highway that led to the cattle ranch, leaving behind the pool and the best surfing spot on the island. But at least that black car wasn’t following her anymore.
She finally pulled off the road and into a tiny parking lot covered in sand. Her feet slipped on the loose particles as she rounded the car and opened the back door for Noah. She tossed her bag off and pushed the blankets back. He tumbled out onto the asphalt, his breath puffing out of his mouth.
He stood and brushed his palms down his chest and thighs. “I can’t breathe back there.” He ran his hands through his hair, exhaled again, and paced away from her.
“The beach down there is private,” she said, following him. Down a set of steps, her feet met the beach, and when she glanced behind her, she couldn’t see the car. So anyone driving by wouldn’t be able to see her or Noah, but they would be able to see the car….
She pushed the thought out of her head. She was allowed to come to the beach, and Noah could take off running as if he were a jogger. Just to be sure, she mentioned her idea to Noah, and he nodded a couple of times.
Zara paused next to him, both of them facing the ocean as the sun rose higher into the sky. She really hadn’t thought this would be their morning on the beach. In her mind, it had been much more romantic, with him shirtless, and both of them getting pushed and pulled by the warm waves. Laughter, and sunshine, and she could admit she’d thought about kissing him before driving him back up to the mansion and then heading to work.
“Do you think that was a reporter?” she asked, deciding she could be as bold and forward as he’d been. She laced her hand through his elbow and leaned her head into his bicep.
“Yes,” he said.
Is a relationship between us possible? But Zara wasn’t that bold and forward, and she just let the breeze whisper between them as the minutes ticked by.
A couple of hours later, Zara pushed into the locker room, her shoulders just as tired as they’d been earlier that day. She and Noah had just stood on the beach for a few minutes, and then he said he’d try to figure out who it was so she’d know what to watch out for.
She wasn’t sure why they needed a private place to have that kind of talk, but Zara couldn’t figure out a lot about Noah. Pushing him out of her mind, she opened her locker and started changing.
“Hey,” Suzie said, spinning the dial on her own lock. “Another day in the pool.” She sighed, and Zara felt like it was a heavy sigh kind of day.
“And Ian seems to be on a rampage this week.”
“Right?” Suzie opened her locker and tossed her bag into it with a metallic clunk! “We need a fun night away from everything.”
“I’d be in on that,” Zara said.
“Aren’t you up at that house on the bluffs?”
Before Zara could answer, Jill appeared on her other side. “I’m so late.” She pulled her bleached hair up into a ponytail and whipped an elastic around it. “Has Ian said anything yet?”
“You’re not late,” Zara said. “We still have fifteen minutes.”
“Really?” She looked at her watch, her dark eyes searching for clarity.
“Really,” Suzie said. “And we’re planning a girl’s night for tonight. Zee has a fancy pool up at this mansion on the bluffs.”
Zara froze, her own hair still falling over her shoulders. “What?”
“I’ll bring pizza,” Jill said. “Can I invite my roommate? She just broke up with her boyfriend, and she needs to get out.”
“Sure,” Suzie said as if she owned the place.
“Guys,” Zara said. “I don’t know if we can go up to the house.”
“Why not?” Suzie asked, already in her swimming suit, her hair ready for the cap.
Zara avoided her eye and started combing her own hair back into a ponytail. “I’m just not sure the owner would like it.”
“How long are you house-sitting?” Jill asked.
“Um, until the beginning of September.”
Jill paused, though she’d been sure she was running late only a minute ago. “And we can’t come sit by the pool? The owner won’t even know.”
No, they wouldn’t. And this wouldn’t be the first time Zara had invited her friends to one of the fancy places she babysat while their rich owners visited their other high-end houses.
Zara had no idea what to say. Could she agree now and cancel later?
“I can’t tonight,” she said, securing her hair. “I have something at the restaurant.”
“When then?” Suzie asked, a bit of a whine in her voice.
“We could try for this weekend,” Zara said. Maybe she could talk to Noah and convince him that if she had her friends up to the house, it would convince whoever was watching her that he really wasn’t there.
The door to the pool opened, and Ian said, “Come on, ladies. Starting in five minutes.” The heavy door swung closed with a thunk, and Zara took a deep breath.
“All right, friends.” She looked at Suzie and Jill, two women she’d performed with many times. “If we make it through this, free Indian food on me.”
Suzie’s face split into a grin. “Deal,” she said, and she practically bounced to the exit. Zara laughed and followed with much less zip in her step, though she was grateful for the friends she saw at work each day.
And tonight, perhaps they could help her figure out what to do about Noah—if she should do anything at all.
Chapter Ten
Noah felt like he’d been living underneath a storm cloud for hours. Beyond the curtains and the glass, the sky was a crystalline blue, as was the ocean on the horizon. The trees were bright green, and birds flew through the sky.
But he wasn’t part of this world, but some other, alternate world where he just watched the real world pass him by.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” he muttered to himself. Behind him, Boomer whined, and Noah knew how he felt. At least at home, in Triguard, he could leave the castle for the grounds. Reporters didn’t dare come onto the grounds, and he could wander through the trees and stay out of the public eye.
His phone buzzed, but he ignored it. Zara had said she’d check in with him later, but he honestly wasn’t sure he should perpetuate anything with her. He sure did like her though, even when they argued.
But a real relationship with her would require a lot from her, and he wasn’t sure she’d be willing to give it. She’d have to leave Getaway Bay. Her family. Her job.
And he didn’t see that happening. Every one of those was important to her, as he’d picked up from the conversations they’d had.
Could he leave Triguard and move to Getaway Bay? He didn’t hold any position in anything important in Triguard, and his mind started down paths it had never been on before.
It had been long enough that he could call his mother, and he pulled out his phone to get the unpleasant task done. He noticed that his brother had texted, which caused a heavy dose of surprise to bolt through him.
Stopped by the house today, he said. I really thought you’d be there. Can you please check in so Mom won’t call the authorities?
He read and re-read the text, sure the words weren’t right. His brother—the next King of Triguard—had flown halfway around the world to Getaway Bay to see if Noah was at the bluff house?
That couldn’t be.
Why hadn’t Damien pulled through the gate? He knew the code.
Noah half-shrugged. Maybe he didn’t know the code. He tapped out Calling her now, and then dialed his mother.
She answered after only one ring with, “Noah Sven Wales.” Nothing else. No demand to know where he was or when he was coming home. Of course, he hadn’t expected one. Just the scathing disappointment.
“Hello, Mother,” he said. “As you can see, I’m fine.”
“I’m not even going to ask where you are.”
“That would be great,” Noah said. “And you know that nothing in the newspapers about Venice is true, right?”
“Nothing?”
“Well, I was there with a woman named Katya.”
“But you didn’t get married.” She wasn’t asking, which was comforting to Noah.
“Mom, come on. Of course not.”
She sighed, and he imagined her sitting at her personal desk, her back straight, the phone held to her ear while she participated fully. She was one of the most attentive people he knew, and a twist of guilt hit him hard.
“Do I want to know what you were doing with her?” she asked.
“Nothing, Mom. She was…in trouble and needed some help. That’s what I do, so I helped her.”
“You helped her.”
He did not appreciate the sarcasm, and honestly, he didn’t expect anyone to believe him. “Yes,” he said. “She had an abusive boyfriend and needed someone to keep her safe. So she stayed at my place—in her own bed—and she was supposed to leave after a couple of days.”
