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It had all been a lie. Kara’s feelings for him had proved to be fickle. She had dumped him for a wealthy hedge fund CEO after telling Noah she wanted to be with a more ambitious and financially stable partner. Noah’s aspirations of opening a security company had been dismissed by Kara, who hadn’t seen it as a viable business. A rich socialite, she had been way out his league, a fact she had made very clear right before tossing him aside for another man and shattering his heart in the process.
It didn’t hurt as much now to think of her, but for far too long Noah had allowed Kara’s actions to dictate his life. That had to change.
As long as he was here in Love, Alaska, he was going to make the most of as many experiences as he could. And that included attending a Founder’s Day celebration.
“I’ll definitely put it on my calendar,” he said, surprising himself by feeling a burst of enthusiasm at the idea of spending time with the citizens of this quaint hamlet.
The arrival of the first customers of the day put an end to their coffee klatch. Noah beat a path to the kitchen, where he put on his apron and began prepping his work area. Within a few minutes, his first order arrived and he set about the business of preparing breakfast for the customers.
About an hour into the morning service, Cameron popped his head into the kitchen. “Hey, Noah. Would you mind coming out front to talk to a customer? He wants to rave about your breakfast omelet.”
“Sure thing,” Noah replied. “Just give me a minute.”
Every now and again, Cameron asked him to come out from the kitchen so he could greet an appreciative patron or answer a question about an ingredient. He had to admit, the folks in Love were a friendly bunch w
ho loved to compliment the cook.
The moment he entered the dining area, his gaze honed in on Sophie. Although he tried to tell himself it was only because her fiery red hair drew him in like a beacon, he knew it wasn’t that simple. She was off-limits in every way conceivable, but there was something about her that tugged at him.
His stomach clenched at the sight of her standing in the middle of a group of four men, who seemed to be competing for her attention. She seemed to be enjoying it, judging by the sound of her tinkling laughter and the way she tilted her head in a playful manner.
He had no idea why, but it bugged him. Not just a little bit, either. He was fighting the urge to walk over to the table and whisk Sophie away from the salivating men. A part of his brain registered the fact that they weren’t actually salivating, while another part of him felt certain they were.
And it annoyed him to no end that she seemed to be encouraging it. Perhaps this was the side of Sophie that Sussex had described. The Sophie who’d been able to ditch her fiancé without a hint of remorse. Maybe she’d been bored with her fiancé and had wanted to play the field before settling down.
Noah turned away from her and her group of admirers. He greeted the smiling customer, Eli Courtland, who regularly came to eat breakfast with his wife at the Moose Café. After accepting Eli’s hearty compliments, Noah turned back toward the kitchen. A flash of titian hair in his peripheral vision drew his attention. He couldn’t help but take another look at the spectacle taking place a few feet away.
“Neanderthals,” he mumbled under his breath, as he watched one man reach out and press a kiss on Sophie’s hand. Noah rolled his eyes. From the looks of it, Sophie could be one of those women who enjoyed twisting men around her little finger.
For the first time in his professional life, Noah felt conflicted about passing on information to a client. Did Sussex really need to know this type of information? Noah let out a sigh. With each and every day, this assignment was getting trickier to pull off. Sophie wasn’t actually doing anything noteworthy, other than living her life. But he could see that she was a much-beloved figure in this town, and clearly sought after by the men in Love. If Sussex’s goal was to win Sophie back, his plan would turn to mush if she fell for someone else. Perhaps Noah’s client needed this information as soon as possible. Ripping a Band-Aid off really quickly might hurt something fierce, but it was better than slowly pulling it off and prolonging the agony.
It would be a bummer if his assignment ended early, but Noah owed Sussex his truthful assessment of the situation.
Cameron sidled up to him and jerked his chin in Sophie’s direction. “Now see? If you were an official participant in Operation Love, you’d be right in the thick of that.” Cameron’s grin threatened to overtake his entire face. “Instead of looking at things from the outside.”
Noah scoffed. “Who says I want to be in the thick of a bunch of grown men competing for one woman’s attention? I have zero interest in what’s going on over there.” He tried to make his tone nonchalant.
“Well, someone forgot to tell your face that,” Cameron quipped. “You look as if you can’t keep your eyes off them.”
“You’re imagining things,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Whatever you say,” Cameron replied in a singsong voice.
Noah made his way back to the kitchen without looking in Sophie’s direction. As it was, he had plenty of information for his report to Sussex. Strangely, it didn’t make him feel good. Instead, he noticed a gnawing sensation in his gut.
He shoved that aside, refusing to feel guilty for doing his job. Noah had a professional duty to provide his client with any and all information regarding Sophie. He wasn’t in the habit of sugarcoating things.
Then why did he feel so conflicted about passing this information along to Sussex?
After reaching for his next ticket, he found himself placing the frying pan down on the stove with an extra bang. He couldn’t waver about this assignment or his obligations to Sussex. To do so would indicate weakness. The past had taught him the dangers of allowing himself to veer off course. Bad things happened when you allowed any hint of emotion to creep into your investigation. Sussex was his client. His fee would rescue Noah’s company from the brink of disaster. As far as Noah could tell, Sophie seemed to be content and happy with her new life in Alaska.
There was not a single thing he should feel guilty about.
* * *
All morning Sophie had been battling a wave of homesickness so strong she wasn’t sure she would be able to withstand it. Right in the middle of her shift she had to suppress the urge to make a phone call to her father. She had been missing him more than usual lately, as well as the rest of her extended family. Aunt Lillian was the closest thing in this world she had to a mother figure. Other than Hazel, of course.
Ever since Sophie’s beloved mother had passed away when she was a young girl, she’d missed her something fierce. Missing her father was something completely different, mainly because she knew there was something she could do to change the situation. All it would take was a single phone call. It wouldn’t be a cure-all for the situation, but perhaps it would serve to bridge the gap between them. Maybe then her heart wouldn’t feel as if someone had ripped out a portion of it.
