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“Apology accepted,” she finally said. She sat up straight and tilted her chin upward. “I’m sorry if you don’t believe that God lights the way for us, but He does. Of that I am very certain.”
“It’s not that I have anything against the big guy upstairs, but it seems like a pretty tall order to expect Him to give you a happily-ever-after.” Noah tapped his brakes as he came to a stop sign. He looked over at Sophie. “Although I admire anyone who believes in something as fervently as you do.”
She didn’t say a word, but the beginnings of a gorgeous smile began to tug at the corners of her lips. His chest tightened a little bit at the notion that something he’d said had made her smile as if she’d just glimpsed paradise. A wave of happiness traveled through him, and he had to quickly snap himself back to his main objective. He needed information, not million-dollar smiles.
“So, have you found that special someone yet?” he asked, his heart pounding like a jackhammer inside his chest as he awaited her answer. If she said yes, Sussex was bound to be upset.
“No, not yet,” she said, her shoulders sagging a little bit. “I’ve been asked on many a date here in Love, but I’ve never clicked romantically with any of them. Not that they’re not wonderful men, but I’m not willing to settle for anything less than someone who makes me feel like I’m going to swoon. And that hasn’t happened yet.”
Noah frowned. “Swoon? Isn’t that a little bit...unrealistic? I’ve never heard of a woman actually swooning.”
She shook her head at him. “It’s a feeling, Noah. One that goes straight down to your toes. Maw Maw used to tell me about it all the time when she talked about meeting Gramps for the first time.” Sophie pressed her hands together in a prayer-like fashion. “Her knees felt weak and her belly did flip-flops. She felt light-headed and she actually saw stars.”
Maybe she was actually seeing stars in the sky, Noah thought. Far more reasonable than to believe in all the romantic notions Sophie was hurling around.
“Maw Maw?” he asked, curious about the odd-sounding name.
“My granny. Gramps was my granddaddy. The way she described falling in love was like fireworks in July and stars exploding in the heavens. Their love story was one for the ages. No matter what life threw at them, they stuck it out together. Fifty-four years of marriage, bless their hearts.” Sophie rubbed her mittens together. “So that’s what I want.”
“Makes sense,” Noah muttered. Humph! About as much sense as women coming all the way to a remote fishing village in Alaska to find single men. He didn’t dare say it out loud. No need to alienate Sophie by making any more cracks about Operation Love.
“So, what brought you to Love, Noah? The cook position at the café? Because something tells me it wasn’t Operation Love.” Sophie’s tone was casual, but her expression reflected her curiosity.
“Pretty much. I needed the money,” he said. He felt bad about stretching the truth, but he couldn’t very well tell her the real reason he was in town. No, Sophie. I was actually hired by your ex-fiancé to keep tabs on you. It seems he hasn’t quite let go of the relationship and he paid me an unbelievable sum of money for the gig.
“Times have been a little rough,” Noah admitted. It was the truth, even if he’d omitted a few parts of the story. Being here in Love was a surefire way to save his company from going belly-up. If nothing else, Sussex was paying him well to keep tabs on Sophie. There was no reason to feel this twinge of guilt, he reasoned with himself. He didn’t owe her anything.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Sophie murmured, her eyes mirroring her words. “But Love is definitely the right place to turn things around. Are you new to Alaska?”
“I was born and raised here in Alaska, so it’s home for me, although living in such a small town will be something of a new experience.” It would definitely take some getting used to after being based in Seattle for the last five years. He wasn’t sure where the market was or the gas station or where to go to buy a pair of jeans. By the time he figured it all out it would be time to head back home.
“You’ll love it,” Sophie said. “I’m from Georgia originally, but my family relocated to New York City. Alaska has been like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.”
Sophie was a Georgia peach! He knew he’d detected a sweet Southern twang. Sussex had forgotten to add that detail in the information he’d provided, which seemed a little odd to Noah.
She jutted her chin straight ahead. “Keep on this road for another mile or so.”
Noah let out a low whistle. “This would have been a mighty far way for you to walk.”
