She rolls her eyes. “There’s always a but, Noah.”
Screwing up my courage, I announce, “I’d really like to kiss you goodnight. That is, if that’s okay.” I sound as romantic as if I was asking her if she’d like me to take out her trash.
I fully expect her to shoot me down, so imagine my shock when she replies, “I would like that very much.”
“You want to kiss me?” Talk about soundingwaytoo eager.
Instead of answering me, she quirks an eyebrow that suggests I’d better get on with it before she changes her mind. “Can I walk you to your door?” I ask again. I want us to be closer than the center console of my car will allow.
She barely lifts her chin in acceptance before I jump out of the car and run around to the passenger side to get her door for her. When she steps out onto the sidewalk, she declares, “We can’t tell Lorelai about this, okay?”
Not that I would ever tell my sister, but I wonder what her reasoning is. “Why is that?”
Allie lowers her lashes slightly—the effect is highly seductive, even though I know that’s not her intent. “Lorelai knows how much I used to like you, and I don’t want her getting any ideas about us.”
“That makes sense.” Once we reach her door, we stop and turn toward each other. “Just so you know,” I tell her, “I like you very much now.”
“That’s a nice thing to say, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I tell her. Then I lean my mouth toward hers ever so slightly. “I’m already looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.”
She looks up from the ground where she’s been staring and slowly and quickly draws me in. “Kiss me, Noah,” she demands. “Do it now.”
She doesn’t have to tell me twice. Leaning in, I capture Allie’s lips with mine and slowly explore their full softness. She tastes like Mississippi mud pie, which suddenly makes the dessert much more appealing than it’s ever been before.
We kiss for several minutes before she finally pulls away. “Thank you again for a nice evening.” She sounds like a prim Victorian lady who hasn’t just nearly kissed the lips off of me.
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” I tell her.
With a small smile, Allie turns and inserts the key into her door. I stand on the sidewalk and watch until she’s all the way up the stairs. I continue staring through the glass outer door as she enters her apartment. I’m still standing there long after she’s gone.
I should not be feeling the things for Allie that I am. No good can come from it, especially as our lives are heading in such opposite directions. Having said that, I can’t seem to stop myself. Allie Rogers is wonderfully unexpected and if I don’t watch out, I might become completely caught under her spell.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
ALLIE
I try to walk into my apartment quietly, so I don’t disturb Margie in case she’s already gone to sleep. One glance across the room and I see that isn’t the case. My roommate is sitting up with her knees tucked under her chin in a very contemplative pose. “Hey you, did you have a nice night with Decan and Leah?” I ask.
She looks up from whatever it was that previously occupied her attention. Although, if I was to guess, I’d say she was more lost in her head than anything else. “We did have fun. Thank you so much for everything, Allie.”
“You need to quit thanking me and just accept that for now, I’m here to help.”
“I love it here,” she says. “But I miss being home. I miss being part of my family.”
I drop my purse on the counter and join her in the living room. Then I sit down beside her. “I totally get that. One day everything was normal, and the next …”
She interrupts before I can finish my sentence. “I was pregnant.”
“Yeah.” We sit silently for a few minutes before I ask, “Have you thought anymore about putting your baby up for adoption?”
“I have.”
“And?” I ask, not so much wanting to be intrusive as to be a shoulder for her to lean on.
“I can’t imagine having a baby and not ever getting to know her. Do you know what I mean?”
“I can understand that.” And while I wasn’t in her situation, I remember every due date of my pregnancies. I imagine what the babies might have looked like, and I even try to picture what they’re doing in heaven. Are they together? Are they friends? Have they chosen to incarnate into somebody else and become someone else’s children? I possess a torturous list of questions that I try very hard not to let surface.
