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Before she could ask for clarification, a young high school girl brought his coffee. Noah slipped the girl a twenty and told her to keep the change. The teen’s wide smile and effusive thanks made Josie give Noah the benefit of the doubt. Generosity wasn’t something that could be learned.
Her heart softened, but not enough to reconsider. She began to rise. “Well, I need to—”
Noah put a restraining hand on her arm. “I still have two minutes.”
A quick glance at the phone’s screen confirmed that fact. Resigned, Josie sat back down.
“Five dates.” Noah paused for a sip of coffee before continuing. “That should be enough time for you to get to know me. That way, when you plead my case with Daffy, you’ll feel confident I only have her best interests at heart.”
Though Josie knew this man’s family problems were none of her concern, she liked Pauline and Daffodil. And she was sympathetic to anyone who wanted to mend broken family ties. After all, wasn’t that the reason she’d returned to Jackson Hole?
“Why don’t you have your grandmother put in a good word for you?” Josie had seen firsthand how close the two women were and knew Daffodil respected her grandmother’s opinion.
“Gram attempted to mediate but her efforts caused a slight rift between her and Daffy that’s only recently mended. I won’t put her in the middle again.” A muscle in his jaw jumped. “Daffy—well, let’s just say she needs Gram to be on her side.”
“Even if that means Pauline can’t be on yours?”
“Yes.”
Her heart flip-flopped as she realized she and Noah had something in common. He was as much an outsider looking in as she was in her family.
She brought the cup to her lips and took a thoughtful sip. “I’d be willing to mention to Daffodil that I ran into you and you seemed nice.”
He shook his head.
“I promise to leave off the part about you stealing Pauline’s drink.” A smile tugged at her lips as she strove to lighten the mood.
His expression remained somber. “Daf would say you don’t know me. She’d be right. At this point, you and I are strangers.”
The misery in his eyes pulled at Josie. She had to resist the urge to reach over and give his hand a squeeze. “I hope you and Daffy resolve your differences, I truly do.”
“But you won’t help me.” His voice turned as flat as his eyes.
Though she told herself he didn’t deserve an explanation for her refusal, she felt as if she owed him something.
“It’s just I have enough family issues of my own.” Josie’s voice grew thick and she cleared her throat. “I simply can’t get in the middle of yours.”
* * *
Josie thought of Noah often over the next few days. She couldn’t stop thinking how he’d looked at her as if she was the only woman in the world.
She’d spoken with Pauline about the encounter with her grandson and his unusual request. A sadness had filled the older woman’s eyes as she’d confirmed the estrangement between her two grandchildren.
Pauline had surprised her by adding, “In her own way, Daffodil is as mule-headed as her brother.”
When Josie informed her employer she turned down Noah’s odd request, Pauline had nodded and said that was her choice. Josie was left with the uneasy feeling her employer wished she’d agreed.
They hadn’t spoken of the matter since that day. Pauline kept Josie busy with errands, correspondence and dress fittings. A prominent member of the hospital board, Pauline had been invited to attend a New Year’s Eve masquerade ball thrown by Dr. Travis Fisher and his wife, Mary Karen, and was eager to look her best.
The couple’s parties were well known. According to Pauline, the Fishers normally preferred casual events but this year they’d decided to go formal. Pauline insisted Josie attend as her plus one.
Josie felt a stir of excitement as the home in the mountains overlooking Jackson came into view. The large two-story house was lit up as bright as the sky on the Fourth of July. Silver glittery lanterns lined the walkway. The home’s front door had been festively decorated with black-and-white tulle and two silver masks.
Though limited parking required most attendees to park a good distance away on the side of the mountain road, Travis had hired several town cars to ferry the elegantly dressed partygoers from their vehicles to the front door.
As the sleek black vehicle approached the house, Josie saw men in tuxedoes and women in cocktail-length dresses and long gowns, all wearing masks, streaming through the front doors.
Seated next to her in the toasty warm town car, Pauline cast an admiring glance at the royal blue cocktail-length satin dress visible beneath Josie’s fur coat. “I know I said it before, but you look very lovely this evening, my dear. Your mask is...incredible.”
Her father, Dr. John Campbell, had given in to Josie’s pleas and bought her the mask on a family vacation in Venice. The trip had been a halcyon time before his—and her brothers’—expectations of her had become too much to bear.
Josie raised her fingers and touched the papier-mâché edge. Multicolored in vivid shades with a gold leaf finish, the mask was anchored to her face with ribbons the same color as her dress.
