Sound of the Tide (19 page)

Did Jenna know what she had unleashed?

I tried to block out the images and played it brave.

“Yes, of course! Can’t wait!” I sounded as convincing as my mother when she pretended that she needed sweet potatoes.

Ewan pulled a mock-depressed face. “Don’t you like surprises?”

He held the car door for me, and I saw my chances dwindle of using some pretense to search his trunk for chainsaws or other assorted killing tools (
portable instrument of torture, the ultimate accessory for the professional killer—fits even the smallest trunk space
).

“No, not really!”

“All the better! If you don’t like it, I can be your knight in shining armor and carry you home.”

He slammed the door shut and walked over to the driver’s side. Would he carry me back in one piece, or in lots of little pieces?

We drove down the coastal road and entered Blue Hill, crossed the town, and eventually left the outskirts of human habitation behind us. Great! Out here there was only the industrial area, and of course the woods, which again brought me significantly closer to my own personal chainsaw massacr
e . . .

Dammit! Why did I have to watch that show?

“Almost there,” Ewan said.

Did I notice an amused twinkle in his eyes?

I almost felt the urge to test whether or not my door was locked.

We turned into the industrial park, and he pointed ahead, toward a brightly lit building with a flat roof.

“Have you been here before?”

It was a roller skating rink, and it had to be new. At least, I had never heard of it before. And the giant, flashing pink roller skate above the entrance seemed to attract lots of people, because the entire parking lot was full of cars.

This was almost worse than my fantasy about being cut up with a chainsaw, because I imagine my pain would have been a lot more short-lived.

“Are you ready?” he asked and took my hand. “You’re freezing!” he said, weaving his fingers in mine.

I forced myself to smile. “My hands are always cold when I’
m . . .
nervous.”

“Why are you nervous?”

His voice had a seductive undertone, his eyes sparkled, and I swallowed.

Because you are an incredibly hot guy, and I don’t trust myself. Because I’m afraid I might have fun when I should still be in mourning
. That was what I thought on the inside, but on the outside I said, “I’m not good on roller skates.”

His eyes flashed gleefully.

“Don’t worry, Piper. If you fall, I will catch you.”

The roller skating rink looked as if it had been built from colorful bits and parts of what remained of the ’70s.

The actual rink sparkled under thousands of tiny dancing lights coming from a giant disco ball, and the Village People were sounding from the loudspeakers. A waitress in a belly-free top and hot pants was circling around on skates, and the little umbrellas in her cocktails were visibly spreading a cheerful mood all around. I couldn’t help but move to the music.

“So? What do you think?”

Well, what
did
I think? I had expected a fancy restaurant—seafood, maybe, and a glass of expensive wine. But this place would definitely release more adrenaline! So what if I was overdressed and forgot to bring along my sense of balance?

“It’s great, Ewan!” I said with a smirk. “And I’m really glad you’re a trauma surgeon! Because that’ll come in handy.”

“Don’t worry, you’re not going to break your pretty neck tonight.”

“I’m not worried so much about my neck as about my butt,” I laughed, and pointed toward a young woman who was experiencing a hard landing as we spoke.

Ewan moved closer, and whispered in his seductive voice, “If it makes you feel any better, I won’t let your butt out of my sight for the rest of the night. So in case of dange
r . . .
”

My cheeks almost hurt from smiling so much, but I was really digging this place and this super-charming guy by my side. It was easy to see how Ewan had earned his reputation as a ladies’ man: flirting seemed to come naturally to him.

He pulled me after him over to the reception counter, where he rented skates for us and ordered a couple of milkshakes.

Being ever the gentleman, he tied my laces and helped me up.

There I stood, unsteadily, and felt like I was fifteen years old all over again—except minus the retainer. I slurped my thick chocolate milkshake through a pink straw, and mentally corrected my estimate. Twelve! I felt like I was twelve years old!

“Oh God, Ewan! This is going to be very embarrassing!” I said after I put down my shake, and dug my fingers into his shoulder. “What were you thinking?”

He pulled me against him and looked me in the eye.

“I was hoping you would hold on to me. I pictured how I would impress you with my super-strong and super-muscular arms.” With an overly seductive wink he bent his elbow to show off his biceps. “And then, when you’re clinging to me for dear life, you would think I was a hero for bringing you back to your milkshake, safe and unharmed.”

His lips were dangerously close, and I placed my hands flat against his chest. I was feeling quite hot, and I felt a tingle in the pit of my stomach.

“Your plan might just work,” I confessed, a little out of breath.

He brushed a strand of my hair over my shoulder, and laughed. Then he pushed himself away from me and started skating toward the rink.

“Come along, then! I can’t wait for you to fall into my arms!”

I followed him with my eyes as he disappeared into the magical lights of the disco ball. Was this happiness I was feeling right now? It almost seemed like it. Apparently, I could be happy again, even if part of my heart had been ripped from my chest not too long ago.

When I heard the first few beats of “I Can See Clearly Now,” I went after Dr. Ewan Palmer.

Hesitantly, I skated along the rink bathed in disco lights, and kept my eyes out for him. He’d been right there only moments before.

A group of girls swooshed past me, clucking and giggling, and I held out my arms to keep my balance.

Shit! This business was hazardous to your health!

“Don’t be scared!” Ewan grabbed me from behind, wrapping his arms around me, and his voice was very close to my ear. “I got you.”

Oh boy, this was even more dangerous!

My knees went soft as I turned around and met his bright-blue eyes.

“Off we go!”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me with him. I squealed and hurriedly started moving my legs so he wouldn’t have to drag me along like a sack of potatoes.