“I truly appreciate the ride.” She let out a giggle. “And so do my feet. You came along at just the right time.” Sophie looked around the interior of the car. “Is this yours or a rental?”
“It’s a loaner from Hank Jeffries. I figured having wheels would be important in order to make it to work and back home every day.”
“Hank is a great guy. He’s a firefighter. And he sure loves cars. He has about half a dozen or so.”
“Wow. That sounds like quite a collection. What about you? Do you own a car?” Noah asked.
Sophie let out a sigh. “I don’t drive, Noah, so a car wouldn’t do me much good.”
He turned toward her, noticing the sheepish expression plastered on her face.
“You don’t have a license?” He tried to keep his voice neutral, but could hear the surprise ringing out in his tone. It was a little unusual not to have your license at twenty-seven.
“No,” she said in a small voice. “I never got mine.”
“I thought Georgia was one of those states where teenagers got their licenses early. Sort of a rite of passage.”
“That’s true, but my family moved to New York City when I was a kid. In a big city getting your license isn’t the same as when you’re living elsewhere. Taxis. The subway. Buses. There are so many ways to get to where you need to be.” She shrugged. “At least that’s how it was for me. I would love to learn to drive, though,” she said in a wistful voice. “Someday.”
“You never know. Someday could be right around the corner,” Noah said, surprising himself by his desire to want to soothe her. There had been something in her voice that alerted him to the fact that she wanted to drive way more than she was letting on. He didn’t blame her in the slightest. It represented the freedom to go where you wanted when the urge struck you. Even though driving in Alaska in the winter was tricky, it would open up a whole new world for Sophie. Once she was behind the wheel she’d never long for her nondriving days, he imagined.
For the next few minutes they sat in companionable silence, until a rusted-out, faded sign announced that they had reached the Black Bear Cabins.
“Make the turn here,” Sophie announced.
Noah turned down a tree-lined, snow-covered road. Stunning white-capped mountains loomed in the distance. Noah knew he had never seen anything quite as spectacular. Not even in Homer. Having grown up in Alaska, Noah knew that his home state was full of stunning vistas. The view from here was a little slice of heaven. He almost wanted to put the car in Park and just sit back and enjoy the landscape for a few minutes.
Dozens of reddish-brown cabins came into view. They exuded a rustic, no-frills air. They reminded him a bit of summer camp at Lake Chilkat when he was ten years old. Noah felt a smile tugging at his lips at the memory of all the good times he’d enjoyed there. He had snagged his first kiss from Penny Adams while they had been enjoying a canoe ride on the lake. By the end of the summer she’d fallen for Jory Banneker and broken Noah’s heart.
Sophie navigated the way to her cabin while pointing out where each of her friends lived along the route. Noah didn’t even try to keep all the names and facts straight. It wasn’t important to his investigation, so he wasn’t going to sweat it.
“This is my place right here,” she finally announced. A bright red birdhouse hung from the rafters of her cabin. A matching Adirondack chair, dusted with snow, sat on the porch. It looked festive and cheery, much like Sophie herself.
“Would you like to come in for some hot cocoa?” she asked. “It’s the least I could do after you rescued me from foot blisters.”
Hot cocoa. It had always been his favorite, ever since childhood. He could almost taste it going down his throat with its sweet, rich flavor.
All of sudden, Noah felt the pressure of a huge weight on his chest. At this moment, more than anything in the world, he wanted to accept Sophie’s offer of hot chocolate. But he knew he couldn’t. He shouldn’t.
Sophie was business. He had been hired to watch her every move. They couldn’t be friends, not really. The past had taught him that mixing business with his personal life was a fool’s game. He had crossed that line once before and lived to regret it. Noah liked to think that he’d learned from his mistakes. And even though there was something about Sophie that called to him, he was going to do his very best to ignore it.
She couldn’t be this nice or this chipper. Buying into her goody-goody act was a fool’s game. And he was nobody’s fool.
Rather than sip hot cocoa with her, Noah would go to his rental home and call Sussex with his first report on Sophie. He would be impartial and unbiased in reporting the facts to his client. Noah would be professional. He wouldn’t talk about how pretty Sophie looked or the way she was acting totally different than the woman Sussex had known who hailed from big cities.
