Page 3 of Perfectly Matched: Harbor Falls Romance Collection

Someone was talking to her. The thousand voices parted, and one particular voice came to the forefront. His words drifted across her face on a soft and whispery breath, edged with familiar rasp. In her hazed state, it felt as if he were stroking her face with his fingertips, brushing strands of hair from her eyes. No, he wouldn’t do that. Would he? But she felt so warm, protected, like he had cradled her deep in his arms.

Who?

“Christ, Suzette. I didn’t mean to scare you,”

he whispered.

Suzie blinked several times as her brain came back to awareness. Brad. He was holding her. She was cradled in his arms. He was stroking her face and cooing down at her.

Shit! She bolted upright.

He grabbed her and pulled her back down into his lap.

“Suzette! Sit still. You passed out and hit your head.”

“What… What are you doing here? Oh...”

Dizzy again. Dammit. She should have eaten dinner before doing the planting. She knew better than to let her blood sugar get out of whack.

“Would you quit squirming? I’m not going to hurt you.”

That was probably the understatement of the century. Hurt her? No, Brad Matthews would never hurt her—physically. Emotionally? Probably. She searched his face through fuzzy eyes. It had been eighteen months since she’d seen him. She didn’t want to acknowledge to herself how much she had missed that face.

She scooted up, rubbed her temple, and pushed away from him.

“Brad, I….”

“Let’s get an ice pack for your head. And a painkiller. You’re going to have a nasty bruise. We may need to take you to the emergency room.”

Oh hell no. The last thing Suzie wanted was for Brad Matthews to take her to the Harbor Falls Hospital ER. Think she was talk of the town now? Wait until the gossip mongers got hold of that one. Bad-boy type motorcycle dude carrying poor Suzie in his arms. What is that all about? Made-up stories would be flying all over town before morning. Even more frightening was him taking care of her in her own home. She didn’t need that. Too close, too private, too many memories flooding back. She had to get rid of him.

“Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get you inside.”

But for some insane reason, Suzie reneged. She let him help her to her feet and lead her into the house. His arm steadying her, she moved alongside like an obedient puppy. Which was fine since it appeared she was still a little weak in the knees.

And it wasn’t from not eating.

****

Brad took a deep breath as he entered Suzie’s house, glanced about, and settled her on the sofa in the living room.

“You sit tight,”

he ordered.

“I’m going for ice. Which way is the kitchen?”

Slinking back into the sofa cushions, Suzie’s glazed eyes worried him. She pointed down the hall and he moved in the direction she’d indicated. The last thing he wanted was to frighten her. Or hurt her. That was certainly not his plan. He’d contemplated for days how she’d react when she saw him, when she realized the Mr. Logan who had made a reservation with her last week was really him. He’d known she’d be thrown for a loop, that she might even get mad. He’d walked himself through all those scenarios a hundred times. He knew exactly how he would react to any of a dozen things she might toss at him.

But he hadn’t planned for this. Scaring the hell out of her and hurting her. Dammit!

He bolted into her kitchen, looking right and left. Ice. Yes, that’s what he needed.

The kitchen momentarily took him off guard and for a split second, he stood and admired the bright and cheery room painted sunshine yellow with white accents. The large center island balanced a trellis of polished pots hanging above. The stainless steel, restaurant-style gas stove sat on the spit-shined hard-wood floors. Bright white cabinets, some open shelving and some with glass doors, plus and a host of stainless appliances, cutlery, and cookery items completed the upscale kitchen design.

In a glance, he knew it was probably the best home kitchen design he’d ever seen.

He could get lost in here. Never mind, Matthews. Salivate over her kitchen later.

His gaze shot back to the side-by-side stainless refrigerator/freezer combo. He quickly located ice, a large zipper bag, and a hand towel. In a few quick steps, he was back by her side in the living room.

Her eyes were closed, her breathing soft.

For a moment, all he wanted to do was look at her. A flash of memory seared through his brain. Watching her come awake was one of his fondest memories of the short time they’d spent together. Strawberry blond hair slinked lazily over her brow, honey-brown freckles sprinkled over a pert nose and cream-colored complexion—heaven, pure heaven. Those small chili-pepper lips could both tempt and beckon….

Not now, Matthews. Not now.

“Suzette. Wake up, sweetheart. You shouldn’t sleep.”

He roused her. A few quick eye blinks batted back at him.

“Hm?”

Moving closer, he shook her shoulder, then lifted her head to place the ice on her growing head bump.

“I’m going to put the ice— Ow!”

Suzie bolted upright when the ice hit her temple, hands flailing, knocking a clenched fist into his arm. His hand holding the ice bag shot back and knocked him square in the right eye.

“Ow!”

he shouted again.

“What the…?”

Suzie stared at him, wide-eyed.

“You’re bleeding!”

Brad reached up and swiped across his eyebrow. Yep. Blood. And running down his face. A sharp corner of an ice cube must have sliced the tender skin of his eyelid. Suzie jumped up and raced for the kitchen.

Brad grabbed for he.

“Wait! Come back here. You shouldn’t run like that.”

“You’re bleeding. My new sofa. Get up!”

He did. Warm trickles ran down the side of his face now. Brad followed her into the kitchen. She stood at the sink rinsing out another towel, her hands frantically wringing and twisting the wet terry fabric. Abruptly she stopped, braced herself against the sink, and closed her eyes. Her body weaved a little.

