vacations?” Noah asked.
“What I usually do—”
“That’s what she would have been doing this year if I hadn’t suggested she come with me.”
“Suggested! That’s—”
“I can understand what she sees in it,” Noah interrupted blithely, ignoring both Shaye and her attempts to speak. “I have my own place in southern Vermont. I don’t usually make it there for more than a few days at a stretch, but those few days are wonderful. There’s nothing like time spent alone in a peaceful setting to replenish one’s energies.”
Victoria disagreed. “No, no. Time spent with someone special—that’s different. But alone?”
“You spent time alone,” Shaye argued hurriedly before someone cut her off.
“Naturally. I can’t be with people all the time. But to choose to go off alone—just for the sake of being alone—for days at a time isn’t healthy. It says something about your life, if you need that kind of escape.”
“We all need escapes from habit,” Noah reasoned, “don’t we, Shaye?”
He’d tagged on the last in an intimate tone, leaving no doubt in Shaye’s mind that he was referring to what had happened between them beneath the stars.
“Victoria is right. Certain kinds of escape are unhealthy.”
“But, hot damn, they’re fun,” he countered in that same low tone.
Victoria looked from one to the other. “Am I missing something?”
“You missed it but good,” Noah said with a grin. His eyes were fixed on Shaye. “We had quite a time of it last night—”
“Noah—”
“You did? Shaye, you didn’t tell me.”
Shaye couldn’t believe what was happening. “What Noah means is that we had a little disagreement—”
“Only after the fact. It wasn’t a disagreement at the time.”
Turning to Victoria, Shaye affected a confident drawl. “He gets confused. Poor thing, he’s so used to being ornery that it doesn’t faze him.”
“What happened last night?”
“Nothing hap—”
“You stole out while I was asleep, clever girl.” She turned to Noah. “I hope she didn’t shock you.”
“As a matter of fact—”
“Please!” Shaye cried. “Stop it, both of you!” In her torment she shifted her legs, the better to brace herself.
Noah’s gaze shifted too.
She snapped her knees together.
With an almost imperceptible sigh of regret, he dipped his head to the side. “Your niece has beautiful hair, Victoria. It’s thick and rich like yours, but the color—where did she get the color?”
“Her father is a flaming redhead. When Shaye was a child—”
“That’s enough, Victoria.”
Victoria ignored her. “When she was a child, hers was nearly as red as his.”
“Does she get her temper from him, too?”
“What do you think?”
“Victoria, if you—”
“I think she does,” Noah decided with a grin that turned wry. “I’m not sure if I should thank him or curse him.”
“You should leave him out of this,” Shaye cried.
“Now, now, Shaye,” Victoria soothed, “no need to get upset.”
Noah added, “I want to know about him. You’re much too closemouthed, Shaye. In all the talking we’ve done, you’ve barely said a word about yourself.”
“Shame on you, Shaye,” Victoria chided. “You act as though you have something to hide.”
It was a challenge, well intended but a challenge nonetheless. If Shaye denied that she had anything to hide, she’d have to answer Noah’s questions. If she came right out and said that she did have something to hide, he’d be all the more curious. For a long minute she glared at her aunt, then at Noah, but she still didn’t know what to do.
At last Noah took pity. At least, he mused mischievously, he was willing to defer the discussion of her parents until later. But he wasn’t about to miss out on another golden opportunity.
In a single fluid movement, he was sitting by her side against the bulwark. “What say we go for a swim later?”
She didn’t answer at first. Her right side was
“What I usually do—”
“That’s what she would have been doing this year if I hadn’t suggested she come with me.”
“Suggested! That’s—”
“I can understand what she sees in it,” Noah interrupted blithely, ignoring both Shaye and her attempts to speak. “I have my own place in southern Vermont. I don’t usually make it there for more than a few days at a stretch, but those few days are wonderful. There’s nothing like time spent alone in a peaceful setting to replenish one’s energies.”
Victoria disagreed. “No, no. Time spent with someone special—that’s different. But alone?”
“You spent time alone,” Shaye argued hurriedly before someone cut her off.
“Naturally. I can’t be with people all the time. But to choose to go off alone—just for the sake of being alone—for days at a time isn’t healthy. It says something about your life, if you need that kind of escape.”
“We all need escapes from habit,” Noah reasoned, “don’t we, Shaye?”
He’d tagged on the last in an intimate tone, leaving no doubt in Shaye’s mind that he was referring to what had happened between them beneath the stars.
“Victoria is right. Certain kinds of escape are unhealthy.”
“But, hot damn, they’re fun,” he countered in that same low tone.
Victoria looked from one to the other. “Am I missing something?”
“You missed it but good,” Noah said with a grin. His eyes were fixed on Shaye. “We had quite a time of it last night—”
“Noah—”
“You did? Shaye, you didn’t tell me.”
Shaye couldn’t believe what was happening. “What Noah means is that we had a little disagreement—”
“Only after the fact. It wasn’t a disagreement at the time.”
Turning to Victoria, Shaye affected a confident drawl. “He gets confused. Poor thing, he’s so used to being ornery that it doesn’t faze him.”
“What happened last night?”
“Nothing hap—”
“You stole out while I was asleep, clever girl.” She turned to Noah. “I hope she didn’t shock you.”
“As a matter of fact—”
“Please!” Shaye cried. “Stop it, both of you!” In her torment she shifted her legs, the better to brace herself.
Noah’s gaze shifted too.
She snapped her knees together.
With an almost imperceptible sigh of regret, he dipped his head to the side. “Your niece has beautiful hair, Victoria. It’s thick and rich like yours, but the color—where did she get the color?”
“Her father is a flaming redhead. When Shaye was a child—”
“That’s enough, Victoria.”
Victoria ignored her. “When she was a child, hers was nearly as red as his.”
“Does she get her temper from him, too?”
“What do you think?”
“Victoria, if you—”
“I think she does,” Noah decided with a grin that turned wry. “I’m not sure if I should thank him or curse him.”
“You should leave him out of this,” Shaye cried.
“Now, now, Shaye,” Victoria soothed, “no need to get upset.”
Noah added, “I want to know about him. You’re much too closemouthed, Shaye. In all the talking we’ve done, you’ve barely said a word about yourself.”
“Shame on you, Shaye,” Victoria chided. “You act as though you have something to hide.”
It was a challenge, well intended but a challenge nonetheless. If Shaye denied that she had anything to hide, she’d have to answer Noah’s questions. If she came right out and said that she did have something to hide, he’d be all the more curious. For a long minute she glared at her aunt, then at Noah, but she still didn’t know what to do.
At last Noah took pity. At least, he mused mischievously, he was willing to defer the discussion of her parents until later. But he wasn’t about to miss out on another golden opportunity.
In a single fluid movement, he was sitting by her side against the bulwark. “What say we go for a swim later?”
She didn’t answer at first. Her right side was
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