Island Affair (Keys to Love #1)(47)

Before Luis could come up with a suitable response, the front door swung open, chasing away the warbler with his song.

“Mom, are you out here?” Robin stepped onto the verandah. She drew to a halt when she spotted him. “Oh, hi, Luis.”

Her gaze zeroed in on Ruth’s hands, still clasped with his on her lap. The corners of Robin’s mouth curved downward, and she shot an annoyed glare out at the street.

“Mother, you didn’t eat your oatmeal and fruit. You need something in your stomach with your vitamins and meds.”

Ruth leaned toward Luis, her brows raised, lips tilted in a conspiratorial grin. “She talks to me like I’m her patient. Not the well-trained physician I am.”

“I hate to break it to you, Ruth, but doctors are often the worst patients,” Luis mock-whispered to her.

Sara’s mom tsked at his assertion, then chuckled when he tilted his head and shrugged as if to say, “You know it’s true.”

“Exactly,” Robin asserted. “Come on, Mom, you have to eat something. Let Luis pick up the Sara worry stick for a while.”

With a pointed look at him, Robin hovered at her mom’s side.

Luis rose from his rocker. Ruth followed his example, like he’d hoped.

“I’ll give Sara a call,” he said, as the three of them made their way into the house and the refreshing air conditioning.

“Please let me know if you reach her,” Ruth asked.

Luis nodded, then took the stairs to the second floor by twos. The door to Jonathan and Carolyn’s room had been left ajar, neither one in sight. Luis figured the couple was downstairs with the rest of the family.

Trying not to worry about Sara, he pushed open the door to her room—technically their room now—and came to a halt.

The subtle citrusy scent he’d come to associate with her lingered in the air, teasing him with each breath. The gold strappy sandals she’d worn yesterday rested side by side in front of the white-painted wardrobe on his right. A pale yellow sundress with skinny straps hung from one of the wardrobe’s wooden knobs. The short length was a sure sign he’d be treated to the sight of her shapely long legs once she slipped on the dress.

Her silver rolling suitcase sat in the corner between the wardrobe and long shelf desk that ran the length of the far outside wall, bolstered by the two drawers on either end. The sun’s rays streamed through the skylight cut into the sloping ceiling, brightening the small space that would be home for the rest of the week.

Uncharacteristic doubt raised its shrill voice. Luis shushed it, hoping like hell this hadn’t been a mistake.

He crossed to the double drawers under the right side of the plank desk where he dropped his bag on the hardwood floor, then dug his phone out of his back pocket and dialed Sara’s cell. Immediately it went to voice mail. Either her phone was off or she’d run out of battery. Neither option would assuage Ruth’s worries. Or his, the more time passed without word from Sara.

He wasn’t typically a worrier, but he was working with unknowns here, and he didn’t like it.

His thumb tapped the darkened cell screen as he considered his next move. Unpack quickly, then go for a spin around the downtown area if Sara hadn’t arrived by the time he was done.

It didn’t take long to add his shorts, tees, exercise clothes, and boxers to an empty drawer. He shook out the wrinkles from a red button-down shirt and hung it, along with one navy and one olive polo shirt, a pair of jeans, and a pair of khaki slacks, in the wardrobe. His plain, nondescript clothes lined up next to Sara’s brightly colored, frilly designer tops and dresses were a vivid reminder of their differences.

That didn’t stop him from running his fingertips lightly over the gauzy coral material of a flowy top with multicolored ruffled sleeves.

Vibrant. Delicate. Fun.

Basically, Sara.

He rubbed the material between his fingers. Pictured doing the same while she actually wore the flimsy blouse. Imagined her soft gasp as he traced her skin along the top’s scooped neckline. Caught the heat in her seawater eyes as she gazed up at him. Just like when he’d held her in his arms as they danced last night.

The sound of Ruth’s and Robin’s raised voices carried up the stairs, jolting Luis out of the silly clothing fetish stupor he’d fallen into.

Downstairs, the front door opened, then closed with a slam that reverberated through the walls.

Time for him to get a move on it.

Snagging his duffel bag off the low shelf desk, Luis strode into the adjoining bath to unpack his toiletries. His blue toothbrush and tube of Crest toothpaste were dropped into a white ceramic glass alongside Sara’s red one. A bottle of dandruff shampoo went in the shower. He was elbow deep in his bag, reaching for his razor and shaving cream, when the front door opened and slammed again. Raised voices made him pause. He strained to make out what was said, but as quickly as they’d risen, the voices lowered.

Hurrying to finish, Luis pulled open the medicine cabinet door, moving aside random bottles of ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and heartburn relief to make room for his shaving items.

“You too, Jonathan? How could you snoop like this!”

Luis spun around at Sara’s impassioned cry.

She stormed into the bathroom, her face a mutinous scowl. The instant she saw him, she drew to an abrupt halt. Her eyes widened with shock and surprise. “Oh! It’s you.”