Brad stepped closer. “Here,”

he said softly.

“Give me that.”

He took the soaked towel, wrung it out until barely damp, and then pressed it against his bleeding eye. In the same motion, he saw her sway and he reached out with his other arm to pull her closer into him.

He whispered.

“Ah, honey. Slow down and stop running away from me, okay?”

Finally, Suzie relaxed against him and Brad exhaled for the first time in what felt like hours. Maybe months. None of this was happening as planned… But finally, his Suzie was back in his arms.

****

Stop running from me.

Suzie squeezed her eyes shut and breathed in the musky male scent of the man whose arms were wrapped firmly around her. Yes, running was what she’d been doing, wasn’t it? Running from him. If she’d be brave enough to admit it, she kind of liked where she was right now. Back in Brad’s arms. She’d relish it for the moment. A small moment. What could it hurt? Later, she could rationalize that her silly little head injury and queasy stomach was causing her to do things she normally wouldn’t do.

Right?

Wrong. Months and months ago, before the Cliff debacle, she didn’t have a silly little head injury that caused her to fall into Brad’s arms. It was lust, pure and simple, that made her do it. She’d be damned if she’d make that mistake again.

Running was the exact thing she needed to do at this moment. And as soon as this darn silly head thing passed, she’d be running again.

If she could find the strength to push away.

Suzie grabbed onto the gumption gathering inside her and pressed her palms against Brad’s chest. She backed a good five feet away from him, settling her backside against the cooking island. She stared him in the face.

There he stood, in the middle of her kitchen, all tall and dark and handsome, and man-in-black and all. A smear of blood still dripped down his face, adding to his bad-boy charm and decadent lure.

Still, she would not be deterred.

Even though her voice may have been softer than she had intended, and quite possibly could have wavered a bit, she mustered up her words with conviction.

“What the hell are you doing in my kitchen, Brad Matthews?”

He dabbed at his eyebrow.

“At the moment I’m trying to stop this bleeding.”

She crossed her arms.

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it. What are you doing here, in Harbor Falls?”

He tossed the bloody towel in the sink and peered straight at her.

“Suzie, all right. So we need to talk.”

“Yes, we do.”

Her foot began a sudden and erratic tap-tap-tap on the hardwood floor.

He moved a step closer.

“I’m worried about your head.”

She sidled to the left.

“My head is fine. A small bump. No one will be the wiser in the morning.”

“I will.”

“What?”

“I’ll be the wiser. I’ll know.”

“Know what?”

“About your bump.”

Suzie sighed.

“Forget about the bump! I want to know why you are here and when you are planning to leave.”

She really needed to know what was going on.

Brad cleared his throat and took another hesitant step forward.

“I suppose that depends on you.”

Suzie narrowed her gaze.

“Don’t play games with me, Brad,”

she warned.

He shook his head.

“No games, Suzie. I’m not playing a game. I’m here for serious business.”

Okay, finally we’re getting somewhere.

“Tell me. What’s so serious?”

He moved closer. His gaze never left hers. His eyes turned all dreamy and misty and full of intent. Suddenly, Suzie felt like the world was turning on her again. Spinning. What was that look on his face? Like he was after something. Like he was hell-bent on getting his way.

Like he was going to ask her to marry him, or something.

Oh shit.

One of those looks. Oh, God. No!

She put up her hands.

“Brad Matthews, stop right where you are. Don’t you dare take another step…and stop looking at me that way!”

He stopped.

“What way?”

“Like, like… Oh hell.”

She had to turn this tide. Deflect. Distract him with something, anything, to stop this train wreck that was about to happen. Her gaze skittered about then landed on his face again. It was then she got a good gander at his eyebrow.

“My God. Your eye!”

“What the hell?”

She moved closer and peered at his face.

“Good Lord, Brad. That’s has to hurt.”

“What?”

She poked at his wound.

“Ow!”

“See? That’s a nice little slice there. Needs fixing.”

She blubbered on, avoiding his gaze.

“You really busted that open good. Probably need stitches. Not that I want to go to the emergency room with you. In fact, it’s the last place I want to be seen with—”

She started to say with a drop-dead gorgeous male specimen such as yourself, but didn’t.

“—with you this evening, but I think we might need to go. Come here.”

Evidently, he didn’t need to be told twice. In a blink he moved right up next to her. Damn, he was tall. She’d forgotten.

No, she hadn’t.

She pulled over a bar stool. “Sit.”

“Are you still dizzy?”

“Sit!”

“Guess not.” He sat.

Yes, she was still dizzy. Crazy dizzy but she didn’t think it was from the hit on her head. She moved back to the sink and retrieved the towel. This whole mess had left her disoriented and a little off-balance. She needed to think. Clear her head. Gain a moment or two to get a grip. Right?

What in the world was he going to ask her?

She rinsed and wrung out the towel, then returned to Brad.

“Let me see that cut a little closer.”

Brad put his hands on her rear and pulled her in the cradle of his thighs.

She batted his hands away and took a comfortable step backwards. “Stop it!”

“Sorry.”

“Let me see that eye.”

“Sure, doc.”

Suzie glared at him then studied the eyebrow. She dabbed with the damp towel, removing dried blood around the edges, and determined a butterfly bandage or two would do the trick.

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.”