Enchanted by Nora Roberts Read Free Book Online Page A

hot, gleaming chocolate as she bit in. And, rolling her eyes dramatically, she swallowed with a hedonistic groan.
    “Good job. Really good job. More.”
    She ate a dozen before the second batch was baked.
    It felt decadent, childish. And wonderful.
    When the phone rang, she popped the next batch in, and lifted the receiver with doughy fingers. “Hello?”
    “Rowan. Good morning.”
    For a moment the voice meant nothing to her; then, with a guilty start, she realized it was Alan. “Good morning.”
    “I hope I didn’t wake you.”
    “No, no. I’ve been up quite a while. I’m …” She grinned and chose another cookie. “Just having breakfast.”
    “Glad to hear it. You tend to skip too many meals.”
    She put the whole cookie into her mouth and talked around it. “Not this time. Maybe the mountain air”—she managed to swallow—“stimulates my appetite.”
    “You don’t sound like yourself.”
    “Really?” I’m not myself, she wanted to say. I’m better. And I’m not nearly finished yet.
    “You sound a little giddy. Are you all right?”
    “I’m fine. I’m wonderful.” How could she explain to this solid and serious man with his solid and serious voice that she’d been dancing in the kitchen eating cookies, that she’d spent the evening with a wolf, that she’d had erotic dreams about a man she barely knew?
    And that she wouldn’t change a moment of any of those experiences.
    “I’m getting lots of reading done,” she said instead. “Taking long walks. I’ve been doing some sketching, too. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy it. It’s a gorgeous morning. The sky’s unbelievably blue.”
    “I checked the weather for your area last night. There were reports of a severe thunderstorm. I tried to call, but your lines were out.”
    “Yes, we had a storm. That’s probably why it’s so spectacular this morning.”
    “I was worried, Rowan. If I hadn’t been able to reach you this morning, I was going to fly to Portland and rent a car.”
    The thought of it, just the thought of him invading her magical little world filled her with panic. She had to fight to keep it out of her voice. “Oh, Alan, there’s absolutely no need to worry. I’m fine. The storm was exciting, actually. And I have a generator, emergency lights.”
    “I don’t like thinking of you up there alone, in some rustic little hut in the middle of nowhere. What if you hurt yourself, or fell ill, got a flat tire?”
    Her mood began to deflate, degree by degree. She could actually feel the drop. He’d said the same words toher before, and so had her parents, with the exact same tone of bafflement mixed with concern.
    “Alan, it’s a lovely, sturdy and very spacious cabin, not a hut. I’m only about five miles outside of a very nice little town, which makes this far from the middle of nowhere. If I hurt myself or get sick, I’ll go to a doctor. If I get a flat tire, I suppose I’ll figure out how to change it.”
    “You’re still alone, Rowan, and as last night proved, easily cut off.”
    “The phone’s working just fine now,” she said between clenched teeth. “And I have a cell phone in the Rover. Added to that, I believe I have a moderately intelligent mind, I’m in perfect health, I’m twenty-seven years old and the entire purpose of my coming here was to be alone.”
    There was a moment’s silence, a moment just long enough to let her know she’d hurt his feelings. And more than long enough to bring her a swift wash of guilt. “Alan—”
    “I’d hoped you’d be ready to come home, but that apparently isn’t the case. I miss you, Rowan. Your family misses you. I only wanted to let you know.”
    “I’m sorry.” How many times in her life had she said those words? she wondered as she pressed her fingers to the dull ache forming in her temple. “I didn’t mean to snap at you, Alan. I suppose I feel a little defensive. No, I’m not ready to come back. If you speak to my parents, tell them I’ll call