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A smile lifted Josie’s lips. “Sylvie and I are going to be good friends.”
“The two of you just met.”
“Sometimes you just know.” Josie gave a little laugh. “We have a lot in common. For example, we’re both new in town.”
“You grew up here,” he reminded her.
“That was a long time ago. The friends I used to have are married now. Some with kids. They have their own lives, different interests.” She lifted a shoulder in a light shrug. “You know how that is.”
He did understand. Almost everyone he associated with since moving to Jackson Hole was married or dating someone. At most gatherings he felt like a fifth wheel. He realized that was why tonight had been so enjoyable. It’d been nice having a fellow pirate at his side.
The thought made him smile. “Have you thought any more about my proposition?”
“You’re certainly persistent,” she said mildly.
“It’s a pirate thing.” He lifted his glass in a mock toast. “Whether searching for sunken treasure or convincing a beautiful woman to join forces with me, determination is key.”
“Well, Cap’n.” She looped her arm through his in a companionable gesture. “The answer is still no.”
Noah stiffened. “I don’t understand why—”
“Ten.” The crowd roared as the countdown to midnight began.
By the time shouts of “Happy New Year” rang out in the mountain home, he’d covered her mouth with his.
When her hands rose to rest on his shoulders, Noah realized he wasn’t going to give up. Eventually she’d agree to help him. For now, he could think of no better way to end one year and begin a new one than kissing a beautiful masked woman.
* * *
After the kiss ended, Josie had taken a shaky breath and willed her fingers to remain steady as she removed her mask. When she’d told Noah she needed to meet Pauline at half past midnight, he’d insisted they had time to share a piece of cake and a glass of champagne.
She hadn’t realized how erotic it could be to actually share a piece of cake with a man. When his lips closed over that bite of cake and those glittering blue eyes met hers, she’d imagined that mouth closing over her nip—
Josie shoved the memory aside and refocused on her conversation with Pauline. After arriving home they’d taken seats in the parlor, a warm, inviting room where flocked wall coverings and rugs of the same deep green hue were accentuated with burgundy furniture edged in walnut.
Outside, snow continued to fall. Inside, the room was cozy with a fire blazing in the hearth. Pretty floral bone china cups held Pauline’s favorite blend of tea, African Autumn. The cranberry-and-oranges flavor of the herbal rooibos made for a soothing drink, especially with the addition of a dollop of honey. Josie felt the last of her tension ease as she took another sip.
The conversation on the drive to Pauline’s home had been laden with amusing anecdotes about the people her employer had interacted with over the course of the evening. Not once had Noah’s name come up.
When Pauline asked for a report on her evening, Josie chose her words carefully. “It was difficult to recognize people, because of their masks.”
She went on to tell Pauline about Liam and Sylvie, about running into her brother and Poppy. But when Pauline gazed at Josie over the top of her teacup Josie knew the moratorium on Noah Anson had ended.
“You’ve mentioned everyone but my grandson.” Pauline’s gaze turned sharp and assessing in the golden light of the richly appointed parlor.
“I ran into Noah. He was helpful. He pointed out several women and men who I wouldn’t have recognized because of the masks.”
It was a simplistic explanation but Josie had no intention of explaining something she didn’t understand herself...why she’d shared two very hot kisses and most of the evening with a man who was not her type.
“Did he ask you to help him reconcile with Daffy?”
“What do you think?” Josie’s droll tone had Pauline chuckling.
“My grandson is nothing if not persistent.” Admiration ran through the older woman’s words like a pretty ribbon.
“The man is a bulldog.” Josie sipped her tea. “He hammered home the same points he’d made previously.”
“What did you tell him?”
“No.”
Pauline lifted a perfectly tweezed brow. “Just...no?”
“It’s best to be simple and direct.” Even as the words left her mouth, Josie had to swallow a smile.
Keeping it simple would have been maintaining a distance. And kissing, well, locking lips, would never be part of any keeping-a-distance equation.
“I respect your right to make that decision.” Pauline lowered her cup and pinned Josie with the blue eyes her grandson had inherited. “And to change it, if you later decide otherwise.”
