She was alone now, and it was safe for her to let go. Besides, she couldn’t keep it inside any longer. No one would bother her, and no one would know. She began to cry. In seconds she went from silent tears to gut-wrenching sobs.
Yet another reason she wasn’t in any hurry to go to Nathan’s Bay. She needed to get past today’s nightmare before she saw Kate and Dylan. It would be humiliating to fall apart in front of them.
Standing outside the bathroom door, Michael could hear her crying, and it was tearing him up. He didn’t know what to do about it. If she were dressed he’d probably pull her into his arms and hold her, but she wasn’t dressed; she was stark naked, and if he pulled her into his arms in the shower, he sure wouldn’t be thinking about comforting her. The least he could do was knock on the door and ask her if he could help, or maybe ask if everything was all right. Fortunately, he was saved from going through with his awkward plan when Dylan called.
Isabel spent a long while in the bathroom to get herself under control, even taking the time to blow her hair dry. She emptied the pockets of her jeans and tossed everything into a makeup bag. The
clothes she’d worn went into a plastic laundry bag. She looked around the large bathroom to make sure she’d picked up everything, then grabbed her laptop and opened the door, ready now for the argument she knew was coming.
Michael was on his cell phone, talking to Dylan and pacing around the bedroom. He came to a dead stop the second he saw her. He thought he was still breathing, but he couldn’t be sure. Isabel was wearing a pair of hot pink pajama shorts and a tank top that was all but glued to her chest. The word voluptuous came to mind, along with several other descriptive words. Damn, but she was sexy.
He tried but couldn’t stop staring at her.
Dylan yanked Michael from his salacious thoughts about Isabel. “Michael, did you hear me? I want her to come to Nathan’s Bay, too, but if she insists on staying at the hotel, let her. She’s an adult.
She can handle herself. Listen, you need to know . . .”
“Yes?”
“She likes to drive, but—”
Michael interrupted him. “She’s been through a hell of a time today. I don’t think she should be alone.”
“She’s a big girl, and like I said, if she needs some time to herself, that’s okay. Don’t make it complicated.”
“Yeah, well . . .”
“What?”
Staring at Isabel, he said, “It’s already complicated.”
Michael disconnected the call before his brother could ask him to explain. How in God’s name was he going to be able to stay away from her?
“What the hell, Isabel. Don’t you have any regular pajamas?”
“These are pajamas.”
“I’m taking you to Nathan’s Bay.”
“No.”
“No?” His voice was firm, as though he wasn’t accustomed to anyone challenging him.
Isabel wasn’t in the mood to argue. Was he trying to intimidate her? If so, he was failing. She wasn’t going anywhere. “Oh, I’m sorry. I meant to say, ‘No, thank you.’？”
When he turned away and didn’t respond, she accepted her small victory and sat down on the bed.
Propping the laptop on her knees, she opened it. She tried to look relaxed but couldn’t get her mind to settle down. The bedroom seemed to shrink with Michael in it. He was such a big man and so muscular. She wasn’t attracted to big, muscular men, she told herself. Too bad she couldn’t sell that lie.
When had it happened? When had she changed her mind? Had Michael caused this sudden reversal? She was still furious with him over his rude behavior at Kate and Dylan’s wedding. Or could it be possible that she was angry simply because he had ignored her? Had she been attracted to him even then? What a conundrum.
Conundrum? One of her aunt Nora’s favorite words. Isabel decided she had spent way too much time with the elderly woman who had moved in with them after her mother got sick. She was
beginning to think like her aunt, and that couldn’t be good.
Why had her aunt suddenly popped into her head?
She closed her laptop and set it on the nightstand. “Are all Navy SEALS as big as you are? And you’re, what? Six-two? Six-three?” Now, where had that question come from? She couldn’t seem to hold on to a coherent thought for more than ten seconds.
Michael stared at her, puzzled. What the hell was going on inside that mind of hers? For a minute she had spaced out, and now she wanted to talk about the Navy SEALS?