Pauline’s own mask was equally stunning. It had a silver leaf finish and was decorated with crackle glaze, macramé and Swarovski crystals. Her employer looked positively regal in a charcoal-colored gown that was the perfect foil for her silver hair pulled up in a stylish chignon.
“We’re going to be the prettiest girls there,” Josie declared and made Pauline laugh.
The two women entered the house arm-in-arm. After being greeted by their hostess, Pauline startled Josie by announcing she would meet her back in the foyer at twelve-thirty. According to her employer, mingling on their own would ensure they’d have much to talk about on their way home.
It seemed odd to Josie that the woman had asked her to come as her plus one, only to separate the instant they entered the home. Thankfully, Josie was comfortable being on her own. She’d had plenty of experience. For the past seven years she’d had only herself to rely on.
With head held high, she made her way through the spacious home, confiscating a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and a canapé from another. She gazed in open admiration at the black, white and silver balloons caught up in a shimmery net overhead, waiting to be dropped at midnight.
The great room at the back of the house brimmed with beautiful people of all ages and shapes, each wearing the requisite mask. As Josie wove her way through the crowd, her confidence received a boost when she became aware of several admiring glances being cast her way.
It might sound vain, but she knew she looked her best this evening. Although Josie hadn’t been able to banish all the curl from her blond hair, tonight the strands hung in loose waves down her back. Not an out-of-control corkscrew in sight. Her strapless blue dress flattered her figure and fair complexion. Three-inch heels made her legs look longer than they were and brought her height up to five feet seven inches.
Despite knowing her eyes would remain hidden behind the mask for most of the evening, Josie had taken extra time with her makeup. Hoping to do justice to the green eyes that were said to be her best feature, she’d applied a smoky silvery sheen of shadow and several coats of mascara with a heavy hand.
A burst of laughter drew her gaze. Josie’s red-painted lips curved upward at the sight of several couples engaged in conversation with a sandy-haired man she recognized as their host, Travis Fisher. He’d been busy attaching something to a black and white feather chandelier—obviously brought in for the occasion—when she and Pauline arrived.
Instead of standing in a quiet corner and sipping champagne, the proper thing for Josie to do would be to walk over and introduce herself.
She blamed her hesitation on the fact that this New Year’s Eve gala was far different from the parties she attended in Portland. In those years away, Josie had discovered she preferred smaller, more intimate gatherings. In fact, it had become a tradition for her to usher in the New Year with friends, fondue and kirsch-wine cocktails.
Knowing the time had come to heal the rift in her family hadn’t made leaving her friends and the life she’d built in Oregon any easier.
Of course, nothing said she couldn’t return one day. Yet when her gaze had once again lingered on the majestic Tetons, she accepted that this rugged country was her home and she was here to stay.
The party tonight was an opportunity to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones. But first she had to assuage her curiosity. When she asked Mary Karen what her husband had been hanging on the chandelier, the pretty blonde simply smiled and encouraged her to check it out herself.
Josie stepped closer and narrowed her gaze. A sprig of dark green leaves and berries hung from a dark feather directly above her.
Was that, could that be, mistletoe?
“Gram said I’d find you here,” a familiar masculine voice pronounced. “I’m happy you reconsidered.”
Josie whirled.
Brilliant blue eyes behind a dark mask was all she saw before Noah’s mouth closed over hers.
Chapter Two (#ulink_de778c62-3420-503d-a83d-d409ae492784)
Josie hadn’t attained the age of twenty-nine without being kissed. In fact her first kiss had come at the tender age of fourteen by the fifteen-year-old neighbor boy. But never had she been kissed like this.
It started slowly, a gentle melding of lips. Noah’s mouth was warm and inviting. Before Josie realized what she was doing, she’d stepped into him, winding her arms around his neck.
The instant his tongue pressed for entry, she opened her mouth. Fireworks exploded and her blood turned to fire. Suddenly, close wasn’t close enough. She wanted, no, needed, more, needed to be under his skin.
As she pressed against his body, hers soft where his was rock-hard, she heard him mutter a curse. She’d just slid her fingers into his hair when he took a step back.
“Too many people.” His gravelly voice seemed to come from far away. “We’ve got to slow this down.”
Get yourself under control.
Though he didn’t speak the words, she’d heard them all her life.
Even as Josie’s heart continued to slam against her ribs, she managed a careless shrug, grateful for the mask concealing her heated cheeks.
