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I paused. “Are you afraid of dogs?”
She shook her head at me. “No, why?”
A smile lifted my lips as I opened the door for her. I moved out of the way, motioning for her to go ahead inside just as Thor came running toward us.
“Thor, sit,” I commanded and he dropped to his bottom, his tongue hanging out as his tail beat against his sides. “This is Thor. He’s harmless.”
She stepped past me and I caught the floral scent of her perfume. It invaded my senses, momentarily freezing my mind. I watched as she crouched down in front of my dog, murmuring something to him as she pet his head. Slowly, she stood back up and her eyes met mine. She waited for me to lead the way through my condo and I had to snap myself out of my stupor.
“Do you want anything to drink?” I asked her as we stepped into the kitchen with Thor running past us.
“Sure,” she said with a shrug of indifference. “Do you have any wine?”
“White or red?”
She smiled quickly before it fell away from her lips. “Red, please.”
She stood off to the side, leaning against the counter as I grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses and began to pour the liquid into them. I slowly approached her, careful not to get too close as I handed one to her.
“Are you ever going to tell me your name?”
Her gaze held mine as she lifted her glass to her lips and slowly took a sip. I watched the way her throat moved as she swallowed. Her tongue darted out, licking her lips as she continued to stare at me. “Juliette.”
“Juliette,” I said softly, tasting her name on my tongue as I held my hand out to her. She eyed me skeptically before sliding her palm against mine. “It’s a pleasure to officially meet you.”
She didn’t agree with me, but she also didn’t disagree, so I was willing to take that as a win. Juliette sipped her wine again as she slowly took in my condo. It was an open floor plan, with the dining room, kitchen, and living room all bleeding into one space. “Your place is… nice.”
I tilted my head to the side, my lips lifting. “Was that a compliment?”
Juliette raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. “It was an observation, nothing more.”
“I don’t know. That sounded a lot like a compliment.”
“Well, perhaps you need to have your hearing or comprehension skills checked.” She rolled her eyes at me. “So, you guys won tonight?”
I nodded. “Did you watch the game?”
Juliette stared at me with something unreadable in her gaze. “No.”
That was it. No offering or explanation. Just a flat-out no. Clearly, I had lost all ability to read a room properly and decided no wasn’t a good enough answer.
“How did you know we won?”
She took another sip of her wine. “You seem to be in a good mood, so it was just a guess.”
I couldn’t help my curiosity when it came to her. She was a mystery, like a code I needed to crack. She appeared confident and independent, but there was something underneath the mask she wore. It was clear she didn’t care for hockey players… or perhaps it was just me in particular. She was a challenge.
And I never walked away from a challenge.
“It was a good guess,” I agreed with her as I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. Much to my surprise, she followed after me and sat down on the couch, putting enough distance between us after I took a seat. Thor sat down beside her, resting his head in her lap as she slowly stroked the fur on top of his snout. I studied her for a moment. I liked how she looked in my space. Clearly my dog was infatuated with her. “What brings you to Orchid City? You’re not from around here, right?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m from Maine originally. My mother insisted I move down here since they weren’t planning on coming back north anytime soon.” She paused and shrugged. “A change of scenery never hurts. I was able to interview and get a job at Orchid City Hospital.”
Another unexpected response from Juliette. I wanted to ask her about hockey. I knew she had some kind of an accident in college, but I saw the way she skated. I also knew it was potentially a sensitive topic and the last thing I wanted to do was scare her away this early. She already had the look of a frightened animal. She acted like she might flee at any given moment.
I'd ask her about it one day, but today wasn't that day.
"What do you do?"
