She was lusting after Noah Glover. That thought astonished and embarrassed her.
Carly shook her head, harder this time. “Waste of time, building fairy tales about a man I’ll probably never see again.” He was most likely even now tucked up against his girlfriend somewhere, sated and safe.
It had been a long time since she’d thought about being sated and safe.
“Not a good time for this, Carly.” Lusting over an unobtainable alpha male was giving in to passion without reality. She needed a dose of reality, badly. Frank, irreverent girlfriend talk. That’s what she needed.
She turned back from the balcony and went to pick up her cell phone. 1:27 a.m. Too early to call Gillian in New York. Though, knowing her, she might still be out on a Saturday night. Sunday morning in Paris. Allete would not soon forgive her for interrupting her beauty rest. So, no one to call. She pocketed the phone.
She took a step and froze as something gave a shrill squeak.
She looked to see what she’d stepped on. It was a fuzzy duck with a squeaker in its bill. She’d bought the doggy chew toy along with dog food for Harley.
She picked it up and held it against her chest. She hadn’t realized until Harley spent what was left of last night with her, how much she missed having a pet of her own.
“Now see? You need a dog.” Once said aloud, she felt better.
Maybe she’d name it Cooper II. No, that wouldn’t be fair to a new pet who’d come with her or his own personality. But a dog suddenly sounded like a very good idea.
Dogs were always there, ready to cuddle and happy to see you, with none of the entanglements that had ruined the relationships in her life. A dog would watch TV with you, share your popcorn, and not comment on how inane chick flicks were. And hadn’t she already watched Bridesmaids twelve times?
Yep, dog not guy. Much safer. If not nearly as satisfying in one major area.
Not that there had been that many guys. Arnaud had come along when she was barely nineteen, and taken charge of the scared ingénue’s career. As one of the hottest fashion photographers in the business, he knew the culture inside and out. He’d made her a star while she’d fallen for him so hard, the foundation of her life shook, and then cracked.
“Stop, Carly. No going there.” But the sensation of feeling trapped rose up around her for a second time. She needed to do something. Never one to sit and stew, she needed to be active to work through her demons. That meant getting out of here. Fast.
Without thinking about the reasonableness of what she was doing, she slipped into a pair of skinny jeans and pulled a heavy sweater over her head without bothering with undergarments. It was a habit from years of having to strip for lightning-quick changes at shows. Bras and undies slowed down the process and left marks on the skin. Besides, she wasn’t going far, or meeting anyone. She just needed to get out.
Instinct drove her into the night.
*
Noah sipped his thermos of coffee. At his feet was a plastic bag containing a can of dry-roasted peanuts, a couple of protein bars, a pack of gum, and a sack of doggy treats. He and Harley were set for stakeout.
Harley suddenly sat up and woofed quietly from the backseat. It was followed by a soft poot.
“Geez. You’re killing me here.” Noah waved a hand before his face as he rolled down the driver’s side window. Harley barked again, this time a little brighter. “Yeah. I know. Time to take a doggy dump.”
Harley was off schedule. Having not eaten until late in the afternoon, he’d demanded both morning and evening portions together. Or maybe it was the pieces of bratwurst his owner had slipped him at dinner. Either way, Harley was manufacturing farts foul enough to run off the baddest bad guy.
Noah exited his truck, parked in a lot diagonally across the street from Flawless so that he could simultaneously watch the front and rear exits of the building complex. While he couldn’t see the rear door, he could see if a vehicle turned into the parking lot behind the strip of stores.
He stood perfectly still, ignoring the buffeting north wind that had turned a warming spring back into a wintery shiver. Only his eyes moved as he scanned the area from A to B to C. Nothing moved in the shadows on either side of the street. Two cars passed as he stood watching. One blasted a beat that registered in his chest from a block away. Nothing to hide there. The other was moving fast, late for something. Or moving quickly away from something. But not interested in him, either way.
He really wasn’t expecting his arsonist to return to the scene of the crime this long after the event. The man after him was smart. He’d gotten the drop on Noah because Noah hadn’t suspected anything until it was too late.