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And with that Juliet started to laugh. It bubbled out of her throat and even made its way past the hand she clapped over her mouth. The brewing argument assassination subsided as all gazes turned on her.
Nikki’s fork clattered to the tabletop. “What’s so funny?” she asked, her voice cautious.
Temper apparently neutralized, Juliet stepped away from Noah’s hands and dropped back into her seat, still laughing. Then she tilted her head and took a healthy swallow from the bottle of wine clutched in her fist. She wiped an errant drop off her lower lip with the back of her hand. “You know what?” A smile played around her mouth. “This is the closest I’ve ever been to a family argument.”
Nikki grinned back. “Yeah.”
“Yeah.” Cassandra’s smile was just the same and then her gaze relighted on Jay. “And it’s even better that the three sisters can all blame it on the same dumb guy.”
Beleaguered Jay Buchanan didn’t share the joy. Maybe he was still reeling from his near brush with death. “I think we men should do the dishes while the”—he paused—“women drink more wine.”
And with that, the XY chromosomes beat a hasty retreat from the dining room.
Weathering that storm seemed to put the sisters at complete ease with each other, Noah decided as the clean-up wound down. Well, that and another bottle or two of vino. But it didn’t take a genius to realize that Juliet had held some concerns about how Nikki and Cassandra might regard her unwarranted notoriety. The fact that they already knew of it and had actually attacked one of their own for introducing the topic, obviously put the hostess in a celebratory mood.
A little later, the celebratory mood called for another pot of decaf coffee. A slightly tipsy Juliet managed to grind the beans and start the maker, but then she was called out onto the patio where her sisters and Jay and Gabe were enjoying the view by moonlight. Noah watched her unsteady walk and smiled to himself. The fresh air would be good for her.
The whole evening had been good for her.
He was collecting the last of the items on the dining room table when he heard Gabe and Juliet’s voices drifting through the open window. He couldn’t see them from where he stood, but the quiet tone of the conversation told him they’d wandered away from the others. Just the two of them. Alone.
“So,” Gabe was saying. “A widow.”
“That’s right.”
“I…” He cleared his throat. “I lost my wife three years ago.”
“Oh.” Juliet said, and Noah could hear the surprised sadness in her voice. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. Me, too.” Gabe’s voice lowered. “I know it’s tough.”
“But it gets easier?” The note of hope sliced through Noah’s gut.
“I’ll let you know,” Gabe answered. “I haven’t figured that out yet.” There was a moment of silence, and then he went on. “It was a car accident. Sudden.”
Juliet’s voice was a whisper. “Wayne suffered for a long time. Knowing his pain is over…that makes it more bearable.”
“But it doesn’t take the loneliness away.”
“No. And now I find myself wanting, actually craving—God.” She broke off and embarrassment was clear in her voice. “Never mind. Obviously I’ve had way too much to drink.”
“Way too much to drink because…?”
“Because I must be drunk if I even started such a conversation. Forget I said anything.”
“But so far it hasn’t been much of a conversation at all,” the other man pointed out. “Let me guess, though. You find yourself wanting, craving—well, let’s call it ‘contact.’ Touch. Skin.”
Noah’s senses went on high alert. Even through the walls and the darkness, he could hear the guilty catch of Juliet’s breath. He imagined there was a flush rising on her cheeks, too, and it was the warmth of it that was releasing a tantalizing note of her classy perfume into the night air.
“That’s it exactly,” Juliet confessed, her voice still low. “You, too?”
“Yeah. I’ve had my moments. My advice—don’t beat yourself up about it. We’re still human, after all.” Gabe hesitated. “But, Juliet, if that little itch…that is, if you need…”
Shit. Noah’s body went rigid. What was the bastard about to offer? And how quick could he get through the window and introduce Gabe to his fist? He was inches from the screen when Cassandra’s voice halted his forward momentum.
“Gabe? Oh, Gabe?” she called from across the patio. “I just spotted a falling star. I’m wishing something for you.”
