some level, but she had yet to truly do something to change it.
Turning away from the mirror, she pulled her blouse on and walked to the window. Gavin’s property was gorgeous. This was hardly the frigid white world that came to mind when she thought about Alaska. Getting outside for a walk was not a bad idea.
It was approaching the five-minute mark and she didn’t have the energy to fight with Gavin anymore right now, so she started for the staircase.
That was why he’d never been bossy before. She hadn’t needed it. They agreed on most things, like restaurants and movies and how to spend the weekend. The only thing they’d ever disagreed about was family and Promise Harbor, and they’d simply avoided talking about them rather than fight. She went home to visit and he stayed in Boston. It was that simple. Even when it meant the end to their relationship, he didn’t fight. He got upset. He asked her to stay with him. But when she’d said no, he’d accepted it.
Now, though, he clearly felt the need to step in. And it made her feel good. She couldn’t deny it.
Besides, this more demanding side of him was hot.
Maybe she’d let him get away with it for a while.
She descended the steps, expecting Gavin to be waiting at the bottom for her. Instead, she was surprised to find Lydia standing there. With a glass of something orange, a plate with a muffin, and a surly expression.
“What’s this?” Allie asked when she got to the bottom step.
“Your breakfast. I guess.”
“You made it?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“Gavin asked me to.”
“Ah.” Allie reached for the glass and sniffed it. “Orange?” It was too thick to be juice.
“Orange, mango and peach smoothie.”
Allie lifted an eyebrow. That sounded good. “You take a drink of it first.”
Lydia didn’t seem surprised or offended by the request. She took a big drink out of it, complete with a satisfied “ah” after she swallowed.
Fine. She’d drink it. “Blueberry?” Allie asked of the muffin.
Lydia did look offended at that. “Cranberry orange.”
Allie decided not to ask if there was a muffin schedule like there was for the cookies.
“Well, thanks,” she said, taking the plate.
“Whatever.” Lydia headed back for the kitchen.
Allie made a note not to get hungry if Gavin wasn’t around. Lydia wasn’t going to cook for Allie out of the goodness of her heart.
She took a sip of what was quite likely the best smoothie ever made. Then she tasted the muffin and decided that she should probably start being nice to Lydia. The girl could cook.
Chewing, she glanced around. Where was Gavin? Surely he’d be coming back soon to check on her with the five-minute timeline he’d given her.
She wandered toward the kitchen. “Lydia, have you seen Gavin?”
“Yes.” The girl was standing at the sink rinsing dishes.
Okay. “Can you tell me where he is?”
“In the clinic. He just took a walk-in.”
Yeah, that wasn’t a lot of help. Did she wait here? Lydia banged a spoon hard against the pot she was washing and Allie decided that no, she wasn’t waiting here.
In fact, she wasn’t going to wait at all.
She stepped out onto the deck through the sliding glass door.
Breathing deeply, she walked to the far end of the deck. The mountains in the distance looked like a postcard and the sun warmed her skin. Eyes closed, Allie tipped her head back, just feeling the clean air. The soft breeze stirred her hair and she felt some tension melt out of her muscles.
This was nice. Quiet too. Really quiet. And it wasn’t just the lack of sounds around her, it was the lack of even potential sounds. No one knew she was here. There was no phone ringing, no doorbell ringing, no brothers asking for favors, no father digging through a drawer trying to find something that he hadn’t seen in two years and couldn’t describe to her when she tried to help.
The tension was back, so Allie forced herself to take a big drink of smoothie, then a big breath of Alaska air, and empty her mind.
She was here now. She should take advantage of the clean, fresh air, the gorgeous scenery, the good food and the gorgeous man who’d given her all of this.
But in order to take advantage of him, she’d have to talk.
Even if she wanted to talk, where would she start?
“You take this view from beautiful to gorgeous.”
She didn’t open her eyes or move. She’d been expecting him at some point. “That’s a cheesy line.”
Gavin chuckled. “It’s still