Belle Calhoune - His Secret Alaskan Heiress

It shouldn’t matter to him that Sophie emitted rays as shimmery as the sun and as sugary sweet as an ice-cream sundae. He let out a groan of frustration. He wouldn’t be feeling this way if Sophie had been as mean as a snake or bucktoothed and homely.

Don’t forget who she is. What kind of woman ditched her fiancé without warning and took off for parts unknown, leaving nothing more than a curt goodbye letter? John Sussex had been emotional and worried out of his mind when Noah had met with him in New York City. Sussex had flown him in to meet with him face-to-face about the assignment.

The way he figured it, there was a sucker born every minute. Sussex had it bad for Sophie Miller. And even though she’d treated him like the gunk underneath her shoe, he still wanted her back. He’d hired Noah to keep tabs on Sophie and to report back to him regarding her romantic attachments. Although he felt a little bit conflicted at first about spying on Sophie, Noah knew his line of work often revolved around surveillance. He wasn’t sure why this particular gig left him feeling so out of sorts.

As he got into his car and began driving down Jarvis Street, he looked around at the shops and local scenery. As he passed the Moose Café he spotted the sheriff’s office directly across the street, along with a toy store, a barbershop and a trading post. He grinned as he passed a small bookstore called The Bookworm. Tomorrow he might stop in to see if they carried his favorite mystery writer. Suddenly, he noticed a familiar mane of long titian hair with a hot-pink hat perched on top. Sophie! She was bundled up in a winter parka and a pair of sturdy boots. He wondered where she was going, since he’d just heard her say earlier that she was getting a ride home from Hazel.

Given the gloomy-looking sky and a few flakes falling, he hoped that Sophie wasn’t venturing too far. Not my problem, he reminded himself. Sophie was a big girl, fully capable of making her way around town. So what if it was snowing? Alaska and snow went hand in hand. Sophie was probably used to it by now, even though she was a New York City girl.

He swung his gaze back to the road, then glanced over again at her. The snow seemed to be falling at a faster clip now. He watched as she slipped a little, before managing to catch herself so she didn’t fall.

“Atta girl,” he said. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt like cheering Sophie on. There was something about her that made him want to root for her.

Noah let out a frustrated groan as he watched her continue to trudge onward through the snow. Ever since he was a kid it had been ingrained in him by his father to help out a lady whenever necessary. Chivalry. This time would be no different.

He slowed his car and veered toward the snow-covered sidewalk until he was parallel to Sophie. He pushed the button to let the window down and called out, “Hey, Sophie. Can I give you a ride somewhere?”

She whirled around, her face reflecting surprise. Then she shifted from one foot to another and rubbed her mittened hands together. “I don’t want to put you out, but I’m not sure I can walk all the way to the Black Bear Cabins. It’s pretty frosty out here.”

He waved her over. “Come on. Hop in.”

A cold blast of air assaulted him as soon as Sophie tugged the passenger door open. Her cheeks were rosy as she settled into her seat and put her seat belt on. “You’re a lifesaver. I usually get a ride home from Cameron or Hazel, but I think they must have gotten their wires crossed today. I went to get my things, and they’d locked up the place and left.”

“No problem. What are the Black Bear Cabins? Sounds like something out of a fairy tale.” He couldn’t stop thinking about porridge and bears and chairs being broken in a tiny house nestled in the woods. He hadn’t been much of a reader as a kid, but he seemed to remember something to that effect.

Sophie chuckled. “Just go straight along this road until you come to the Moose Crossing sign. Once you pass it, you take a right about a half mile down the road and keep going until you see the sign for Black Bear Cabins. That’s where I live. I rent out one of the cabins from Hazel, who owns the place. So do a bunch of others who came here for Operation Love.”

Noah wrinkled his nose. “Operation Love? That’s what brought you here? The matchmaking program?” Noah had heard about it on the Seattle news, and when he’d researched the town of Love it had popped up in the search engine. From what he gathered, it was a program created to pair up single bachelors from here in town with women who came from across the United States. He wondered how successful it had been so far.

Had Sophie found someone? Was she no longer single? Although he suddenly felt tongue-tied, he had to find out if Sophie was romantically attached to anyone here in Love. It was his job to know these things and pass them on to his client.

Something told him John Sussex had no idea that Sophie was part of the matchmaking program. He hadn’t mentioned it to Noah when he’d hired him. Had his client been holding out on him? Was there more to Sussex than met the eye? Noah considered himself a pretty good judge of character, but it was possible he’d missed something.

Sophie nodded, her long hair swirling around her shoulders. “Yes. In a way. I came here to reinvent my life, and Operation Love seemed like a good way to find a husband and a loving home.”

A husband? Love? Ouch. It wasn’t going to be easy relaying that information to Sussex. Noah wanted to shake his head in disbelief, but he didn’t want to alienate Sophie, who was giving him the information he needed. Picking her up and taking her to the Black Bear Cabins had yielded more information than he’d imagined.

“You really think your future is here in Love?” There was a tinge of incredulity in his voice that he couldn’t manage to mask. He didn’t want to sound like a jerk, but he felt amazed that women actually ventured to this town and stepped out in such a massive leap of faith. What if they ended up with a serial killer?

Sophie grinned at him. “The way I figure it, God has always been faithful to me. He placed me here for a reason. I just have to be patient and let it all unfold.”

Noah snorted. He hadn’t meant to, but it slipped out. One quick glance in Sophie’s direction showed that she wasn’t pleased in the slightest. Her pretty face was now scrunched up in a massive frown. Her eyebrows were knitted together. He was pretty sure steam might be coming out her ears.

“Excuse me, Noah Callahan, but that was quite rude of you,” she huffed. Anger radiated off her in waves.

“I’m sorry, Sophie,” he said, feeling contrite. One look into her big green eyes made him feel like the worst person in the world for hurting her feelings. “It just sort of slipped out. Kind of like this morning, when you first saw me and called me good-looking.” He winked at her. He wasn’t trying to flirt with her, but she was a pretty girl and he liked the way she became easily flustered. That didn’t happen too often with the women in his circle. They were all way too polished for his liking.

Noah tried not to grin as he watched Sophie turn several shades of red. She opened her mouth, then closed it, while making a sputtering sound.

“Apology accepted,” she finally said. She sat up straight and tilted her chin upward. “I’m sorry if you don’t believe that God lights the way for us, but He does. Of that I am very certain.”

“It’s not that I have anything against the big guy upstairs, but it seems like a pretty tall order to expect Him to give you a happily-ever-after.” Noah tapped his brakes as he came to a stop sign. He looked over at Sophie. “Although I admire anyone who believes in something as fervently as you do.”