The Other Side of Us (Harlequin Superromance) Read Free Page B

assessment. She tightened her grip on the towel, glad it was
draped over her shoulders and arms. Managing a stranger’s shock then polite
sympathy once he got an eyeful of the impressive scars on her left arm was not
part of her plan for her morning.
    “Mackenzie Williams,” she said briskly, offering him her
hand.
    They shook briefly, his much bigger hand dwarfing hers. She
made a point of keeping her grip firm and looking him in the eye, a habit she’d
acquired early in her career and one that had always alerted her about what kind
of man she was dealing with.
    Oliver Garrett held her eye and didn’t seem surprised by the
firmness of her grip. More importantly, he didn’t try to grind her hand into
dust with his superior strength. Both marks in his favor.
    “I was hoping you could give me some guidance on where the best
place is to grab supplies and whatnot,” he said.
    He hadn’t shaved for a few days and his whiskers glinted in the
sunlight, a mixture of dark brown, bronze and gold.
    She tore her gaze away and concentrated on his question. “There
aren’t many shops to choose from in town. One of everything, pretty much, which
takes out the guesswork.”
    Her legs were starting to tremble. She needed a protein drink
and a shower and half an hour on her bed. She took a step backward to signal
that she didn’t intend to stand on the doorstep chitchatting with him, golden
stubble or no golden stubble.
    “Figured that would be the case. It’s been years since I was
here. But it doesn’t look as though much has changed.”
    Nausea rolled through her, tightening her stomach and making
her mouth water. She gripped the door frame. Any second now she was going to
either throw up or wind up on her ass, and she wasn’t about to do either in
front of a complete stranger.
    “Listen, I have to go.” It came out more tersely than she’d
intended, but there wasn’t much she could do about that.
    He looked a little shocked, but before he could say anything, a
long, furry body rushed past her and onto the porch. For the first time she
registered that he had a dog, too—a miniature schnauzer by the look of her. A
miniature schnauzer that Mr. Smith was very pleased to meet, judging by all the
tail-wagging and bottom-sniffing that was going on.
    “Smitty. Inside,” she said sharply.
    “It’s okay. He’s just saying hello, aren’t you, mate?” Oliver
smiled indulgently and bent to scratch Mr. Smith between the shoulder
blades.
    Her stomach rolled again. She swallowed and leaned forward to
grab her dog’s collar. He was so involved with his new friend that she had to
use considerable strength to yank him into the house, the effort only increasing
the nausea burning at the back of her throat.
    “I don’t have time for this.”
    She wasn’t sure who she was talking to—her new neighbor, her
shaking body, her overeager dog. It didn’t matter. The most important thing was
that she was about to throw up.
    One hand restraining Mr. Smith, she took a step backward and
shut the door. In the split second before it cut her new neighbor from view, she
saw his eyebrows shoot toward his hairline with surprise. One hand pressed to
her mouth, she raced to the bathroom. She almost made it, the spasms hitting as
she stepped over the threshold. Bracing her hands on her knees, her stomach
released its contents all over the tiled floor.
    For long moments afterward, she remained where she was, knees
weak, a sour taste in her mouth. An emphatic reminder that her injured body had
its limits. Finally she got down on her hands and knees and cleaned up.
    At least she hadn’t thrown up on Mr. Sunshine. There was that
small mercy to be grateful for. No doubt he thought she was incredibly rude all
but slamming the door in his face.
    She shrugged. There wasn’t much she could do about that, and it
wasn’t the end of the world. They were hardly going to become bosom buddies,
after all. She’d moved to the beach house for one reason and one