Page 18 of The Hermit on the Hill

"Noah's been walking around for the past two days asking if there's any way to bleach an image from his memory," Aubrey said.

"And Cody claims the experience traumatized him and is causing nightmares." Carrie rolled her eyes. "Though he seems to be sleeping just fine to me."

May laughed. "I guess my brothers just aren't as evolved as my boyfriend." She leaned in close. "Or as comfortable with nudity. We've decided to start naked Thursdays, so don't drop by unannounced."

Aubrey opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, then closed it and turned to me. "Maybe we should stick to the topic. Jenna?"

I sighed. There was no getting out of this. "If I tell, you have to promise not to tell my brothers or George." I gave May a pointed look.

May sighed. "George knew you'd recognized Sam's butt from the portrait, Jenna. He was there."

"No, you were on the phone with me and you told him all about it after you hung up. Do you think you could manage not to tell him this time?"

I had no intention of sharing all the good, gooey, marshmallowy details, but they didn't need to know that.

"Fine." May ran a finger in an X over her chest. "Cross my heart, I will not tell my boyfriend, the love of my life, about your sexy, naked times with Samuel Oakley."

Aubrey and Carrie agreed with nods and silent X's over their own chests.

"Thank you. I met him at a conference at the university here in town. He told me his name was Jake, that he was a professor from South Carolina. We danced and talked for hours. He was charming, and he knew a lot about folklore. When he asked to come back to my room with me, I agreed." My cheeks heated, and I pressed my palms to them to cool them. "I'm sure you can imagine how I got a good look at his butt and the unusual arrangement of moles near his right cheek. They look like the constellation Cassiopeia. When I woke up in the morning, he was gone, along with a flash drive that contained my latest paper, which was about Appalachian folklore, and my University ID with enough information to access accounts and databases with my ID number." The folks in IT had been telling me I needed to come up with a more complex password for years. Guess I should have listened. "I looked for him in every university and community college in South Carolina, but I couldn't find him anywhere. When I saw May's photo, I knew I'd found him."

"Wait," Carrie said. "I'm still hung up on the charming part. Are you sure Sam doesn't have a twin brother? Last week, Lily tripped and scraped her knee in front of the bookstore in town. I was holding her and trying to get her to calm down when Sam Oakley stomped up and told me to get out of his way. He accused me of having no sense because I was blocking a high traffic area."

"Um, guys," May said.

Aubrey nodded. "Two weeks ago, Sam walked right past without even offering to help when I had an armload of groceries, and Caden had just run off after a stray cat in the middle of the grocery store parking lot."

"Um, guys…" May pointed up and to my left.

I sat frozen, as I had been since I'd felt a shift in the energy in the restaurant and noticed the silence descend. I hadn't wanted to look and confirm he'd walked in.

"Jenna, a word." Sam spit out each syllable like it was a granite boulder hefted from above his head and dropped onto our table. Which must be why I shivered. It had nothing to do with how much I liked the way his deep, rough voice vibrated through me.

From the corner of my eye, I looked up at him. I needed time to process his presence and his dark, hulking form blurred in my periphery was all I could handle. "I'm having lunch with my sisters. Can we talk after?"

If anyone in the restaurant had still been talking, they stopped when Sam pulled out a chair so aggressively the legs scraped loudly across the tiled floor. He set the chair next to mine and sat. "Fine, we'll talk here. I'm sure your sisters, who have such a high opinion of me, would love to hear exactly why you came to see me two days ago." His warmth surrounded me and his scent, spice and citrus, filled my nose as he leaned close. "Should I tell them, or would you like to?"

Shoving back my chair, I stood. "I'm so sorry. I'll be right back."

I started for the exit, but Sam grabbed my hand and pulled me in the other direction.

"We're going to be longer than a few minutes," Sam told my sisters as we passed them.

***

Sam laced his fingers through mine as he led me through the restaurant to the back, past the restrooms, and to a door marked office. He didn't even knock. He just barged in, startling the middle-aged, bespectacled woman seated at the desk.

"I'm going to need the office, Petra."

Petra got to her feet, frowning. "I'm in the middle of payroll, Mr. Oakley. I—"

"It'll be there when we're done."

"Yes, sir. I'll be in the kitchen."

He nodded, tapping his thumb on his thigh until Petra left and closed the door.

I watched her go and scooted into the space the open door had been taking up. The office was way too small for me and Sam and I wanted to stay close to the door. "Why did she listen to you? Have you terrorized her, too?"

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