LITMIR.BIZ

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want to lie to this woman who was becoming a friend. There had been more than enough lies in her life.

      “I knew him from…a bad time in my life. Redstone sent him to help when my husband was killed.”

      Instantly contrite, Miranda put her hand on Paige’s arm. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

      “It’s all right. It was a long time ago. And it was only that I didn’t expect to ever see him again. I was…startled, that’s all.”

      Miranda patted her arm comfortingly. “Still, I’m sorry. But, my, he’d be enough to wake up any breathing woman. So tell me, why does he only go by Rider?”

      “I don’t know. Maybe he just doesn’t like Noah.”

      She liked the name, and that’s how she thought of him, but now she wondered why she persisted, when he’d asked everyone else to call him Rider. Maybe because he hadn’t asked her to call him that. And her mind skittered away from figuring out the motivation behind that particular choice.

      As if satisfied that Paige wasn’t really a source of details on the man in question, Miranda gave up on the subject. They chatted for a couple of minutes about how her two children were doing in class, and then the woman excused herself to go find said kids and stop them from whatever trouble she knew they were up to.

      Paige watched her go, feeling oddly wistful. Once she’d said similar things, said them in that same light teasing tone, knowing it was just that, teasing, and that there was little chance her sweet boy would really be in any kind of trouble.

      Now there was every chance, every day, and what she’d thought would help—extricating him from the environment that had had him skating on the edge of real problems—only seemed to have made it worse. He was angrier than ever, and it showed no signs of abating. Most days she could barely get a civil word out of him.

      “Paige?”

      Her breath caught at the unexpected sound of his voice so close behind her. She took a half second to steady herself before she turned around. He was wearing jeans and a blue T-shirt with the Redstone logo, and she was startled at how the casual clothes suited him even better than the executive look. He looked windblown and exhilarated, his blue eyes brighter than ever.

      “Have fun?” she asked.

      He grinned. “It was great. Want to try?”

      She glanced toward the water again, saw that somebody else was taking a turn now. The urge was there, but so was a little tingle of fear. She looked back at Rider. “I don’t know,” she began.

      “I saw you watching. You looked like you were wondering how it felt.”

      “You saw me from up there?” she said, not quite believing him.

      He reached out, touched her hair with his fingertips. “You stand out.”

      In an instant the air between them seemed charged. She held her breath, afraid to move. He drew his hand back, looking at it in surprise, as if he hadn’t even realized what he was doing. He curled his fingers to his palm, and shoved on the sunglasses he’d been holding in his other hand.

      “Come on,” he said. “Catch a ride before they wrap it up for the day.”

      She looked at the current flyer, who suddenly looked much higher than before. She wanted to try it, but a bit of shiver down her spine stopped her from immediately jumping at the chance. “I’m not sure,” she said.

      “You’ll love it. I promise.”

      “And if I don’t?”

      “Dinner. On me. Rudy has a new dish he wants to add to the menu.”

      Dinner again, she thought. As neatly as that he’d put her in a corner. If she said no, he’d think she hadn’t forgiven him, that she wasn’t sticking to their agreement to put it behind them. And if she said yes…

      If she said yes, she could end up marooned at a table with him, truly testing the strength of her resolve to not think about what had happened between them anymore.

      So, you’d better love this little adventure then, she thought. “All right,” she said.

      As she walked beside him down the beach, Paige had the strange but persistent feeling she’d done more than just say yes to a physical flight of fancy.

      Chapter 4

      Noah didn’t help as the operator got her into the harness, and Paige wondered if he was avoiding touching her again. He seemed to have gotten over his tense reaction. He was cheerfully encouraging her, treating her like anyone else here.

      “Tomorrow we’ll hook up the tandem rig,” the man was telling Noah.

      “Fine,” Noah said, “but right now you’ve got one of our most valued people.”

      The man took the hint and concentrated on her rigging.

      “Pay attention here now,” Noah said with mock sternness as the man began to give her safety instructions. “I doubt very much that doing a nosedive, or drowning because you can’t get out from under yards of wet fabric is in your plans for the day.”

      She wrinkled her nose at him. “Charming. Are you trying to make sure I don’t enjoy this?”

      He grinned. “Don’t put it past me. Maybe I really want that dinner. In fact, if I’m right and you do love it, you can buy. Employees’ rate, of course.”

      “Gee, thanks.”

      And then it was time. The man signaled the driver of the boat, and the engine changed pitch. For an instant she wanted to yell at them to stop, she’d changed her mind, but it was too late. She was committed now.

      She thought it would take more time or speed, but before she even realized it, she was on her way, her feet lifting off the back of the boat. Lifting so easily it stunned her. It was like flying, she thought, finally remembering to breathe. Or at least close to flying. The sensation without the work. But tethered to the boat below—frighteningly far below—it was also without the control.

      But the sensation was amazing, the wind of their passage whipping at her braid, the literal bird’s-eye view of the resort and this side of the island. She hadn’t realized the coast curved so much, she thought as she looked down through her dangling feet. She could see the variations in color in the water from here, how it changed from green to aqua to deeper blue in undulating lines. And Redstone Bay Resort itself, looking as if it had always been here, subtle, blending with the landscape.

      By the change in her view she realized the boat was heading back toward the beach. She could see the group of people, all staring up at her. She thought of what Noah had said, that he’d seen her from up here, and began to look for him.

      It took her only a moment. Even though he wasn’t the only one in a Redstone T-shirt, he stood out to her immediately. Something about the way he held himself, or the way he was watching her so intently and not chatting with those around him. Rather inanely she thought of waving, then realized she wasn’t about to let go of her grip on the lines.

      Even from up here, she realized rather glumly, he fascinated her. Phil had been a high-powered businessman, but for a much smaller company. In essence Noah held a much higher position, and yet he was so much more at ease with it and with himself. He didn’t seem driven, just good. Nor was he arrogant, as Phil had been with people under him. Noah treated them with respect, making it clear their contributions were valued.

      And for a few days, during a ghastly time of her life, he’d made her feel valued. He’d made her feel as if she were someone who deserved to be taken care of, as if there were truly people who cared about her and wanted to help her get through this. He’d been there for Redstone, but he’d made it personal, believable.

      Her mind wanted to swerve down that old track, drag up again the memory of how she’d repaid him for that, but she quashed it. She

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