“I’ll even throw in some marshmallows,” Sophie said in a singsong voice.
He let out a low groan. Marshmallows were his favorite! Especially the miniature ones that were perfect for hot chocolate.
“It’s a sweet offer, but I really should head back to the house. I still have some unpacking to do.” He had to practically force the words out of his mouth. All he wanted to do was jump out of the car and join her.
“I understand,” Sophie said with a bob of her head. “Your new life in Love is waiting to unfold.” With a wave of her hand, she added, “Thanks again for the ride. See you tomorrow at the Moose.”
Noah watched for a moment as Sophie mounted the steps, pulled out her keys and unlocked the door to her cabin.
He knew that he was in trouble the moment he began praying she would turn around so he could get another glimpse of her. When she did—flashing a smile and another wave of her hand—he felt a little hitch in the region of his heart.
Pressing his foot way too hard on the gas, Noah roared away from Sophie, the promise of hot cocoa and the Black Bear Cabins. During the entire ride back to town Noah berated himself. He had been here less than twenty-four hours and somehow Miss Sophie Miller had managed to make him forget for a short period of time that she was his assignment.
He vowed to do better. Tomorrow was another day to get things right. And not for a single second did he plan to take his eyes off the prize. This assignment was crucial to the future of Catalano Security. He couldn’t mess up this golden opportunity.
Noah gripped the steering wheel tightly. Sophie couldn’t be his friend. He shouldn’t even allow himself to acknowledge she was attractive. He couldn’t accept invitations for hot chocolate. He wouldn’t let himself cross certain lines with her. He’d done that once before, and in the process, turned his entire life upside down. Fool me once, he reminded himself. He’d learned a few hard lessons over the past few years. He wasn’t going to get dazzled by a client. Not again.
Sophie Miller wasn’t going to make a fool out of him.
Chapter Three (#u0db49dd9-bebf-5684-93ca-b3a530153a54)
The next morning Noah made it to the Moose Café by six thirty. He actually beat Cameron there and greeted him as he arrived to open up the place.
“Now that’s what I like to see,” Cameron said with a wide grin. “Another early bird like myself. We probably won’t see Hazel or Sophie until at least seven.”
Noah almost sputtered at the “early bird” comment. It had taken every ounce of discipline he had to get his weary body out of bed this morning. And it hadn’t been easy. From the moment Noah rose at the crack of dawn, he had felt like a grizzly bear with a sore paw. Years of working late-night stakeouts as a PI and sleeping in the next morning had taken their toll on him. He was definitely not an early bird.
After tossing and turning for hours last night, he had finally realized that Sophie must be a chameleon. She had the ability to change her personality at the drop of a dime depending on the circumstances. Humph! He had come up against women like her before. Charming and manipulative. And he wasn’t about to fall for her sweetness-and-light routine. If she was that genuine she wouldn’t have dumped her fiancé and headed to Alaska to find a new man, without batting an eyelash.
And Noah had a sneaking suspicion that there was more to her being here in Love than met the eye.
Last night he had called Sussex shortly after dinnertime. The conversation had been awkward and sad, as well as eye-opening. Noah had given Sussex a rundown of his interactions with Sophie, starting off with her admission about being part of the Operation Love program. He knew that hearing this kind of news would feel like a kick in the gut, especially since Sussex appeared to be head over heels in love with Sophie.
Sussex had let out a shocked gasp upon hearing the news. “She’s part of a matchmaking program? No! That can’t be right.”
“Yes, it’s true. I heard it straight from her own lips,” he’d acknowledged. “Sorry to have to tell you that kind of information, but I have to stick to the facts.”
A tortured silence ensued, during which Noah was certain he heard slight sniffling sounds on the other end of the line. The poor guy was a puddle of mush. Meanwhile, Sophie seemed upbeat and content with her life in Love. Their situations were night and day.
He might as well throw the guy a bone. “She’s still single and unattached, though, if it’s any consolation,” Noah added.
“Yes, it is,” Sussex had replied, his tone sounding more upbeat. He cleared his throat. “It gives me hope.”
