And, if she did feel occasional spikes of envy jabbing at her, she'd managed so far to hide them from the sister she loved.
“I know,” Kelly said with a laugh. “Who would have thought that I'd be saying stuff like that? Paris for the weekend. But you know, K, I really love it here. I mean, I miss home and everybody, you especially, but I love living in London. I even like the rain!”
“I know.” She heard that love in Kelly's voice every time they spoke. This was supposed to have been a one-year stint—a year that was almost over—in London, for the international bank that had hired Kelly right out of college. But Keira had been preparing herself for months now, to be ready for the day when Kelly announced that she would be staying in Europe.
Kelly loved everything about England and now that she was seriously dating a man who had been born and raised there, the chances of her ever moving back to Hunter's Landing were slimmer than ever.
“So what's going on at home, besides the party I'm not at,” she asked.
Keira shook off the gloomy thoughts that had settled over her like some sort of shroud and forced a smile into her voice. “We've got our first guest in the lake lodge.”
“Oh my God! You're kidding! What's he like? Did you see the inside of the place? Is it fabulous?”
Keira laughed. God, she missed her little sister. “Not kidding, he seems nice, saw the house, it's amazing.”
“C'mon,” Kelly whined. “There's gotta be more than that. You've been telling me about that house for a year now. So what's it like?”
“It's so gorgeous, you wouldn't believe it. Awesome views of the lake—built of glass and wood and stone, and there's a fireplace big enough to stand up in.”
“Oh, wow.”
“I'll say.”
“And the guy?”
“What about him?”
“ ‘He seems nice?’ “ Kelly laughed. “Please. Give me more than that.”
More? What could she say? That he was arrogant and irritating and altogether too attractive? That she was spending too much time thinking about him when she should have been worrying about keeping him in the lodge long enough to fulfill the requirements of the will?
“What's his name, at least,” Kelly demanded.
“Nathan.” There. That was safe information. “Nathan Barrister.”
“Whoa. Barrister? Like in the Barrister Hotel Barristers?”
“I don't know,” Keira said with a shrug her sister couldn't see. “I … maybe.”
“Nathan Barrister was in London a couple of months ago. Had a meeting at my bank. Tell me what yours looks like and I'll tell you if it's him.”
“Tall. Dark. Pale blue eyes.”
“Snotty twist to his mouth?” Kelly asked.
“Not exactly snotty,” Keira argued.
“Woo hoo,” Kelly crowed. “It is him. And you like him.”
“Dial it down, Kel,” Keira said, knowing it was way too late to put the lid back down on that particular box. Kelly was already enjoying herself.
“I don't believe this. Nathan Barrister in Hunter's Landing? That's too funny.”
“Why's it funny?” She stiffened at the amusement in her sister's voice and felt like she should be defending the man for some reason.
“Well, he's just such a stick. The man has no sense of humor and one look out of those eyes and you practically freeze over. And I saw my boss's face after his meeting with Barrister. You remember I told you that my boss is mean enough to give the boogeyman nightmares?”
“Yeah …”
“When Barrister left his office, my boss was pale and shaking.”
“Oh.”
“Seriously, K,” Kelly said, her voice dropping. It was a strain to hear her over the crash of the band and the swell of laughter and conversation rising up over Main Street. “If you're thinking about falling for this guy, don't do it.”
“Oh, please.” Keira sighed, shook her hair back from her face and said, “He's here as part of that will I told you about. If he stays for the month, if the rest of them each stay for a month, the town is going to get a heck of a lot of money that we really need. And that's all there is to it. I just said he was attractive, I didn't say I was going after him.”
“You didn't say he was attractive!” Kelly's voice shrieked so high that Keira jerked the phone away from her ear.
“I didn't?”
“No. K, don't do this. Don't let yourself care about this guy. Remember what happened with—”
“Don't go there, okay?” Keira interrupted her quickly, not willing to take a forced march down memory lane. “And let's remember here just which one of us is the older sister.”
“I know,” Kelly said, “it's just that you're so—”
“So what exactly?”
“I don't know. Never mind. Just be careful, okay?”
“I'm always careful, Kelly. Trust me. Nothing's going to happen.” Even if she wanted something to happen, Nathan had already made it perfectly clear that he didn't, so what could happen?
Keira peeked around the edge of the flower shop wall to stare down the street at Nathan again—big mistake. He was watching for her. Even from a distance, his gaze slammed into hers with a punch that was nearly physical. Keira sucked in a gulp of air and reached out blindly with her right hand to slap it against the wall in an effort to balance herself. It didn't help much.
A flicker of heat kicked into life in the pit of her stomach and rolled through her like a storm-pitched wave crashing onto shore. She felt her world rock and had to fight to right it again.
“K?” Kelly's voice was in her ear. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she lied, swallowing hard past the knot of need that was lodged firmly in her throat. She couldn't look away from Nathan's eyes. “I'm fine. Don't worry about anything.”
“But—”
“Look. Send me a postcard from Paris, okay?”
“Sure, but—”
“Bye, honey, be safe.” Keira flipped the phone closed and straightened up just as Nathan headed toward her.
Five
Nathan had had enough.
His ears were ringing and the good manners his grandmother had drummed into him were strained now to the snapping point. He'd excused himself from the two older women who had seemed determined to trap him on Main Street forever, and now he was going to get Keira to take him back to the lodge.
He should have driven himself.
Then he wouldn't be waiting around for anyone. He wasn't a man who liked being dependent on someone else for anything. His insides tightened as people milled past him, laughing, talking, dancing. He wasn't a part of them and never would be. Didn't want to be. And the more time he spent with all of them, the more clear that feeling became.
He didn't know why the hell he hadn't left the mountains already. He didn't have to honor a promise made in college to a man long-dead. Hell, he could