Double Take Read Free

clean it up, since the fragile-looking elderly woman certainly couldn’t do it herself.
    The stranger’s pale face became a shade closer to chalky. “Good grief, is the whole island a gossip mill?”
    “Yeah, and that thing’s been grinding like crazy with all the new arrivals—that’d be you and me.”
    She glanced down, one of her slim hands fisting as she pressed it into her stomach, as if she felt nauseous. Well, he supposed that was understandable.
    “You’re a newcomer, too?” she finally asked, after she’d straightened her back and lifted her chin.
    “Yes, ma’am.” He extended a hand. “I’m Mike.”
    “Lindsey.” She took his hand and shook. Hers was a little clammy and very cold, since she’d been gripping the damp metal railing.
    He reached into the pockets of his bulky windbreaker and pulled out his utility gloves, shoving them toward her. “Here. Your fingers are icicles.”
    She stared down at his offering. “Don’t you need them?”
    “I want my hands bare so I can clutch that railing,” he said with a wry grin.
    “If I wear your gloves, how am I going to hold on?”
    “How about I hold on for us both?”
    “Pretty confident, are you?”
    “I think I can manage to keep us from being swept overboard.”
    She cast a quick eye over his shoulders, chest and arms. Color finally rose into those pale cheeks, as if she’d at last looked at him and seen the man, not the savior-from-death-by-drowning-or-seasickness. Her throat quivered as she swallowed, her gaze dropping lower, assessing him all the way down to his feet.
    “I suppose you can,” she admitted, her voice thick and low.
    He almost made a flirtatious comment in response, but suddenly the ferry lurched again, making him glad for his strong grip on the railing. But the woman—Lindsey—wobbled on her feet and, for a second, he thought she’d fall. Not even thinking about it, he stepped into her path and grabbed her before she could stumble.
    Their legs tangled, hips bumped and chests collided. He had a chance to suck in a shocked—and pleased—breath, when her fine red hair whipped across his face, bringing with it a flowery fragrance that cut through the briny air and went right to his head. Just like this woman was doing.
    “Whoa,” she murmured, either because of the stumbling or the fact that so much of her was now touching so much of him.
    “I’ve got you,” he said, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. He turned his back to the wind, staying close, but giving her some distance and disengaging the more vulnerable parts of their bodies. As nice as she had felt pressed against him, he didn’t want her to know that his lower half was ignoring his brain’s order to be a polite protector and was instead going straight for horny man. Their new position removed the danger of sensual overload, but also kept her blocked from the worst of the wind. “I won’t let you fall overboard. Now glove up.”
    Not taking no for an answer, he lifted one of her small, cold hands and shoved a glove on it. He forced himself to focus only on the fact that her lips now had a bluish tint, not that they were pretty damned kissable. And that her expression was pure misery, not that her face was shaped like a perfect heart, with high cheekbones and a pointy, stubborn little chin.
    Once her hands were adequately protected, she stepped the tiniest bit closer, as if welcoming the shelter of his body. Mike heaved in a deep breath of cold lake air, but found it tasted of spicy-fragranced woman.
    Nice. Very nice.
    “So, how long have you lived on Wild Boar?” she asked.
    “A few months.”
    “And how’s island life?”
    He considered it, mentally comparing the insanely quiet nights he’d spent on Wild Boar to the lifetime of noise, energy, grime and vibrancy in Chicago.
    “It’s...different.”
    “Obviously you’re getting to know people if they’re already gossiping to you about the new substitute teacher.”
    “Maybe. It could also be