Breathing him in, she focused on the feel of his skin against hers, his solid presence. ‘I just … I never thought I’d findanyone, let alone someone as amazing as you.’
Not long ago, he’d helped her realise that she’d been lonely before coming here, but it wasn’t until just now that she grasped the extent of that loneliness. How isolated and unimportant she’d felt. Not only since losing Rosie, but for as long as she could remember. She’d always been alone and hadn’t known any better. Hadn’t known what she was missing out on. But now, she knew better.
‘Seeing you lose control like that,’ she added, ‘forme…’
She couldn’t go on. That was the best she could do to communicate how she was feeling. Noah was amazing, a dream come true, and he wantedher. She still couldn’t quite believe it.
He shifted, rolling her onto her back so he could look down at her. And when he stroked her cheeks with his thumbs, wiping away her tears, she fell a little bit more in love with him.
‘I never thought I’d find anyone as amazing as you, either. But you should know—’ he gave her a grave look, ‘—now that I have, I’m never letting you go.’
‘You promise?’ she whispered, pushing her fingers into his hair and glorying in the way his eyes closed and he leaned into her touch.
‘Mm-hmm.’ He nodded, and when he finally opened his eyes, he stared down at her, his expression earnest. ‘I love you. So much.’
She smiled and cupped his cheek. ‘I love you, too.’
Kissing her shoulder, her neck, he ran his hand up her side, making her sigh and turn towards him. He twitched against her thigh in response.
She grinned against his lips. ‘Already?’
‘Can you blame me? It’s a huge turn-on when the woman of your dreams tells you you’re amazing.’ He winked, then groaned and rolled away, got up and headed for the ensuite bathroom. ‘Let me get cleaned up and then we’ll go for round two. I plan on proving to you just how amazingyouare at least a few more times tonight.’
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
Beth woke alone, hot, bothered and aching for Noah’s touch. She’d gotten to know it as well as her own this past week—unsurprising, really, seeing as he’d been using the time they had together very judiciously. When she wasn’t rostered on at the cafe and he wasn’t working on the farm, they were together. And even when they were renovating, Noah’s top priority was to show her just how amazing he thought she was. Every touch, every kiss, every cheeky grin made her feel like a goddess.
So it was no wonder she’d been living in a blissful bubble and, quite honestly, was happy to remain in it, but she needed a day to run a few errands, and calling on Flo was at the top of her to-do list—she hadn’t gone more than a few days without dropping in since their rudimentary adoption of one another, so she was well overdue for a visit. Besides, she wanted to ask about her parents and see if she could piece together her mother’s motives for cutting the Campbells from their lives.
Which was why she’d insisted on coming back to the B&B last night. She didn’t trust that she’d be able to extricate herself from Noah’s arms if she woke up in his bed.
Yawning, she stretched, just as her phone beeped on the bedside table. She reached for it and grinned when she saw his message.
Miss you x
She tapped out a reply.
Same. Like you wouldn’t believe x
After a quick shower, she headed for Flo’s and a short time later, pulled up in the driveway.
With a cursory knock on the front door, Beth let herself in. ‘Hello?’
Since their post-Christmas chat, this had been her routine. Flo had insisted that Beth didn’t need to wait to be invited inside—they were family now. It had felt odd, at first, to just wander in, but now it was second nature, and Flo always greeted her with a huge smile.
But today, Beth found her in the lounge room, asleep in her armchair. A pile of crocheted sunflower squares sat on the coffee table beside her and an unfinished one lay in her lap. Her chest rose and fell softly with every breath, but she looked … well, terrible. Kind of gaunt. Had she lost weight?
Guilt immediately weighed down on Beth. She’d been so wrapped up in Noah lately that she hadn’t made time to visit. Hadn’t been around to notice that Flo was unwell. And now something clearly wasn’t right with her.
Beth backed out of the room. If Flo was sick, the last thing she wanted to do was wake her, so she set about cleaning the house instead. She’d made Flo promise weeks ago not to lift a finger and had taken on all the housekeeping responsibilities herself. Now she was glad she had, because what state would Flo be in if she’d had to keep house?
Worry fuelled Beth’s movements, driving her to make the place spotless.
‘Is that you, Beth?’ Flo called out when Beth was halfway through scrubbing the bathroom.
Abandoning the task, Beth hurried to the lounge room, hoping she’d imagined things earlier and would walk in to see a peppier version of her friend.
