With quiet steps, I sneaked back into the bedroom and grabbed my clothes. Reluctantly, I took off his shirt and carefully folded it back into the drawer. I would put it on again when I returned, but it was way too big for me to wear out. Noah sighed contentedly in his sleep and turned onto his side. I beamed good dream thoughts his way for a moment and then hurried out to go get breakfast.
Outside, the birds were singing in the sunshine. The world smelled of fresh rain and clean soil. The storm had washed the world. Everything was bright and new. Like my future. There were other possibilities I could explore now. At least, that was what I told myself as I walked.
I came to the turn in the path to get to the restaurant and made the mistake of looking at the beach where our sandcastle had been. I couldn't stop my feet from heading toward the water. The castle was gone. Destroyed. All that remained was a mound of white sand. Even the shells had been scattered by the rain, wind, and waves. My chest ached with the loss.
I bent down to touch the sand, feeling the fine grit between my fingertips. Maybe today Noah and I could come back and rebuild it. Make an even better one. I smiled at the thought. It was just what I needed. To rebuild something and make it even better. If I could do it with a sandcastle, then I could do it with my research. I could start again.
I dusted off my hands and stood, feeling hopeful for the first time in hours. With a smart turn, I ran headlong into the reporter whom Noah had been trying to avoid. I stumbled back, apologizing and feeling suddenly off kilter.
The woman was beautiful up close. She was thin, but with curves in all the right places. Her khaki shorts showed off firm, strong legs, and her bright blue v-neck shirt gave just enough hint at cleavage to draw the eye. She wore sensible, but pretty, sandals today instead of spiky heels. Dark hair spilled attractively around her shoulders in soft waves. I could see how she had gotten exclusive interviews with powerful men. It was hard not to look at her and be impressed.
She smiled, but there was no warmth in her eyes. They were shark eyes. Predatory. And I was now the fish she had set her sights on.
“No hiding from me this time,” she said. Even her voice was sexy. “You care to make a statement, Isabel?”
“How do you know my name?” I asked, thrown completely off balance. I smoothed my shirt self-consciously. It was an old shirt that smelled like sunscreen. Normally, that didn't bother me since that was the best thing to wear out on the boat, but standing next to this perfect, model-like woman, I felt incredibly inadequate.
“It's a small island. I asked around.” She shrugged and tossed a lock of silky hair behind her shoulder. “Contrary to your boyfriend's opinion, Danica Lewis is actually pretty good at her job.”
So she was one of those types of people who referred to herself in the third person. Awesome. She definitely had confidence in spades.
“No comment.” Isn't that what all the people in the movies said? I didn't want to talk to her, so I side-stepped her and returned to the path.
“No comment?” She made an incredulous noise. “The man you're sleeping with goes and buys your nature preserve out from under you, and you have no comment?”
I froze in my tracks. “What?”
The woman sashayed over so she could face me. She raised perfectly groomed eyebrows in mock innocence. “Oh, you didn't know?”
“What are you saying?” I asked. The world was threatening to spin out of control again. I couldn't handle another life-changing shock this soon. I wanted her to be lying. I wanted to walk away and not hear what she had to say, but my feet didn't move.
“Noah Black, owner of Diamond Hotels, just bought the property that you and your scientist friends wanted to turn into a nature preserve.” She smiled smugly.
“I'm afraid you have my Noah confused with someone else,” I said, forcing my feet to take a step forward. She blocked my way.
“There's no confusing Noah Black with anyone but Noah Black.” She smiled with her perfect lips. She had a bone, and she wasn't going to lose it. “You do know he's going to build timeshares on the property, right? I can't imagine you'd be too happy to see the flux of people coming in and out of those. I hear that's hard on the local ecology.”
I didn't want to talk to her. I didn't want it to be true. I hadn't eaten yet, and I wasn't ready to deal with another giant problem until I at least had a cup of coffee. I started walking, bumping her with my shoulder when she didn't move out of my way. It couldn't be true.
“He didn't tell you who he was, did he?” She called out. I tried my best to ignore her, but her voice cut through me like butter. “He's charming, isn't he? Makes you laugh. Feel comfortable. You trust him instinctively. Enough that you didn't even feel the need to figure out what he did for a living.”