Julie turned around to face Front Street. The shops closed early since it was a Sunday night and the few seasonal tourists were gone. With about an hour to go until sunset, the faux gas lamps lining the historic downtown area were not yet lit. Usually her street was bustling with people, but for now she had the luxury of solitude.
Briskly, Julie walked through town. Whom could she call to get the jungle gym repaired? The town would take weeks, unless she pestered Royce Hogan to get the Parks and Rec Department to do a rush job. Maybe Luke Bedwin at the hardware store could come out to smooth off the rough edges so no one else would get hurt while she worked her magic on the mayor.
A light wind blew, raising goose bumps on her bare arms. Damn, she was freezing! When she’d found Billy, she’d been out running. Anticipating a brisk loop around the town and back to her house, she hadn’t dressed for the weather. Her leggings, T-shirt, and running shoes weren’t warm enough this late in the afternoon. To warm up quickly, she broke into a trot.
Too bad she couldn’t cut across the piers to get home—it would have been much faster. But she’d promised the Millers she’d look at the play structure and she always kept her promises. As she turned into the park, for the briefest of moments, she had the uneasy feeling of being watched.
Brushing off the prickle of unease, Julie picked up her pace. Tall trees surrounding the entrance to the park loomed over her, causing the dusky gloom to close in. Soon, she reached the children’s playground in a small clearing. At the jungle gym, she saw a sharp piece of metal poking out the side about two feet off the ground. There was no obvious rust, but she’d call Dr. Walsham all the same to determine whether Billy should get a booster. Gingerly, she bent over and touched it with one hand. It moved slightly. Maybe she could break it off. Grasping it with both hands, she strained for a few moments against the metal, trying to work the piece free.
“Ma’am, are you aware you’re defacing public property?”
Julie was so surprised at the firm male voice behind her that she let go. She would have fallen back onto the wood chips, but instead she fell backwards into something much more solid.
Strong hands grabbed her under her rib cage and lifted her as if she weighed nothing. Julie gasped as those same strong hands landed on her shoulders, spinning her around. She tried to see the man’s face, but the shadows hid his features. All of her senses immediately went on high alert, attuned to the danger of standing in a deserted, darkened park with an unknown man.
“Are you aware you nearly scared me half to death?” she retorted, backing away from him. Maybe not the wisest thing to say when standing in the dark with a stranger, but it was either give him some smart-ass retort or scream her head off.
“Julia, Julia, Julia,” the man said. His voice was like whisky, deep and smooth, with just a hint of mirth. “I’m sure you’re doing something Good Samaritan–like, so why don’t you tell me what’s going on and we can call it a night?”
There was only one person she knew who could sound that authoritative and commanding without even trying. Her eyes narrowed. “Cole Grayson?”
Slowly, the man moved out of the shadows, and when she saw his face, Julie’s breath caught in her throat. She’d been right.
It was Cole, the boy who’d haunted her dreams since high school.
Her track teammates had gushed over the Grayson boys—Seb mostly, due to his looks and charm. But Seb’s smooth, entitled attitude had always rubbed her the wrong way. She had been tempted to write all of the Graysons off, but as much as she hadn’t wanted to admit it, there was something about Cole that got to her.
With his rakish grin, deep blue eyes, and tousled black hair, Cole had epitomized everything that was sexy about a boy on the verge of manhood. Back then, he’d been lean and sinewy, a stripling yet to have filled out, but oh so desirable. Since he’d returned to Star Harbor, the ante had been upped. He wasn’t just desirable anymore—he was smoking hot.
Standing well over six feet tall, he looked like something out of a magazine. Beneath his black leather jacket and slim jeans it was obvious he was in impeccable shape. Time had fine-tuned the planes of his face from boyish sexiness to full-blown sensuality. His hair was still a glossy black and was slightly too long to be considered clean cut. A swath of it fell across his broad forehead, nearly dangling into his eyes. Those hooded blue eyes promised excitement—and danger—if one were stupid enough to get too close. He had a slight scar high on his right cheekbone that Julie didn’t remember him having back then.
And his lips were luscious—ripe and full of promise. The first lips she’d ever tasted.
Julie dragged her gaze away and glanced back to his eyes, just catching the tail end of the once-over he’d given her. Now, he gave her a long, deep stare. The change hadn’t all been physical. He had a hardness to him that hadn’t been there when he was younger. My God, the man was sizzling! And dangerous. Very, very dangerous.
“Cole Grayson in the flesh,” he said, as if he knew exactly what was going through her mind.
Like it always did when she was around Cole, a familiar warmth began to build, low and insistent, in her core. She nearly groaned aloud. Cole was the distraction she really didn’t need. Not now. Not when she could almost taste the sweetness of a successful year of practice. Unlike last year—a financial disaster due to startup costs and time-management issues—this year, she was in the black. And she wanted to keep it that way. She couldn’t let up. With the busy summer season coming up in a few short months, she should be financially solvent by the end of this calendar year. Besides, getting involved with a man like Cole Grayson would practically guarantee heartbreak.
“You completely freaked me out!” she accused, happier to be on the offensive when it came to Cole.
“Sorry. That definitely wasn’t my intent.” He crossed his arms over his wide chest and eyed her speculatively. “As long as we’re here now, maybe you’d like to tell me why you’ve been dodging me.”
“I’ve been working,” she said.
“So have I. But I still manage to have some fun.”
“I get out.” Sometimes.
“Sure. To the obligatory events. You came to Halloween on the Green, but left as soon as night fell.”
“I needed a good night’s sleep.” She’d been exhausted from her full patient load.
“And at Seb and Lexie’s wedding, you skipped out as soon as dinner was over.”
She shrugged, thinking it was interesting that he’d noticed. “I had clinic the next day.”
“I was saving a slow dance for you. Dancing is—you know—fun.” His lips curled up at the edges.