“Sophie was out on a boat in the storm last night?” I squeezed the paper cup in my hand too hard and some hot coffee spilled out onto my hand.
“Yeah, but she’s OK. She—”
I didn’t wait to hear more. I turned, threw my coffee into the nearest bin and stormed out of the shop.
“Wait, your change!” Regina called after me but the door clanking shut behind me was her answer. Of all the stupid things I’d ever heard. After what had happened to her brother, you’d think Sophie would be smarter. It was one thing to insist on buying a crumbling pile of historic bricks. It was a whole other level of stubborn and stupid to head out into the ocean in the middle of the kind of storm we had last night. All too like the kind of storm Ian and I had been caught in.
A few doors down, I tried the doorknob on her storefront. Regina had said she was OK. Maybe she’d be there already. The door was locked. I cupped my hands and peered into the glass. Sure enough, Sophie in a white T-shirt and a pair of shorts emerged from the back. She stopped in her tracks as she saw who it was at the door.
“Let me in.” I knocked again, not bothering to hide my anger. She needed to know a stunt like she’d pulled was not OK. Slowly, tentatively, she continued her approach and unlocked the door.
“What the hell were you doing out on the water last night?” I exploded as I strode into the empty room.
“What are you—?”
“Regina told me.” I jerked my thumb in the general direction of the coffee shop. “Are you out of your mind? Did you learn nothing from what happened to your brother?”
“I learned a hell of a lot from what happened to my brother.” Defiance sparked in her gorgeous blue eyes. Her hands flew to her hips, sitting high on her feminine curves.
“Apparently not.” I advanced on her, closing the gap between us, fury propelling me forward. “That storm last night? That was no goddamned joke. No one had any business heading out in it.”
“I didn’t head out in it!” She threw her hands up, but also took a step in retreat, her eyes flicking nervously to the side. “You make it sound like I rowed out by myself in a dinghy. I was on a yacht.”
“You know what a wall of water coming at 70 miles an hour can do to a yacht?” I advanced again. How could she have done that? How could she not have known the danger? I remembered the large and sturdy boat we’d taken for a joyride, our stupid 14-year-old minds after nothing but a good time. The wind and waves had snapped it in two like a toy boat in the hands of an angry giant.
“We didn’t even leave the harbor.”
“If you were on the water, you were in danger.” The next step she took away from me bumped her up against the wall. She reached her palms out along it as if clutching it for support.
“They evacuated us,” she protested, sounding slightly more contrite.
“Evacuated,” I repeated, now right up next to her, breathing hard. That close I could smell her, the unique and intoxicating blend of lavender and Sophie making my senses reel. “You had to be evacuated and you’re still telling me you didn’t do anything stupid?”
“Theo said we had nothing to worry about.” Now her voice sounded much more meek.
“Theo? Who the hell is Theo?” And why did I want to crush his tiny neck in my vice-like grip?
“Theo Bartright. His family has a house here.”
Bartright, the name rang a bell. His family had been coming to the island for years. He was an old money tool. I was sure Sophie’s mother was thrilled.
“Liam.” She looked up at me, her voice softer, her eyes almost pleading. “I didn’t think—”
“Damn straight you didn’t think.” My palm pounded against the wall over her head. Foolish woman, risking her life like that.
“Liam, you’re scaring me.”
I looked down and saw she was shaking, so much smaller than me and I had her trapped under my frame, my chest leaning in, palms over her head. “Damn it, Sophie.” I sucked in a deep breath, exhaling out over her head. I wanted to touch her, reassure her, let her know I wasn’t going to hurt her. Slowly removing my hand from the wall, I inched my palm to her face, but stopped when I noticed her breathing kick up. I was affecting her in more ways than one.
“What if something had happened to you?” I asked her in a fierce whisper. “What if you’d gotten hurt? What if, in the storm—”
“I’m all right, Liam.” She spoke quietly but surely, looking up into my eyes. Her palm landed in the middle of my chest, radiating heat toward my heart. “I’m all right.”
I leaned down and took her lips with mine, fierce and sudden. I needed to pull her close, no distance between us. I couldn’t stop at hearing her tell me she was all right. I needed to feel it, hold her in my arms. She gasped as I kissed her, but only for a moment. Then she melted into me, her hands up digging deep into my shoulders as if to hold on, her lips searching mine as I promised her with my kiss, I will keep you safe. I will protect you. Nothing bad will happen to you, I won’t let it.
“Hey! Oh, OK…” A guy’s voice broke into our world from behind me. “I can come back later.”
“Wait!” Sophie pushed at me. Her hand felt so good, right at the center of my chest, it took me a second to realize she was doing it so she could break free. Like a drugged man trying to snap out it, I pulled myself back slow and logy. “I’m sorry!” Sophie called out, sounding much more together as she slipped out and away. “Wait, thanks for coming.” She rushed over toward the door.
I stood like a dumb bear, taking a few seconds to try to screw my head on straight. Then I turned around to see some idiot flooring guy I knew would over-charge and under-deliver.
“What the hell?” I ran a hand through my hair, meaning the question in more ways than one. I had to be losing my mind, kissing Sophie like that. And then I’d lost it in a whole other way from the kiss, itself.
“I’m here to take a look at your flooring.” He shook Sophie’s hand, looking at her like a wolf. She may as well have on a red riding hood.
“Great.” She shook his hand back, and though her voice sounded composed I could see she was still shaking slightly. “The water damage is back here.” She started leading him toward the back.
“You’ve got water damage, too?”
“It’s none of your business.” She scowled at me. The flooring guy gave me an amused look. He could take his amused ass right out the door as far as I was concerned.
“Oh yeah, you’ve got a hell of a project on your hands.” I could hear the guy’s declaration, delivered in the practiced tone that let her know “hand over your checkbook.” He probably took one look at Sophie and could tell the girl was money. It didn’t matter that she wore a T-shirt and shorts, she still screamed it from the top of the long, soft fall of her honey-colored hair all the way down to her Italian leather pale pink flats.
“This here?” I heard the floor planks creak as he kneeled down. I could practically see the crack of his ass showing as he bent over and peered at the mess. “This is gonna be a problem.”
“Not your problem,” I growled as I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed against my chest. I just couldn’t stand by and listen to it happen. I knew Sophie wasn’t my responsibility. She wasn’t my woman anymore, not by a long shot, but for the love of God this man needed to pack it up.
“Excuse me?” He stood up, trying to look territorial as he shot me a glare.
“You heard me,” I continued, steady and sure. “She’s not going to work with you. You can head out.”
“Who the hell is he?” He looked at Sophie, nodding his head at me like I was a space alien dropped down into the scene.
“I’m someone who’s looking out for her. And she’s not going to be hiring you.”
Sophie looked up, her fingers scrunched in her hair. “Am I going crazy?” she asked the ceiling.
“I don’t need this,” the flooring guy declared, picking up his pad of paper in a huff.
“Wait, can you just give me an estim
ate?” Sophie called after him. I stepped to the side to let him pass. The man needed a wide berth.
“Not with this guy here being a pain in my ass.” He pointed at me with his clipboard.