Noah’s heart had gone out to him. He was clearly besotted with Sophie, the woman who had run out on him. And judging by her desire to find a loving home in Alaska, she didn’t seem to be losing any sleep over her ex-fiancé. That bugged Noah. It showed a coldness in Sophie’s personality that didn’t speak well of her. A woman who tossed men aside like garbage wasn’t to be trusted or admired. He didn’t care one bit how likable she seemed. He knew all too well that some women found it easy to play a role.
The whole thing rankled him more than he cared to admit. He knew what it felt like to be ditched. Abandoned. And he hated the fact that Sophie had twisted this man around until he hadn’t known if he was coming or going. Although he had wanted to tell Sussex to get a grip on his feelings and move on, Noah knew that rich men didn’t listen to peons like himself. No, it had been apparent from Sussex’s expensive suits, fancy car and the fact that he’d paid in cash that he was a considerably wealthy man.
And what was that saying people always quoted? “The heart wants what it wants.” John Sussex wanted Sophie back something fierce. But just because he wanted her back didn’t mean it was going to work out that way. Sophie seemed to have moved on.
Noah didn’t know what Sussex’s end game was with regards to Sophie. Was he waiting for her to fall for someone, then swoop in to try to win her back? Did he love her so much that he just needed to make sure she was safe and sound? Or was he testing the waters so he could develop a strategy? It was a head-scratcher.
Noah’s instincts were now on high alert. He still felt as if there was something his client wasn’t telling him. Had he been so eager for the big payout that he’d missed a few red flags?
He set a pan down on the stove with a slight bang. Why was he fretting so much about this assignment? He couldn’t allow himself to get emotionally involved. Sure, Sophie had made a great first impression on him, but he suspected it was all smoke and mirrors. She had been way too much of a sweetheart. In other words, too good to be true. In his experience, people weren’t that good-hearted.
Do the job, then take the money and run! It was the smartest way to handle things, considering what he stood to lose if this assignment went off the rails. Just the thought of having to shutter the doors of his company made him feel sick inside. It was the only thing in this world he had ever built for himself out of his own ingenuity and savvy. He couldn’t lose it! And getting tied up in knots about Sussex’s agenda and the inconsistences about Sophie could only muddy the waters.
“Good morning, Noah.” The chirpy voice could belong to no one else but her. There was something about her upbeat tone that brought to mind rainbows and sunshine and puppy dogs.
“Morning,” he said, not raising his eyes from the stove to meet her gaze. No way did he want to look into those expressive eyes when his thoughts were as scrambled as the eggs he had just cooked for Cameron.
Sophie’s image had danced under his eyelids last night as he’d tossed and turned. If he didn’t get it together, things were going to get mighty complicated rather quickly. And Noah didn’t like complicated. He liked orderly and straightforward. He hated curveballs. Sophie Miller was rapidly becoming a problem in his uncomplicated world.
“Did you get settled in last night?” she asked. Her voice was infused with so much cheer and a lightness he desperately needed to hear at the moment.
Unable to stop himself, he swung his gaze up. Even in the dullest of brown shirts, Sophie looked resplendent. Her long titian hair hung down in loose waves. Without a trace of makeup on her face she still shimmered. Her full lips were a perfect shade of pink. Her green eyes—the color of Irish moss—sparkled. She had a pleasant expression on her face, one that caused a slight uptick in the beating of his heart.
He frowned. She wasn’t making things easy for him. Another wave of sympathy for Sussex roared through him.
“Pretty much,” he said curtly. He didn’t want to encourage too much conversation with her, at least not until he could get a handle on how best to deal with her. Noah needed to figure out how to get close to Sophie without things becoming too personal. There needed to be an invisible line drawn in the sand, one he couldn’t step across. Establishing boundaries was a good idea.
“How are you liking Cameron’s place?” Sophie asked. “I always thought it had such fantastic views of the bay. At night you can really catch a glimpse of the constellations.”
“It’s nice,” he said, reaching up for an order slip. He pretended to study it so he wouldn’t have to look in Sophie’s direction again.