“Not so fast!”

I was clutching his hand so hard that I was worried about breaking his fingers, but Ewan didn’t seem to mind. Hand in hand, we skated the rink under the sparkling disco ball, and little by little I started getting a feel for the wheels beneath my feet. And since I was no longer expecting every second to break a limb or two, I really started having fun.

Ewan pulled me along with him, and then went ahead a bit, lifting and stretching his leg out behind him like a figure skater. This spectacle completely distracted me, and I almost fell because I had focused my entire attention on his deliciously firm butt.

To play it safe, I skated over to the side of the rink and looked toward him, chest heaving, as he followed right behind.

“Had enough already?” he asked, and held out his hand so I could safely leave the skating rink.

We skated toward a bench that looked like the backseat of a car, and sat down. Our milkshakes, which we had left on a table, had melted in the meantime, and Ewan ordered a fresh round.

“Are you having fun, Piper?” he asked gently, wiping a stray strand of hair from his forehead.

I laughed and wiggled my roller skates.

“Oh yes! What a great idea this was. I feel more alive than I have in a long time. I didn’t even know that I could feel so carefree.”

“And you’re actually a better skater than I would have given you credit for.”

“Yeah, right! I’m a terrible skater! See those kids over there—they have it down. Me, on the other han
d . . .
”

“Very well. Since you seem to have enough self-awareness I may as well tell you straight-out. You are, well, you’re unbelievably clumsy! It’s really hard to look at you when yo
u . . .
”

“When I what?”

He laughed, and I pretended to lash out, which made me almost topple into him.

“You’re not exactly as elegant as a swan.”

“Ewan!” I warned, snorting with laughter, but he just leaned back against the cushions. I wanted to scramble after him, but I couldn’t with my roller skates on.

“I am actually surprised they didn’t expel you from the rink—you know, public safety and all that!”

I laughed until tears were streaming down my face, and slipped into the seat next to him.

He put his hands on my waist and started caressing me through the material of my dress. His mouth was inches away from mine. He had to be feeling my heartbeat against his chest, we were that close.

“Hey, Ewan? Did you guys want anything to eat, too?”

The waitress gave him a wide grin, and her hips were swaying to the sound of the music. “
Busted!”
her eyes seemed to say, and quickly I pulled off him. Was there reason to be worried that the waitress knew his first name? Did he usually take his dates here? And if so, what did that mean for me?

“I’ll have a burger and a Coke,” Ewan replied in a very laid-back way, and glanced at me with a questioning look, as if nothing had happened between us only a second earlier.

All right, fine, it was probably nothing special for him to have a woman fling herself at him, but what the hell had
I
been thinking?

To play for time, I ordered a side of fries and a glass of water, even if I wasn’t particularly hungry.

After the waitress left, I wasn’t sure how we were supposed to continue. Suddenly I felt very self-conscious. Why had I even agreed to go out in the first place? I had no intention of getting in line with all the women Ewan had conquered—I wasn’t even planning to have fun. But I
was
having fun, and that was something I would need to come to terms with.

As if he were reading my thoughts, Ewan took my hand and looked at me.

“Piper, don’t be so serious all the time. This is just innocent fun! I think I know what you’re thinking, but we’re not doing anything wrong. Loosen up!”

I nodded. He was right, of course. We were both grown-ups and didn’t owe anyone an explanation. Still, I didn’t feel quite as carefree as I had before.

By the time our food arrived, we were deep in conversation about the state of our hospital and sharing general gossip. I laughed when he told me that Jenna had flat-out refused the new salmon-colored scrubs the hospital administration had purchased for all the nurses, because she thought they made her complexion look sickly.

“That is so typical of her!” I declared, and soon the two of us were back to normal again. I enjoyed Ewan’s presence, and the longer we talked, the more comfortable I felt.

We ate our food, had fun skating around the rink a few more times, and then drove back to Blue Hill, feeling happy and cheerful.

“The
Backstreet Boys
? Are you serious?” I said, snorting with laughter in the passenger seat when he confessed to having been a huge fan of the boy band in his late teenage years. “Weren’t you a little old for that? And a little too
male
?”

Ewan gave me a crooked smile but didn’t seem embarrassed at all about his youthful indiscretion.

“Look, I was a late bloomer! I had my first real girlfriend when I was eighteen,” he admitted lightly as we pulled into his driveway.

“Are you telling me that you started breaking young girls’ hearts very late in life, out of consideration for the fairer sex?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“I swear, Piper, that I don’t ever have the intention of breaking anyone’s heart. After all, I took my Hippocratic oath. I’m one of the good ones,” he said with a wink, and walked me across the street to my house.

I laughed out loud at his joke, because every nurse knows that doctors are the worst of a bad bunch. Their often highly developed sense of self-importance coupled with the occasional undeniable God complex turned them into egomaniacs who were incapable of staying in a relationship. Presumably, though, a few exceptions had to exist that confirmed the rule. Right?

I stopped outside my front door and turned around to him. He moved closer, and I smiled. Up until now he’d been hiding the egomaniac part quite well. Not his self-confidence, however.

The way he was coming at me, I had to admit that Jenna was right. The date had been wonderful, he was a great guy, and I had really, really needed this: going out, having a little fun.

“Thank you for a lovely evening, Ewan,” I said, almost regretting that it was over already. “I had a lot of fun tonight.”

“Me too.”

He leaned in, and his lips touched mine. I could feel his fingers slide to the back of my neck, and his other hand resting on my hip. His breath grazed my cheek, and I froze. When he ran his tongue over my lips, it was like lightning striking my body, and I pushed him away.