I hop in the shower, spend some time doing my own hair and makeup for once, and carefully select a burgundy fitted sweater dress and knee-high brown boots. When there’s a knock at the door at seven o’clock on the dot, I’m date-night ready.
Sucking in a long, calming breath, I remind myself that Noah Crenshaw is my last option. If I want to get out of here, I have to let myself fall in love. And I have to do it fast. I open the door with a smile on my face. “Hi.”
Noah’s eyes sweep me from head to toe, a slow grin spreading across his face. “Hello.” He hands me a bottle of wine. “You look absolutely stunning.”
The compliment brings a blush to my cheeks. “Thank you.” I accept the wine, grateful he brought me something useful instead of flowers—the ones from my last date are dead and wilting and yet I can’t be bothered to throw them away. “Did you want to open this now?”
Noah leans casually against the doorframe, posing like he’s being photographed forGQ. He’s in another sharp suit and I can’t deny how good he looks. If we were back in the real world, I would’ve happily accepted his dinner invitation, though I don’t know that we would’ve made it to the dinner,wink wink.
“We have a reservation, so maybe we should save the wine for after dinner,” Noah says with an actual wink.
I roll my eyes like I don’t find the move charming and stash the wine in the fridge to chill. “Shall we?”
Noah heads down the front path, opening the gate while I lock the door behind me. I turn to follow him, but my steps halt when my eyes find Ben’s.
He’s sitting in one of his gorgeous chairs, a beer in hand and a look on his face that makes me want to forget all my plans for the evening and wrap him in a big hug. The shift in seasons has brought on an early evening darkness, but Ben has hung strands of bistro lights on the patio, illuminating the space. He gives me a sad smile, but I don’t know how to return it.
“We don’t want to be late, Ms. Andrews,” Noah reminds me, though his tone is gentle and not at all scolding.
I tear my gaze away from Ben and march down the front path.
Noah walks us to a restaurant on Main Street that I’ve somehow never seen before. I wasn’t aware there was anything more than diner dining in the town of Heart Springs, but the restaurant he brings me to is all crisp linens and fine china and expensive wine. It’s the kind of place I would visit at home, and it should be a good sign that Noah knew exactly where to bring me.
“Cheers.” Noah holds up his wineglass. “To keeping our business and personal lives separate.”
I raise one eyebrow but clink my glass against his. “Do you really think that’s possible?” I ask after taking a sip of the smoothest wine I’ve had in a long time.
“Anything is possible if you want it badly enough.”
That might have been my own personal motto before I woke up in Heart Springs, but this one similarity between us doesn’t mean anything.
“So, Noah, what do you like to do when you aren’t crushing the dreams of hardworking small business owners?”
“I feel like I could ask you the same, Ms. Andrews.” He sips his wine, watching me over the rim of his glass.
I fidget with the napkin draped over my lap. “I enjoy working out.” It’s not the total truth since I haven’t bothered to keep up with my regimen since being trapped here, but I figure it’s something besides work that we might have in common.
“As do I.” He passes me the breadbasket.
I take a piece, which is something I never would do back at home. But calories don’t seem to matter here. All my clothes still fit despite the absence of my regular morning workout and the abundance of baked goods. “Do you like to travel?” I never have, personally, never wanting to be away from the office for more than a day or two, but it’s a popular hobby and might be something Noah is into. Plus, maybe if he travels, he knows a way to get out of here that I haven’t been able to figure out yet.
“I find I don’t like to be away from my office for more than a day or two at a time.”
Well then. I dip a piece of bread in olive oil and shove it in my mouth. Damn that’s good.
Noah folds his arms and leans on the table. There wasn’t a lot of space separating us to begin with and now we’re close enough that I can see the flecks of crystal in the center of his dark blue irises. “You have to admit, Ms. Andrews, we have more in common than you might want to think.”
“My name is Cam.”
“Cam.”
“Tell me what you want, Cam.” His lip curls up in a smirk.
The undeniably sexual words and his voice and that smile should send a wave of heat through me. Emphasis on theshould.
“I want to save Emma’s bakery.” I lean back in my seat and drink half of my glass of wine in one gulp.
Noah chuckles. “I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
