“How did your parents die?” Nate asked.
She tensed. This was the question she always hated and the one she was certainly not prepared to tell Nate.
“Violently.” The word came out hard, blunt, ugly.
“Sorry. That was rude and intrusive,” he said after an awkward pause.
“Not rude. You’re only curious. I just don’t like to talk about it.”
“Understood. I’m sorry I asked.”
She wanted to tell him, an impulse that shocked her. She didn’t, of course. She barely knew the man. Instead, they sat in companionable silence as the sun slid farther and farther down until it was swallowed by the vast sea.
She appreciated his silence. Too few people were comfortable with it, feeling compelled to fill every empty space with chatter. Nate didn’t seem to mind it, which she found both surprising and refreshing.
The sunset was one of the most spectacular of her life, the sky a wild, colorful display reflected on the undulating waves. As gorgeous as it was, she was surprised at how quickly it was over.
“Wow,” she said as the sun slipped below the horizon line in one last brilliant show. “That was unforgettable. I’m so glad we didn’t go up with Sophie and Eleanor.”
He smiled down at her, skin crinkling at the corners of his eyes. He was tanned, fit, gorgeous. And off-limits, she reminded herself. He was the son of her client and she was very careful not to mix business with personal. It never ended well.
Since she was working all the time and rarely had the chance to meet anyone outside of those circles, that meant her social life was basically nonexistent, unfortunately.
She wasn’t going to change that with Nate Whitaker. What would be the point when she was moving on in a few weeks?
When he was the first to look away, whistling for the dogs, she told herself she was glad.
Cinder and Charlie bounded over with enthusiasm, the little furry Cavapoo in the lead.
“Thank you for staying with me.”
“My pleasure. I don’t take nearly enough opportunities to simply sit and think and enjoy the beautiful surroundings where I live. But it will be full dark in a few minutes and that path to the house can be treacherous if you can’t see where you’re going. I stupidly didn’t bring a flashlight so we should probably go back.”
She didn’t want to leave this idyll but could only imagine how the rocks might trip a person up in the night.
They headed across the sand toward the path with the dogs in the lead, then Jess and Nate in the rear.
“Your shoelace is untied,” he said after a moment. “You probably want to take care of that so you don’t trip on the way up.”
“Thanks.”
His words were prophecy of what came next. Before she could stop to tie her lace, she stumbled on the root of a tree that grew across the path unevenly.
The epitome of grace and panache, as usual, she staggered slightly and would have face-planted onto the trail if Nate hadn’t reached out both hands to catch her and pull her against him.
She could feel the heat of him scorching her from her neck to the curve of her back.
“Oh,” she exclaimed. She looked over her shoulder and their gazes met, his suddenly hot, intense.
Her breath caught, the moment suspended between them. She thought she could feel each beat of her heart.
His gaze flickered to her mouth then quickly away.
Did he want to kiss her? Did he feel this heat that seemed to have exploded between them?
He set her on her feet and stepped away and she wondered if she had imagined the entire quicksilver episode.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. Only clumsy. My dad used to say I could trip on painted lines on the road.”
She bent down to tie her shoe snugly, grateful to steal a moment to collect her thoughts. She was glad he didn’t kiss her. That was relief twisting through her, certainly not regret.
When they reached the top of the path, Nate walked her to the door of her Airstream, though she insisted he didn’t need to.
“Thank you for a lovely evening,” he said when they reached it.
“Thanks for staying with me to watch the sunset. I would have hated to miss it.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you for not holding a grudge over my rudeness yesterday.”
She shrugged. “You were protective of your mother. How could I fault that?”
“And you’ll let me know if you notice anything else unusual with her health?” he asked again. “Any more episodes where she seems to lose her energy?”
She didn’t want to refuse but had to make it clear where her loyalties lay. “I don’t want to be in the middle of you and your mother. Eleanor is my client, Nate. She’s the one paying my bill. If you’re concerned about her health, you should talk to her. I’m only the hired help.”
“Fair enough,” he said, his voice stiff.
Any softness she might have seen in his expression was gone now. That was a good thing, she told herself. It gave her the chance to rebuild her own barriers. What was the point in pretending, even for an instant, that kissing the man might be a good idea?
“Good night,” he said abruptly.
He waited until she opened the door and stepped inside before he turned away to go back to his house.
Jess sank onto the sofa, her heart still pounding. What was wrong with her? All he had been doing was trying to keep her from tumbling down the path. She had been about half a second away from turning in his arms and kissing him.
Apparently Sunshine Cove was a dangerous place, giving people harmful ideas and unwanted desires. They ought to post a sign.
Okay. So she was attracted to Nate Whitaker, in a way she hadn’t been to anyone in ages. Big deal. She could be attracted to the man without doing anything about it.
Anyway, other than that fleeting moment when she thought he wanted to kiss her, the man hadn’t acted at all like he was attracted to her. End of story.
That was the way she wanted it, Jess told herself.
Her phone rang with a FaceTime call from Yvette right after she had changed into her most comfortable sleep shirt and picked up her book.
“Hey. Is everything okay?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing. You were supposed to check in and let me know you arrived safely yesterday in Cape Sanctuary and here I find you cuddled up in your jammies with a good book.”
Even when her mouth was tight with annoyance, Yvette managed to look beautiful, with glossy black hair and perfectly applied makeup. Even when they were soldiers together, Yvette always insisted on looking good, no matter the circumstances.