Juliet's Law by Ruth Wind Page A

Claude’s groupies, and in their eyes, I’m just a mean woman who doesn’t understand him.”
    â€œYeah,” Josh said, behind them, “you old meanie, you.”
    Desi grinned, her eyes flashing in a way that made her sister wonder what had forged the bond between these two.
    And was there something romantic brewing? “You better believe it, mister.”
    Did her sister have feelings for this man? He was sort of her type, after all, a rugged Native American, an outdoorsman. He had that adorable daughter who needed a mother.
    Josh laughed softly, and Juliet felt the sound run down her neck like warm fingers. She resisted looking up at him, getting caught again in that dark, patient gaze. But even as she resisted, she felt the steady presence of him at her back, solid, steady, calm, and she couldn’t help the wave of yearning it kindled in her. It had been a long time since Juliet had felt safe—if she ever had.
    Scott was a good man—smart, supportive, ambitious—but she’d never felt sheltered by him. Josh, on the other hand—
    With a popping little shock, she heard her thoughts. Stop it! She was engaged! It was one thing to admire the long, sturdy thighs of a man, or the grace of his hands. A woman had eyes, after all….
    But it was something else again to be thinking of resting against that broad shoulder, to imagine taking a deep breath of relief as that deep laughter rang into the room.
    Disloyal. In two directions if Desi was attracted to him, too.
    Blindly, Juliet stood and walked towards the door, grabbing a green-and-brown-wrapped mint from a bowl on the counter. “I’ll be right outside,” she called back. Without waiting for a reply, she rushed out.
    The door was in a little foyer with racks of newspapers and tourist brochures on one side. As Juliet rushed through, a man was coming in, and Juliet stepped aside, and—
    Slammed squarely into her demons. She was never quite sure what happened, why she was flung back in time, but suddenly, she smelled a musky aftershave and margaritas, and there was a swooshing of all sound, as if her ears were covered. In real time, she ducked her head and managed to stumble around the man coming in the door, ignoring him when he said, “Miss, are you all right?” and got out to the sunshine in the street. Sweat poured down the back of her neck.
    But even in the bright sunshine and open air, her throat felt constricted, and her breath came in ragged,tearing gasps. The worst was the sense of mindless panic urging her to flee! flee! flee! Her legs burned with the need, her lungs felt as if they would explode. With as much control as she could muster, she grabbed the stone corner of the building and leaned on it, trying not to fight the sensations nor give into them.
    A heavy hand fell on her shoulder. “Hey, Juliet, are you—”
    She screamed, slammed the hand away. Tried to back off, bumped into the wall.
    Saw that it was Josh, and wanted to burst into tears.
    He held his hands up, palm out to show he wouldn’t hurt her. “Hey, hey, hey,” he said. That rich gentle voice splashed into her panic, coating it like chocolate.
    And just as suddenly as she’d been sucked into the flashback, she fell back out. With a soft noise, Juliet pitched forward, instinctively reaching for the sturdiness of his big, strong shoulders. Her head landed against his sternum, and she could smell the clean freshness of clothes hung out to dry on a line, and something deeper, his flesh. A gentle light hand smoothed her hair.
    â€œYou’re okay,” he said. “You’re okay.”
    And it was true. After a moment, the dark memories retreated, and she could take a long, slow breath. Raise her head. Only then did she realize how close they were. Embarrassed, she tried to take a step back, and bumped into the wall at her back. “I’m sorry,” she said, trying to duck to her left, afraid