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“Thanks again for helping Wes this morning. Nolan ended up leaving earlier than planned,” she apologized, leaving the sliding door open and returning to the kitchen.
He brushed her off. “It's what friends are for. I've never been one to leave a friend in need. Even if it's dragging an oversized walnut counter up a sloped driveway in the July heat.”
“It's what family does, and I appreciate it.” Mia turned away with a smile.
Noah watched her move around the kitchen from where he sat on the other side of the island. The counter was littered with cookies and tarts for the Sampson wedding the girls had been working on.
“How's the planning going?” he asked halfheartedly.
“Pretty good,” she answered over her shoulder, hands still covered in flour. “I can't convince Nolan we need to buy the house. They're putting it on the market the day after the wedding.” Her blue eyes rounded wistfully. “It would be a beautiful place to live and work.”
“If only your business partner thought that way,” Noah bit out, sounding harsher than he meant to. He shrugged it off and reached for a forbidden cookie to soothe his pride.
Despite his bravado with Wes at the club, it did sting that Lexi had turned him down. He knew it was a gamble and was something he'd always thought was the next step in a relationship.
His parents had set an example, and a possibly silly tradition to hold.
”....so then Penelope jumped off the roof yelling ' you can't see me '…”
“Oh, that's funny.”
“Noah!” Mia flicked pasta water at him, and he blinked, clearing his vision and paying attention to the confused brunette at the other end of the counter.
“Wait, what? What?”
“What's going on?”
Noah huffed through his nose, batting her question off by moving to the fridge for something to drink.
“Oh, you two are a match. A room under the reservation 'Avoidance', occupation two.” Mia looked at him pointedly. “If you're eating you’re spilling.”
“You drive a hard bargain,” Noah grumbled, reaching over and grabbing a Pirouline cookie from the tall kitchen jar. He bit the end of the vanilla wafer, chewing on his words. “She turned me down.”
“She what?” Mia stopped cooking and turned around to look at Noah. Her face a mask of confusion.
“I asked her to marry me.”
“Wait, you what?” Mia hurriedly wiped her hands on a towel, giving Noah her full attention. “So, that’s really why she was here the other night. I knew something wasn’t sitting right.”
“She told you?” He wouldn’t be surprised, they shared everything, the friendship between the group was its own muddled dynamic.
“No, in fact, she didn’t.” Mia crossed her arms and leaned against the counter, giving him her full, undivided attention. “Again, what’s going on?”
“Mia,” Noah huffed and laid it on the table. “I love her. I want to take the next step. I've wanted to marry her since the day we met.”
“She’s going to run.”
“She’s already jogging. I’ll chase her.” He chuckled. “Lexi might let me be her dominant, but she’s the one with control here.” One tug of the leash and he’d beg at her feet.
“She gives you more than anyone. We've been friends more than half our lives.”
“I know.” Noah sighed, then looked at Mia with a pleading expression. “I'm not in control here, and I don't know what the fuck to do with that. Honest to fuck.”
“She’s scared.” Hard truth without betraying her friend's trust, and Noah could respect that.
“I know she is. Am I being stupid?”
“Noah, I’d tell you flat out if you were crazy.”