Josie smiled, tempted to tell Pauline that a surgeon was not her cup of tea. Because this particular surgeon was her employer’s grandson, she simply lifted the cup to her lips, took a drink and changed the subject.
* * *
The last place Noah wanted to be on a snowy night in January was at Benedict Campbell’s home watching a football game that had already been played. Only the fact that he’d already turned down numerous invitations had pushed Noah to accept this one.
As he trudged up the front walk he mused on what had been a disappointing year so far, beginning with Josie turning down his proposition for the second time only minutes after the clock had struck twelve. He’d been surprised. Heck, he’d been stunned. When he’d kissed her at midnight and she’d kissed him back with enthusiasm, he’d been certain of success.
What more could he have done to secure her cooperation? Hadn’t he played the pirate game? Danced with her to romantic ballads? Eaten cake and drunk champagne?
Her refusal shouldn’t have shocked him. He’d learned how unpredictable the female species could be, beginning back in high school with Sia Norton.
Sia, a perky brunette with a quick mind and big breasts, had made him so crazy he couldn’t even concentrate on his studies. She’d also confused the heck out of him with actions more emotional than logical.
It was the same with Josie. Instead of accepting an offer that made perfect sense and would be mutually advantageous, she’d thanked him for a fun evening and strolled off, mask dangling from her fingertips, lips still swollen from his kisses.
Noah shoved the thought of those few seconds of unrestrained passion aside along with his irritation over his unreturned phone call and text. He told himself if reuniting with his sister wasn’t so important, he wouldn’t be giving the baffling woman a second thought.
It was a lie, of course. Josie Campbell was like an itch that needed to be scratched.
Playing pirates. The thought brought a smile to his face as he rang the bell of the two-story home in Jackson Hole’s affluent Spring Gulch subdivision.
Even before the door swung open, sounds of laughter and conversation spilled out onto the porch. Noah squared his shoulders. It had been a long, tiring day. The last thing he felt like doing was socializing. He told himself he’d stay for an hour, then make some excuse to leave.
Poppy greeted him at the door, relaxed and smiling in a pair of gray pants and a red sweater. Several glittery bracelets encircled one wrist. If Noah hadn’t known she was pregnant, he’d never have guessed.
The smile she flashed was as warm and bright as the gems on her arm. Based on her previous coolness, her friendliness surprised him.
“Noah, I’m happy you could make it.” She ushered him in and pulled the door shut, closing out the brisk north wind. “I was hoping for better weather. Then again, this is Wyoming in January.”
She gave a little laugh and took his coat.
Noah forced a polite, interested expression. “Ben said you’re hosting a book club this evening.”
Actually, the book club was one of the reasons Noah had agreed to come tonight. When Ben mentioned his wife and the other women would be busy discussing their latest read, Noah had known he’d be socializing with just guys. This was one evening where he wouldn’t feel like a fifth wheel. And then there was the gourmet feast Ben had promised.
“We’re discussing The 48 Laws of Power this evening. But we’re eating first.” The twinkle in Poppy’s eyes told him she was well aware of exactly how he’d been enticed to attend. “If there’s time at the end of the evening, I’m hoping to bring out the portable mic and do a little torch singing. Do you sing?”
Noah froze. “Ben didn’t mention anything about singing.”
Poppy stroked the cashmere of his coat now folded over her arm. “Didn’t he? I’ll have to speak with him. It’s always nice for guests to be prepared.”
The only place Noah ever sang was in the shower, or in church, when he attended. “What’s torch singing?”
“Romantic ballads.”
Noah’s shoulders tightened. “I don’t know any.”
“No worries. We have sheet music.” She turned toward the hall then paused to gesture in the direction of the back of the house. “The men are to the right, women to the left. Dinner is in fifteen.”
Though Noah was certainly no coward, if Poppy hadn’t been holding his coat hostage, he might have thought about making a break for it. One thing he knew for certain. If there was any torch singing tonight, it wouldn’t be him center stage.
Even if Poppy hadn’t told him which direction to go, the high-pitched laughter and feminine voices—seeming to all talk at once—would have alerted him to stay to the right.