“And it’s fairly close to everything in town, so it will be really convenient for you. Not to mention you don’t have much of a commute to work,” she continued. “That will be a lifesaver when it’s storming outside or the roads are icy. Or even if you want to pick up something at the post office.”
“I imagine so,” he muttered. Although he sensed Sophie meant well, her friendly demeanor was making his assignment exponentially more cumbersome.
She continued to chatter away. “Just wait till you meet Emma, Cameron’s little girl. She’s a charmer if there ever was one. And Cameron’s wife, Paige, is wonderful.” Sophie shook her head and her mane of red hair rippled across her shoulders. “Matter of fact, everyone here in Love is pretty amazing. You’ll see what I’m talking about once you start meeting folks.”
“I’m kind of busy here, Sophie,” he snapped.
He instantly saw the hurt flash in her eyes. She resembled a wounded deer. A piercing sensation stabbed him in the gut. He hadn’t meant to sound so harsh, but pushing her away had felt like throwing himself a life preserver. It was difficult to establish boundaries between them when Sophie was treating him like her new best friend.
It took her a moment to recover. “Okay, then,” she said in a crisp tone. “I won’t waste another second of your time.” She turned on her heel and disappeared from the kitchen as if her feet were on fire.
Once she’d gone, Noah let out a tortured groan. He wanted to follow after her and apologize, but he knew the words would just stick in his throat. He’d never been good at smoothing things over.
Well, he’d just managed to solve his problem regarding Sophie’s close proximity to him. He had just proved to her without a shadow of a doubt that he was a total jerk. Noah couldn’t imagine that she’d want anything further to do with him. And that thought left him feeling way more shattered than he could have ever imagined.
* * *
Sophie blinked away the tears that had pooled in her eyes. She wasn’t sure whether she was furious or embarrassed. Who did Noah Callahan think he was, anyway? He was a newbie in town, and since she had been in that position herself, she’d wanted to show him grace and kindness and fellowship. Everyone in Love had treated her with compassion when she had arrived here. She had just been trying to pay it forward with Noah!
Clearly, that had been a major mistake.
Noah had been all kinds of wonderful yesterday when he’d rescued her from a long walk to the Black Bear Cabins. What had happened to alter his mood so drastically? Sophie thought he’d been as sweet as peaches and cream yesterday. She’d been looking forward to getting to know him better. Last night she’d thought of him before she closed her eyes to go to sleep. He had been so kind, and she respected the way he had come to Love for a steady job and a regular paycheck. That took gumption!
Of course, the fact that he was very easy on the eyes didn’t hurt. A sigh slipped past her lips. His looks were scrumptious. She couldn’t deny it. There was something about Noah that she found very appealing.
Not that his good looks mattered at the moment. There was nothing more of a turnoff than a cutting tongue and incivility. Rudeness was not attractive! It totally went against Sophie’s philosophy about greeting the world with a warm smile and encouraging words. Every single day she put her best foot forward and stepped out on a limb of faith. It was her goal to treat people with kindness. Maybe he was one of those men who knew he was good-looking and tended to act as if he was God’s gift to the universe.
Humph. It would be a hot winter’s day in Alaska before she put herself out there again with Noah Callahan! Perhaps the ladies in his life put up with his snotty ways, but she wasn’t about to put up with his churlishness.
With her head held high, she moved toward the table where her next customer sat awaiting service. “Morning, Dwight. Can I start you off with some coffee before I take your order?”
“Why hello, Sophie.” Dwight Lewis clutched the menu in his hand and peered past her, adjusting his glasses as if he might be able to see better in doing so. Dressed in his signature suit and bow tie, he made Sophie wonder if he ever dressed down in jeans or a sweater. A smile tugged at her lips at the thought of a dressed-down Dwight. She might not even recognize him.
“Are you waiting for someone to join you?” she asked, saying a silent prayer that he was meeting up with someone special for an early-morning date.
Dwight Lewis was the town treasurer. Although Sophie knew that he meant well, he tended to rub people the wrong way with his desire to keep the books balanced in a town that had almost gone belly-up financially a few years ago. He had a tendency to act like a know-it-all.
