Seth let go of his left hand. He hadn’t realized he was manipulating his thumb to ease some of the tightness in the digit. Some of the swelling had gone down, but now it appeared to have stiffened. “I hit it pretty hard so it’s going to take a few days before I stop favoring it.”
Natalia reached for his hand, cradling it in her much smaller one. “Do you want me to spray it again?”
He snatched his hand away. “No! I’ll ice it again when I get home.”
“You can apply a warm compress after you ice it again.”
Seth smiled. “I’ll do that. I’m going to clean up here—”
“Please don’t,” Natalia, said, cutting him off. “You’ve done enough. I’ll clean up everything. And dinner tonight is my treat.”
Seth shook his head. “No, it’s not. I never allow a woman to pick up the check when we go out together.”
“I’m not your date, Seth.”
“Whether you are or are not my date is irrelevant. I still won’t let you pay for my meal.”
“What if we go dutch?”
Not wishing to engage in a verbal confrontation, something he’d done much too often with some women in his past, he forced a smile that did not reach his eyes. “It’s almost three o’clock now, and I’d like to pick you up at six. Is that too early?”
“Oh... I mean no. It’s not too early.”
“If that’s the case, then I’ll see you later.”
Turning on his heel, Seth walked out of the kitchen. It had been less than twelve hours since he met his new neighbor, and there was something about her that intrigued him. He was more than curious about the woman driving a top-of-the-line luxury SUV bearing Pennsylvania plates, and why she was renting a house in The Falls. Seth knew he could easily find out more about his new neighbor by entering her vehicle’s license plate number into a national database accessible to law enforcement but that would be the same as snooping. After all, she wasn’t a suspect or a person of interest in a case he was investigating. And he hoped, after sharing a meal with Natalia, she would answer some of the questions that had him wondering why she had come to The Falls.
* * *
Natalia dipped the sable brush into the compact with loose powder that was specially blended to match her complexion, and tapped it lightly against the lid to shake off the surplus before she drew it over her face. Peering into the mirror over the bathroom sink, she stared at her handiwork. Although it had been a while since she’d applied foundation, eye shadow, mascara and lipstick, it was apparent she hadn’t lost her touch. A moisturizer and occasionally lip gloss were the only allowances she made for makeup when working at the hospital, and the last time she made up her face was New Year’s Eve when she’d accompanied her ex to a party hosted by one of the partners at his law firm.
What had begun as a festive evening ended with them glaring at each other after Daryl accused her of flirting with one of his colleagues. The incident foreshadowed the end of what had become a fragile relationship when she vowed never to attend another social soiree with him unless he apologized for his rude behavior. She waited weeks, and then a month, for him to express regret, but when he didn’t Natalia knew it was time to end their engagement. However, Daryl beat her to it when he moved out and took off with her ring and her dog.
Now she was preparing to go out with her neighbor. The major difference was that it wasn’t what Natalia deemed a traditional date. However, she had admit to herself that she did find Seth Collier very, very attractive, but even that wasn’t enough for her to think of him as anything other than someone who lived next door. She found it ironic that she’d lived in the condo for eight years and had never socialized with any of the other residents in her building. Although they would occasionally greet one another with a nod or perfunctory greeting, she didn’t know any of their names. Picking up a wide-tooth comb, she ran it through the strands of her short hair and then using her fingers, fluffed them to achieve greater height. Preparing to resign from her position at the hospital, closing on the sale of the condo to her sister and brother-in-law, and then packing the personal items she planned to ship to Wickham Falls hadn’t left time for her to visit her favorite Philly salon for a trim. Fortunately, time was no longer an issue for Natalia with her working shorter hours and she had to decide whether to let her hair grow out or keep it short and virtually maintenance-free.
The ring of the doorbell startled her as she hurriedly washed her hands and left the bathroom to answer the door. The clock on the living room fireplace mantelpiece chimed the hour. It was exactly six o’clock. Seth said he would pick her up at six and arriving at the appointed time revealed he was a man of his word.
She unlocked the inner door to find Seth standing on the porch staring at her with an expression she interpreted as temporary shock. She unlatched the storm door and held it open. He’d changed into black slacks with a white untucked shirt open at the neck and spit-shined black boots. Much to her disappointment the stubble from his lean, strong jaw was missing. Natalia wasn’t a big fan of facial hair, but somehow she liked it on Seth.
“Please, come in. I just have to get my jacket and purse.”
“That’s all right. I’ll wait here for you.”
* * *
Seth had told Natalia he would wait on the porch for her because it would give him time to recover from staring at her slender body in a pair of body-hugging black stretch slacks, high-heeled booties and a black-and-white striped silk blouse.
When Natalia opened the door, Seth felt as if someone had hit him in the chest, causing him to lose his breath, when he stared at her. He couldn’t believe the transformation. She’d gone from a fresh-faced ingenue to a seductress with smoky eye shadow and a raspberry mouth that made him want to taste her lush lips to see if they were as sweet as they appeared. It had been a while since he’d slept with a woman, but that still did not explain his reaction to a woman who unknowingly had him wanting to spend time with her.
And there were a few questions he wanted her to answer for him: why had she chosen to practice medicine in Wickham Falls and not some other town? Who or what was the reason for her leaving a cosmopolitan city like Philadelphia to live in a town where more than half the populous were at or below the poverty line, and at the same time census numbers were steadily decreasing?
A smile parted his lips when she returned wearing a loose-fitting black peplum jacket. Her big-city sophistication was definitely on display, and he wondered how long it would take for her to conform to a more relaxed style of dress. Jeans, boots or running shoes were the norm for most residents. Even the local church had eased dress code restrictions where women attended services in slacks, and some of the teenage girls had attempted to push the envelope when they showed up in shorts and tank tops.
The scent of Natalia’s perfume wafted to his nostrils when she closed and then locked the doors. “You look very nice,” Seth complimented.
Natalia’s demurely lowered her eyes. “Thank you.”
Cradling her elbow, he led her down off the porch and over to his driveway where he’d parked the Dodge Charger. Seth opened the passenger-side door and waited until Natalia was seated and belted in before he rounded the car to sit behind the wheel. He didn’t get to drive the powerful muscle car as often as he liked. He had driven it to Savannah and back, but most times he drove his late father’s Ram Pickup to and from the station house to keep it from sitting too long. Even though the sixteen-year-old vehicle had more than a hundred thousand miles on the odometer it still handled like new. His father had claimed the great loves in his life were his wife and children, and then his pickup, which he worked on tirelessly to keep it in tip-top condition.
“How far is the Wolf Den from here?” Natalia asked when they stopped at the railroad crossing. The gates were down, bells were ringing and red lights were flashing indicating an oncoming train.
Seth shifted