She nodded.
He dipped his chin and leaned forward, his tone serious like he was about to divulge a secret.‘You know you’re not allowed back here, right?’
‘Oh! I-I’m sorry, I, uh …’ What was she doing here again? ‘Oh! I-I just came in to clean this.’
She lifted her hand, the one holding the glass, and watched in horror as it slipped from her fingers and flew into the air. She reached for it, desperately. Because what if Ellie walked in right now and assumed Beth was pitching the thing at her boyfriend? Or maybe he was Ellie’s husband. They’d probably kick Beth to the kerb, which would be downright devastating given she really,really, wanted to slip between those lusciously soft sheets again.
Despite her best efforts, Beth’s fingertips only pushed the glass further along its trajectory as it arced across the room.
‘Noah!’
Ellie’s voice rang out and time resumed its normal rhythm. The glass hit the tiled floor and smashed, shards of it skittering into the farthest corners of the kitchen.
Ellie, hands raised and mouth agape, was clearly shocked to find a guest throwing glassware.
Beth stared at her, appalled, waiting for her host to start yelling and demanding that she vacate the premises.
Then a muffled snort came from the newcomer, Noah. He pressed his lips together as if he were trying not to laugh and flicked his gaze between Beth and Ellie and back again. Probably waiting to see who’d combust first.
Ellie pointed a finger at Beth, causing her to flinch, but when she spoke, her words were completely unexpected. ‘Don’t move, I’ve got this covered.’
Disappearing, she came back with a broom and began sweeping up the glass. As she cleared a path towards Beth, Ellie pointed at Noah. ‘Andyou,’ she admonished, ‘don’t you dare accost my guest!’
Noah raised his hands, the picture of innocence.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Ellie said, turning to Beth. ‘My cousin uses the back entrance for a reason. He knows he’s not allowed to interact with the lodgers.’ She punctuated her words with a meaningful glare at Noah.
‘That’s right. I’m the black sheep of the family.’ He grinned and made his way around the kitchen island, glass crunching under his boots. Taking the broom from Ellie, he leaned towards Beth. ‘They only let me leave the farm once a week to deliver eggs.’
He winked at her and stole the breath from her lungs. His eyes were blue, she noticed, the colour of the ocean when you were a long way from shore. And she caught his scent, something like oiled leather and hay.
Blood rushed to Beth’s cheeks as Noah set about clearing the rest of the mess she’d made. She prayed her blush would settle before either he or Ellie noticed.
‘He’s joking, of course,’ Ellie said with a roll of her eyes. ‘The whole town knows he’s the golden child of the Brennan family.’
‘Yeah, right. Look who’s talking.’ He flicked Ellie’s blonde ponytail then flashed her a grin. ‘Mum says hi.’
Ellie huffed, clearly fighting a grin of her own, then directed him to a few shards he’d missed.
After dumping the ruined glass in the bin, Noah turned to Beth and extended a hand. ‘Beth, is it?’
Tentatively, she put her hand in his, willing him not to notice hers shaking, and gave a barely perceptible nod.
His fingers, warm and work roughened, closed around hers. ‘In case you didn’t catch it, you know, the moment Ellie here screamed it at the top of her lungs and frightened you, causing you todrop the glass—’ he winked at Beth like they were co-conspirators, ‘—my name is Noah.’
Beth still hadn’t found her voice. Her mind had gone blank and fear kept her mute. She simply couldn’t compete with these two. Their confidence was blinding, their affability endearing. If she opened her mouth, she’d sound like a blithering idiot.
‘Iamsorry,’ Noah told her, his sheepish smile making his eyes dance. ‘About teasing you earlier. It’s just that I was caught off guard. It’s not every day I find a guest back here. Especially one with such pretty green eyes.’
Oh, god. She really was going to combust—if her cheeks got any hotter, they’d be on fire.
She snatched her hand from his, her panic rising.
‘Hush, you dork.’ Ellie, apparently oblivious to Beth’s internal struggles, swatted her cousin’s shoulder. ‘Don’t listen to him, Beth. You’re welcome to treat this house as your own and can go wherever you like, okay?’
Ellie and Noah gazed at her expectantly, their amusement evident in the faint curve of their lips as they waited for her to speak. Beth felt their anticipation like a rock tied around her waist.
Say something. Anything.
