Love by Design (Crystal Falls Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

veterinarian. When the sisters had moved to Crystal Falls she’d taken over the only practice from an aging vet, Mr. Samson. Being the only vet for miles around kept Rachel very busy. Between the neighboring ranches with farm animals and the influx of high-end and exotic pets with the rich ski crowd every winter, business was always booming.
    “Things are good,” Rachel replied. “I had to go out to Mr. Allen’s ranch this morning to deliver a foal.” Rachel laughed when Lily made a disgusted face and sucked down more of her blue cocktail. “What I really need is another assistant. I’m not sure I can make it through another ski season with only Matt and Tonya. They’re both great but, hell, I just need more help.”
    Lily nodded. “You should put an ad in the paper or something.”
    “I would if I could find the time.” Rachel said, sipping the last of her glow-in-the-dark drink, and then turning the subject back to Lily. “So you have to go back tomorrow?”
    “Looks like it. Let’s just hope this Lydia person actually shows up. I don’t know why the client couldn’t have just told me what she wanted while I was there today. She seemed a lot more interested in telling Noah what she wanted, if you know what I mean.”
    Rachel rolled her eyes. “Is she hot? You think he’d, you know…”
    “She’s older, but she looks good. Blonde hair, designer clothes, probably has an on-call trainer. You know the type.” Lily finished her second glass of wine and debated whether a third might be called for, given the circumstances. “I wouldn’t put it past him. You know how he is.”
    “So what are you going to do? You aren’t going to quit are you?”
    “Hell no!” Lily said, a little too loud. She lowered her voice as Angie came back over, a beer in her hand, off from her shift now.
    “What are we all excited about over here?” she asked and sat with a heavy sigh in an empty chair. Taking a sip of the beer, she closed her eyes, rolling her shoulders.
    “Rachel was asking me if I was thinking about quitting the job.”
    Angie’s eyes popped open. “Oh, you can’t do that.”
    “I know. I’m not going to let him win. Not this time. This is way too important to me. Mrs. Uptight is a pain in the ass, but the cabin is gorgeous. I’m actually looking forward to getting to work. And you know I need the money. No, I’m just going to have to suck it up and try to stay as far away from him as possible until this horrible experience is over.”
     
    The next day, Noah stopped by the local coffee shop to pick up his habitual morning latte before heading up the mountain. Even though he’d spent more than two hours at the cabin the day before, he hadn’t gotten nearly enough information to draw up the plans he would need to get started on the renovation. In all the chaos of keeping Christina’s advances at bay and seeing Lily again, he was surprised he had anything to work with at all. He knew Lily would be there again today but he hoped to be in and out before she arrived. What he had to do shouldn’t take long. And the less he saw of Lily, the better. Just their few minutes of contact yesterday had left him frazzled all day. He wouldn’t admit that he missed her, but he knew there would always be something inside him that clung to her, that wanted her. They’d been too close for too long for him not to have those bits of feelings left over.
    The sky was gray as he started up the winding road to the cabin, big clouds threatening a storm. He wanted to walk the property and check out the cabin’s foundation but the rain would probably make that impossible.
    Noah sipped his latte and let his mind wander as he drove, thinking back to the day before, to finally seeing Lily again. He couldn’t get the sight, or the smell, of her out of his head. He remembered how it felt to hug her close, how she folded herself into him when he kissed her, how good it had felt making long slow love to her on mornings just like