Page 199 of The Havenport Collection

Luke

I tried to focus on saving this bottle of wine.

I had broken the cork, like an absolute idiot, on a thousand-dollar bottle of Bordeaux.

I had driven over to my wine cellar at the big house especially to get it.

But I couldn’t focus. My brain was spinning, and my hands were shaking because Nora was currently in my shower.

She had texted earlier saying she spent the day cleaning up the damage to her house and wondering if my offer to use the shower was still good. I tripped over myself inviting her over, and now I was sweating.

She was naked. In my house. Probably shampooing her gorgeous hair.

I closed my eyes and could see the suds sliding down her neck, over those full breasts and down her shapely legs.

Since Nora had started coming over to use my shower and laundry a few days ago, I had spent a lot of time fantasizing about her in the shower.

Speaking of showers, I was going to need an ice-cold one if I was going to get through this night.

Nora came over around seven, after her Krav Maga class, all sweaty and wearing sinfully tight yoga leggings. She said she was going to get a quick shower and leave, but I planned to tempt her with dinner.

I was prepared. I had picked up something special and made sure to get some good wine ready. Sadly she would be drinking chunks of cork if I didn’t salvage this situation soon. Yes. I was a weak man. I liked helping people. And a pretty girl in distress? I could not resist.

“Fuck.” I almost stabbed myself with the fancy corkscrew. Damn. I needed to get it together. This was Nora. We were not friends. And given that we could barely be in the same room together, nothing more than frosty acquaintances.

She was loud and annoying and clearly despised me. Yes, she was strikingly beautiful and had a mouth like a sailor, which I found strangely irresistible. And yes, she was incredibly smart and hardworking—also a major turn-on. And yes, her body was sinfully sexy. But I disliked her.

In fact, we disliked each other. So she was a no-go zone.

And yes, pushing her buttons was so much fun. But that was all there was to it.

I was a red-blooded man. It had been a while since I’d dated, and clearly I was getting desperate if I was fantasizing about Nora in my shower.

I paced around some more. It was the weather.

Yes, definitely the weather. This endless winter was getting me down and messing with my head.

I needed to travel. I’d text Jude, ask him to book something, maybe the Caribbean?

And go through my phone to find a willing companion for the trip.

A few days of drinking on a beach with a hot girl would clear my head of all this Nora-related confusion.

I grabbed the wine glasses off the top shelf and placed them on the island.

It was decided. I’d go on vacation and that was that.

Get Nora out of my head. Then she could come here and use my shower and my laundry until her house was finished and we wouldn’t have to interact.

And I wouldn’t have to manage the daily temptation of naked Nora in my house.

Because I was tempted. Boy, was I tempted. Those pouty lips, that long hair, her hips…oh my God, I could study the spot where her waist curved into her hip for days. She was so sexy, and it was as if she was built just to torment me with what I couldn’t have.

Nora emerged from the bathroom fully clothed, and I said a silent prayer of thanks.

The last thing my frayed nerves needed was to see her in a towel.

Her hair was wet and her face was scrubbed bare, and she looked younger and more innocent than usual.

She was wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt, and I had the overwhelming urge to wrap my arms around her.

“What is that smell?” she asked. “Saffron?”

Without waiting for me to answer, she walked over to the stove and lifted the lid.

“Oh my God. Is this squid ink pappardelle? In lobster and saffron broth?” She looked up at me with wide eyes.

I nodded.

“You made this?”

“No. I picked it up from Cuccina Ligura. I’m just heating it up.”

“What? You can’t just pick this up from there.”

“I do. I’m friends with the owner.”

She laughed—a big honking laugh. As if anyone would be friends with me. “You? Are friends with the owner?”

I don’t know why this was so funny, I was friends with a lot of people. “Yes. I’ve lived here a while and gotten to know Aldo and his son, Bruno. We’re friends. They don’t do takeout, but they make an exception for me.”

“Well, Aldo is my father, and Bruno is my oldest brother. And my Nonna does not allow takeout. She thinks it’s crass and you can’t properly enjoy her food after it’s gone cold. That’s why my brother Matteo opened Nonna’s Kitchen on the other side of town for casual and takeout.”

I was surprised. I knew Nora came from a big Italian family, but I didn’t realize her family had a monopoly on all the Italian food in town.