Noah had expected Ben’s home to be as precise and put-together as the man himself. But instead of elegant pieces of expensive furniture there were overstuffed sofas and chairs exuding a warmth absent from Ben’s office at the clinic.
His associate’s office reminded Noah of a page out of Architectural Digest. The light gray walls held signed prints. The rosewood furniture was all about style rather than comfort.
Poppy’s influence, he mused, as he rounded a corner and came to an abrupt stop. “Josie?”
For a second she appeared equally startled. She was dressed more casually than Poppy. Blue jeans hugged her long legs while a thin sweater in hot pink clung to her enticing curves.
She lifted a brow. “Are you stalking me, Dr. Anson?”
Affronted by the ridiculous accusation, he stiffened. “Most certainly not.”
If her widening smile was any indication, his haughty tone amused her.
She rested a hand on his shirtsleeve and gazed up at him with those clear blue eyes. He felt the sizzle of her touch all the way through the broadcloth.
“In case you haven’t figured it out, I was teasing.” Humor underscored her matter-of-fact tone. “I didn’t expect to see you here, that’s all.”
Noah gestured with his head toward the roar of male voices disputing a referee call. “Ben invited me over to watch the game.”
“The college championship? A game that was already played?”
He smiled, sharing the sentiment imbued in her dry tone. “He assured me the food would be top-notch.”
“He’s right about that.” Josie rocked back on her heels, no longer seeming in such a hurry.
For the first time he noticed what she wore on her feet. “Are those pink cowboy boots?”
She grinned, lifted a leg and held it out for his inspection. “Don’t you love them? Sylvie and I went shopping yesterday. She helped me pick them out.”
“Sylvie?”
“The Mad Batter.”
For a second Noah wondered if she was speaking some strange foreign language. That thought was far superior to the fear that he’d stepped through some rabbit hole and had lost his ability to process information. “Pardon?”
“The woman who did the cake for Travis and MK’s New Year’s Eve party,” she reminded him.
Noah finally recalled the quirky brunette with the violet eyes. “The cake was strange-looking, but I admit I never tasted better. Is she here tonight?”
Josie shook her head. “She’s not, but she made another cake for tonight. It’s super cute.”
When Ben had said the food would be top-notch, Noah had assumed a meal would be served. Now he wasn’t so certain. “Is that what we’re having...cake?”
“Well, I could have it for the main course and enjoy every bite, but—” she continued at his pained look “—there are others who insist on something more nutritious.”
Noah raised his brows.
“Lexi Delacourt is in charge of the entrée. She’s a gourmet cook. Veal piccata is on the menu tonight.”
Noah was acquainted with the social worker and her husband. Although Nick Delacourt’s specialty was family law, he’d helped Noah’s grandmother with several contracts related to her business interests. Noah had been impressed by the man’s savvy and attention to detail.
“Do you like veal?”
The question seemed to come from far away. He couldn’t take his eyes off Josie. Pretty in pink and sexy as hell in those tight-fitting jeans.
Noah stepped closer, placing a hand on the wall on either side of her, crowding her. She smelled sweet, like lilies. The barest trace of pink gloss shimmered on her full lips.
She made no move to get away, simply stared up at him with those clear green eyes.
He wanted to taste her, to see if that mouth really was as sweet as he remembered. He lowered his head, relieved when she made no move to turn away.
“Josie,” Poppy called out. “Was everything okay with Jack?”
“He was fine.” Josie slipped out from under Noah’s arms just as Poppy strode around the corner.
John William, known as Jack to friends and family, was Ben and Poppy’s very active two-year-old.
Poppy’s speculative gaze took in the scene. She smiled at Noah. “Did you get lost?”
“I ran into Josie,” Noah explained with an easy smile. “She was telling me what’s on the menu for this evening.”
“It’s always incredible when Lexi does the entrée.” Poppy placed a hand on her stomach. “I only wish I could enjoy food the way I used to.”
“You will again.” Noah spoke in the reassuring tone he used with his patients, then excused himself and continued to the back of the house.
