Noah lowered his head, ignoring everything but this woman who intrigued and turned him on in equal measure. “All in.”
Her breath hitched. “What do you want if you win?” She asked it low, so he doubted the others heard.
“I’ll let you know.”
Her gaze flashed with a moment of apprehension, so he squeezed her arm. “Don’t worry, Gracie. You can trust me.”
Warmth filled his chest when her genuine smile came back. “I know. Plus, I can kick your ass.”
He was still laughing as they split into their teams and went to gather what they needed. With Gracie, it felt like even when he lost, he won.
26
Noah stole a final glance at Grace as they left her and her team in his house. Morty lugged one of those canvas camping chairs with him, talking about how he had better ways to live his life with a hint of a smile on his lips.
“This will be fun,” Everly said.
“I’m glad you think so. I was worried you’d be uncomfortable. Now, I’m counting on you to help me win.”
Chris shot Noah an amused grin. “You didn’t know what she was up to?”
He looked at his brother as they took the few stairs up to Grace’s front door and let themselves in. “I had no idea. She’s… something else.”
Chris pursed his lips, giving a slow nod.
“What?” Noah stared at him.
Everly laughed.
Chris didn’t even try to hide his grin.
“What? I didn’t say anything.”
“Grace has awesome ideas like this in class, too,” Rosie said.
“Never updated anything in my house,” Morty grumbled.
“You told her it was a shrine to a better time.” Rosie lifted her brows, daring him to argue.
Morty chuckled. “Huh. Forgot about that. Okay, let’s get set up so I can watch television.” He moved ahead of them, clearly knowing the layout of Grace’s home.
They stopped at the door to the den.
“This is tiny,” Chris said.
Noah peeked around him. “The boxes make it look smaller. We’re going to crush this. All we have to do is set stuff up and we’re done.”
Morty smacked the clipboard. “Don’t underestimate my girl. Small space, big ideas. Don’t be dumb.”
Chris muffled his laughter behind his hand. “Yeah. Don’t be dumb, Noah.”
Everly leaned her face into Chris’s arm, trying to cover her amusement.
“You can’t do much in a room this size,” Noah said.
“You’d be surprised,” Rosie said.
He stepped into the room, navigating his way around the boxes to open the window that looked onto the side of his house, letting the air rush in.