She had never mentioned it before, not that we ever spoke much between hurling insults at each other.

I shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a likable guy, and Aldo has taken a shine to me. ”

Nora’s eyes narrowed. “I knew you were the anti-Christ, but this just confirms it.”

“Are you going to bitch at me all night or do you want to eat? I have an excellent bottle of wine to go with it.”

Nora grabbed the wine glasses out of the cabinet and poured. “You know I can’t turn down the good stuff, Luke.” Her eyes twinkled.

I carried our plates into the dining room. Yes, I had dug out a tablecloth; it was just to protect the table. Not because I liked her or anything.

We sat and ate companionably. Most nights I was either out or sitting at home in front of my computer.

It felt special to be sitting at this rarely used table, making conversation and drinking wine.

She told me about her five older brothers and growing up around the family restaurants.

Despite the cork murder, the wine was delicious, and I was enjoying the quiet comfort of having a nice meal with Nora.

I should have known the peace wouldn’t last long. After all, I had invited a she-dragon to dinner with me.

“It must be nice to have such a big family,” I said. In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t imagine growing up with five siblings and a mom and dad. It was always just me and Mom. But a big family? Like on a TGIF sitcom? I would have loved that as a kid.

“It’s suffocating most of the time, but they mean well. I’m the princess, and everyone has babied me since the day I was born. They still do. My brothers treat me like I’m nine, and my father thinks I’m some delicate flower who can’t handle life.”

“Have they met you?”

She smiled widely and I liked it. She was sexy as sin when she was scowling, but smiling? Nora could light up a city block.

“So that’s why you are being so secretive about your house. Your parents weren’t supportive?”

“Not at all. Tried to talk me out of it. At one point my mom called my realtor, Jamie, who to her credit just laughed at her. I’m thirty-three for Christ’s sake. I can buy a fucking house if I want to.”

“I’m sorry.”

“She is horrified I’m not married with kids. And she lost her mind when I dared to buy a house as a single woman. If she caught wind of the state of my house, never mind the fire, it would be an endless chorus of ‘I told you so’ and ‘you can’t do it on your own.’”

She poured herself some more wine, and I tried to reconcile this information against the woman I thought I had known for years. Nora had a lot more going on than I had assumed.

“There are a lot of people who want to settle down, and that’s great. But this is what I want. And that’s fine too.”

“I agree.”

“Lucas Kim, did you just agree with me?”

“Listen, I know you don’t need my support or my admiration, but I’m offering it. I don’t think you’re weak or fragile. Quite the opposite. You’ve been intimidating the shit out of me for years.”

Her eyes widened, and her face flushed pink with pleasure. “Oh my God. You really know how to compliment a lady.” She fanned herself, and I couldn’t help but smirk. I could make her really happy.

I willed my dick to stay out of this conversation. Things were difficult enough right now without introducing my burning lust into the equation.

“But how realistic is your plan, Nora?” I asked. “This is Havenport; I can’t believe the news of your fire isn’t on a billboard yet.”

Nora dismissed my concerns with a wave of her hand while she wound a strand of pasta around her fork. “It’s taken care of.”

“Do I even want to know what that means?”

She sighed and put her fork down. “There were four firefighters here on Tuesday night. I spoke to them, and we reached an understanding.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Tommy Smith. I know his wife really well. I also know he’s playing poker with his friends on Thursdays when she thinks he’s at Bible study.”

“So you threatened him?”

“Threats are for fucking amateurs. I made a suggestion. Planted a seed, if you will.” She steepled her fingers like a supervillain, and my pants got even tighter.

“Mike Yates, he’s easy. He pulled a fire alarm in sixth grade, and I saw him do it. I never ratted him out and so we have a mutual understanding.”

I nodded. Nora wielded her Havenport connections like a mafioso.

“And Jimmy?”

“He’s trickier because I don’t have leverage on him. So I asked nicely and offered him a discount at my store. He has a fashion-obsessed teenage daughter, so he was all too happy to comply.”

“And what about the chief?”

“Chief Mason has known my family for decades. He knows how nuts my family is, and he doesn’t want them calling and harassing him endlessly about the safety of my house. Trust me, that man knows what my mother is capable of and wants no part of it.”

I ran my fingers through my hair. I had always known Nora was a force to be reckoned with, and this only confirmed it.