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“I’m too tall,” Hattie said.
“Nonsense,” Raven said. “Put them on. They’re perfect.”
They were gold sandals with a spiked heel and straps that crisscrossed halfway up her calves. It had been so long since she’d worn heels, she wobbled for a second or two before she caught her balance.
“It’s you,” Raven said. “I want you to have it.”
Hattie hesitated, trying to figure out how to tell her she couldn’t afford something so impractical. “It’s beautiful,” she said. “But it’s not in the budget just now.”
“No,” Raven said. “That’s not what I’m saying. I’m giving it to you. Think of it as a welcome to Laurel Valley present.”
“Oh, I couldn’t,” Hattie said, heat rushing to her cheeks in embarrassment. “It’s too much.”
“And I’ve got the perfect undergarments,” Raven said, steamrolling over her protests.
Twenty minutes later, Hattie found herself agreeing to meet Raven for lunch one day and with two shopping bags’ worth of things Raven had picked out for her. She hadn’t had a chance to get a word in edgewise.
She made her way down each side of Main Street, stopping at each shop and picking out things for the house along the way. Some of the items were too big for her to carry in her car—like the gorgeous trifold screen she’d found at the mercantile that would be perfect for her bedroom—so she paid and said she’d come back later to pick them up. Only now she had to find a truck to haul her purchases.
She took all her packages back to her car and was loading them up when a familiar black Hummer pulled up beside her.
Duncan got out of the SUV and hooked his sunglasses in the neck of his shirt. His jeans and T-shirt were well worn and fit him like a glove. She swallowed hard and then stuck her head back in the trunk so she wouldn’t make a fool of herself.
“I heard you were buying out the town,” he said, coming up to stand beside her.
She answered from inside the trunk, not quite ready to look at him. “Well, Itriedto buy them out,” she said. “Every time I ran into an O’Hara they were shoving me out the door with a bag in my hand and telling me it’s a welcome present. It’s a wonder anyone can stay in business.”
He chuckled, and the sound sent a shiver down her spine. Get a grip, Hattie. He’s just a man. A very attractive, very successful, very sexy man. Besides, Duncan had that look about him. The kind of look that let everyone know he wasn’t the kind of man to be messed with. He was tough and surly and a little bit dangerous. She’d had to fake her death to get away from the last attractive man who’d been a little bit dangerous. It turned out Derek had been a whole lot more than a little bit dangerous.
“That’s how they lure you in,” Duncan said. “You’re fresh meat. Next time you go shopping you’ll visit them again, right?”
“Of course,” she said. “But surely they can’t do that with every customer.”
“No,” he said. “But as far as you’re concerned, you’re the long-lost O’Hara cousin they never had. Don’t worry. By the end of it you’ll have spent a fortune many times over. Sometimes I think they charge me double.”
He stuck his head down in the trunk so it was next to hers. “How many times are you going to keep moving that one bag around?” he asked.
“I was just trying to make sure it fit,” she said.
“Uh-huh. Do I make you nervous?”
She jerked her head up and hit the top of the trunk, and she uttered a word that probably wasn’t said very often on Laurel Valley’s public streets.
Duncan grinned at her and pressed his fingers to the top of her head to ease the sting. “Good one,” he said. “Very creative.”
“No, you don’t make me nervous,” she said.
“Good, because that would be silly. Especially since you fell into my arms and I’ve tucked you into bed.”
Her face heated before she could help herself and he grinned again.
“Good,” he said. “I’d hate for the attraction to be one sided.”
“I’m sorry, what?” she asked. “Have you been drinking?”
“You’ve got to be hungry,” he said. “Let’s get some lunch. The Lampstand should have cleared out a bit from the lunch crowd.”
“I…” But Hattie found herself walking back across the street to the restaurant she’d visited her first day in Laurel Valley.
