It was craziness, but in those few seconds that her lips touched his and she felt the warmth of his skin and breath, she had a moment of pure clarity where she knew it was right.She felt free, felt the joy in going for it, in not staying safely on the sidelines like she always did.
Oh, he wanted to kiss her, every cell in her body knew it.No man had ever looked at her that way, and the knowledge gave her more confidence and power then she'd ever known.
Once chaste kiss with Ian was better than any heavy duty make-out session with her ex—any of of her exes for that matter.
Though she knew she never should have kissed Ian, her heart rose from the depths and soared.She, Lucy Jane Walker, the five-foot-ten-inch pet groomer and photography enthusiast, the girl who dreamed big, but repeatedly wimped out when it came to doing anything risky in life, had done something sexy and impulsive.And a whole lot risky.She'd taken a chance.And it felt really freaking good.
Of course, she'd done it masquerading as Riley…
Her smiled dropped a notch.Riley was married.She wasn't a cheater.What must he think of her, of Riley?Smile gone now, Lucy flopped back in the chair, her joy deflating.Figures.The one time she took a chance, the one guy who could make her do it, and it happens to be the worst situation possible.
Ian paced his room, his emotions still raging.His gaze lifted to the ceiling, thinking of what had happened up there.Just a kiss, he told himself.Nothing major.Nothing shocking.
But he sure as hell felt a shock.A fucking lightning bolt was more like it.
He needed a whisky.
On the way to the side table, his big toe collided with the chair leg.Pain shot through the digit.Cursing, he grabbed his foot, trying to rub out the sting, then flung himself in the offending chair.
He never felt so out of control.And this wasn't like him.If the guys in his unit could see him now, they'd be stunned.They called him Flatline, a name given years ago, one that had stuck.Ian didn't get riled and if he did, he sure as hell kept a lid on it, didn't act on it or let it show.
Lucy, however, had shaken him up big time.
He leaned forward and poked at the few glowing embers leftover from the fire.Lucy hadn't been here twenty four hours and already it was a disaster.Failure, a word not often associated with his endeavors, suddenly seemed like a real possibility.And though she'd kissed him first, he'd wanted to take it one step farther.Several steps.A giant fucking leap.
Maybe his extended family back in the states was right.Maybe they should have sold the land and been on their way.Ian had no idea what he was doing or how to run a guest house.
No.That wasn't true.He had a plan, a goal.And he'd see it through.No second guessing.
He had to get things back on track, had to turn this disaster around.
The next morning, Ian stood in the old nursery, toolbox in hand, gazing out the broken window.He'd repaired all the shutter latches and now he watched from the window as Dimon ran circles around Devin in the grass below while Dev's German Shepherd, Hildie, trotted quietly next to his brother—always beside him, always waiting for the next command.She was tense, ready, and waiting.Ian understood.He'd been the same after he'd been discharged, and he hoped, now that Dev and Hildie were out of the military for good, that this place could do for them what it had done for him.
He turned away from the window and headed downstairs.
As Ian passed Lucy's room, he noticed the door was open.He slowed, then heard her voice.She was on the phone.As he continued on, a phrase stopped him cold."I lied to him, Riley."
Silence.
"Well, I didn't mean to.It just came out.It was all happening so fast.They thought I was you and then I said I was you..."
Shock slid slow and cold down his spine.What the hell?
"Well, I don't know, I was flustered, okay?"
More silence as Ian's knuckles turned white and his anger boiled over.She'd lied.She'd been lying all along.And she was talking to the Riley who should have been here, the same Riley who was supposed to write an amazing article on Balmorie.
"Yeah right," Lucy went on."I know.Of course I'm telling them.How's things going with Mark?"
Woodenly, Ian continued down the hall and outside to the tool shed.Inside he was shaking and stunned.He set the toolbox down slowly, heart pounding, and just stood there in front of the work bench, trying to calm his emotions.What did she think this was, some kind of game?This was his life, his brothers' lives, and, hopefully, their livelihood.
He scrubbed hand down his face, then gripped the counter and leaned forward, cautioning himself to slow down, to process.
A door shut loudly.Ian straightened and turned to see Lucy flounce across the lawn.His eyes narrowed and his jaw went tight.Her hair was up in a ponytail.She wore shorts, revealing the same mile-high legs he'd seen last night, and had a camera hanging from a strap around her neck.He wondered if she even cared.She appeared to be enjoying her vacation, traipsing around his property, playing games, making his life hell.
Well, two could play at that, he decided.
The tables were about to turn on Riley Brooks.
