“Is that different now?”
Once again, he looked her way. “Things seem pretty meaningful.”
Reaching over, she used the hand not holding his to stroke his arm. It was time to lighten the mood. “Speaking of meaningful, those brownies brought new meaning to my life.”
Noah’s chuckle filled the cab. “I saw your eyes widen when Stacey and Everly brought it up. “Were they good?”
Grace let out a deep sigh. “So very good.”
“Did you save me one?” He pulled onto the highway, piquing her curiosity.
“There might be a few left. I could probably split it. I’ll decide after the date.”
“Ouch. No pressure.” His lips twitched. “Fingers crossed I earn one.”
They settled into an easy silence, but the smile stayed on her face. If she didn’t think about how a relationship could derail all of her hard work, she’d be fine.
Noah took the exit for Venice Beach. Grace’s heart rate accelerated. “Are we going to Mi Casa?”
He turned his head, a wide smile giving her the answer. She bounced on the seat. “You’re going to love it!”
“Be one hundred percent honest,” he said, weaving through the traffic.
Her tummy tumbled with the serious tone. “Of course.”
“Would you rather visit Mi Casa or have those brownies?” He asked with such mock seriousness that Grace tried really hard to answer in kind.
“I’m not sure what kind of man would make a woman choose.”
After he pulled onto the kitschy street that housed her favorite store, he found a parking spot, then turned his body toward her, pulling her close with the hand he still held.
“Obviously not a smart one.”
When his mouth met hers, Grace had to remind herself that she deserved to live her life, not just wait for it to happen. It was happening now. Falling for Noah didn’t mean leaving all her dreams in the dust. No other guy made her worry about her ability to keep her focus. But clearly, given the brownies and the first stop on their date, Noah Jansen was unlike any other man she’d ever known.
31
Noah hurried around the front of his truck to open Grace’s door. Why was he so nervous? He’d gone into multimillion-dollar-deal meetings with less anxiety rumbling around in his gut than he’d felt today.
He opened the door, held out a hand to help her down. She was stunning. What she couldn’t know, what he knew she wouldn’t believe, was even in jeans and tank top, all that sexy hair tied back in a cascading braid, she was the most enticing woman he’d ever known.
“You’re looking at me funny,” she said, lifting her chin to meet his gaze.
He pressed a kiss on her nose. “That’s better than being funny-looking so take what you can get.”
Her laughter made him feel like a king. He slung his arm around her shoulders while they waited for the cars to pass so they could cross the street.
“I want to go surfing here,” he mentioned as they walked across.
“It’s popular.”
“You ever done it?”
She shook her head as she stepped up onto the sidewalk. Dozensof shops lined the street. The beach was only a block over, but this felt like a tiny world of its own, the palm trees standing like sentinels in front of the brightly colored shops.
“We’ll have to change that,” he said, pulling open the door to the shop she loved.
“You’re a funny, funny man.”