“I’ve always enjoyed mistletoe.” She gave a carefree laugh. “Perhaps a little too much.”
The flicker in Noah’s eyes told Josie he’d caught her meaning. She was saying she’d have enjoyed any kiss under a sprig of berries and leaves.
As if to illustrate, Josie grabbed the hand of a man who was strolling past. Thick chestnut hair tumbled above a half mask of red and gold. When he inclined his head questioningly, she pointed upward.
Something about the quick flash of his grin was vaguely familiar. The stranger didn’t hesitate. He leaned close and placed his mouth against hers. Unlike her experience with the sharp-eyed doctor who stood watching, this lip-lock didn’t ignite even the tiniest of sparks. Of course, that could simply be because all the fireworks had been used up moments before.
Josie stepped back and offered the stranger a smile. “Have a nice evening. Happy New Year.”
“I’ll definitely be seeing you around.” Though his voice was slightly familiar, Josie didn’t care enough to try to place him. She’d made her point.
“You don’t have a clue who he is.” Noah’s voice sounded in her ear. Though he’d kept his distance while the kiss was in progress, he stepped forward the instant the other guy walked off.
Josie lifted one shoulder in a noncommittal shrug. “Does it matter?”
“He could have been your brother.” Noah took her arm and steered her out of range of the mistletoe.
Josie stiffened, then chided herself for being so gullible. “Benedict is a good three inches taller.”
“You weren’t thinking about that when you jumped the guy,” Noah pointed out.
“I didn’t jump—” she began, then stopped when she saw the twinkle in the neurosurgeon’s eyes. “Har. Har.”
“I’d have laughed if it had been Benedict.” Noah adroitly snagged two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter. “Even better...your father.”
Josie’s gagging noise made him chuckle.
She took a sip of champagne and gazed at him through lowered lashes. With broad shoulders, long legs and a lean athletic build, the man was made for black tie. The shiny dark strands of his hair, cut a bit too short for her taste, glistened like burnished walnut in the light of the chandelier.
The fingers wrapped around his own glass of champagne were long and elegant, much like an artist’s. Then again, she supposed Noah was an artist of sorts. Instead of a garret, his studio was a brilliantly lit operating room and his brush, a scalpel.
The reminder that she’d kissed a doctor with such unrestrained passion had her wrinkling her nose.
“Is something wrong with your champagne?” He glanced around as if searching for a waiter.
“It’s not the drink, it’s you,” she blurted then waited for the disapproving look.
Instead, Noah contemplated her as if she was a puzzle he was having difficulty solving.
“You’re a doctor,” she added for clarification, then flushed. Perhaps her father had been on to something with all his “think first” admonishments.
“Not for tonight,” he said smoothly, taking her arm and moving them in the direction of the back of the house. “Tonight let me be simply the man in the black mask, who you enjoy kissing.”
“I do not, ah, did not—”
One look from those brilliant blue eyes stopped the protest. She couldn’t deny the explosive chemistry between them, any more than she could control the shivers his touch elicited.
“Are you suggesting we pretend to be someone we’re not for the evening?” Though she found the thought intriguing, Josie knew she must have misunderstood. There was no way this straitlaced, serious doctor would suggest something so daring.
An emotion she couldn’t quite decipher flickered in the depths of those amazing blue eyes. “Interested?”
Josie sipped her champagne and tried to figure out what was really going on here...
“Are you here with someone?” His tone turned brusque. “Is that the reason you’re hesitating?”
“Actually.” Josie placed a finger against lips that still tingled from his kiss. “I’m trying to decide who—or what—I want to pretend to be.”
The fingers wrapped around her arm relaxed. He lifted the champagne flute with his other hand and took a sip. “You have any thoughts?”
“Let’s play pirates,” she suggested with a cheeky smile.
He choked on his champagne.
She merely smiled and waited for him to quit sputtering.
“Are you serious?”
“Totally.”
He rubbed his chin. While he pondered the suggestion—likely creating a pro-con spreadsheet in his head—she glanced around the room.
Josie assumed most of those in attendance knew the person behind each mask. It wasn’t that easy for her. She’d been away too long.
Until she’d run across Noah, she might as well have been playing blind man’s bluff. She still didn’t understand why her employer insisted they go solo. Unless...
Could her running into Noah have been part of a plan? Pauline had certainly made it clear she’d like it if Josie helped him. “Did your grandmother know you were coming tonight?”
His brows pulled together in puzzlement. “I don’t think so. Maybe. Why?”
