Thankfully, the plane had slowed as it entered the hangar, and Carol had unbuckled and was now standing. Taking that as my sign, I released the clasp of my seatbelt and stood.
I called Timothy over and instructed him to gather his things that had spilled from his backpack. Noah lingered behind us like he wasn’t sure what I wanted him to do but wanted to be there just in case I needed him.
Carol opened the plane door and stood to the side, waiting for us to disembark. I gave her a smile, and she nodded at Timothy first and then to me as we passed by. I could feel Noah walking behind us. It was strange how in tune I was to this man. It had to be residual embarrassment from what Timothy had said.
A black BMW with a driver was waiting for us in the hangar. He had on a hat and sunglasses and was leaning against the car with his arms folded. Timothy didn’t wait to check that this was our car. He just pulled open the back door and climbed inside.
“Timothy,” I said, but he had already disappeared. I sighed as I glanced around to make sure that our luggage was being offloaded and brought over. When I turned to my right, I came face-to-face with Noah, which stopped me in my tracks.
“I, erm…” He paused as he met my gaze briefly and then dropped it.
I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say, but I also couldn’t just walk away. So I stood there, like an idiot, not really acknowledging Noah but also not ignoring him.
“You weren’t snoring.”
His words caused me to pause. I turned to meet his gaze. “What?” I asked, wondering if I had heard him correctly.
Noah blinked and pulled back before he cleared his throat. He looked unsure of what else he was supposed to say. “What Timothy said wasn’t accurate. You weren’t snoring.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I wasn’t?” Heat from embarrassment warmed my body.
“Well, you were.”
Now I was confused. “I was snoring?”
Noah cleared his throat as he pushed his hand through his hair and glanced around. From the uneasy expression on his face, I wondered if he was praying for a hole to open up and swallow him.
I was struggling to understand what Noah was trying to say. Either I’d embarrassed myself by snoring, or I hadn’t. And for some reason, I needed to know which scenario had happened.
“What I was trying to say was, you were snoring, but not like Timothy said you were.” He met my gaze and offered me a half smile. “It was more like this...” He paused before he started to breathe. It was deeper than a normal breath but much softer than the snore Timothy had performed.
I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say to that. “Oh. Thanks for clarifying,” I whispered.
Noah nodded. “Sure.”
An awkward silence fell between us. Instead of lingering in it, I just gave him a weak smile before I hurried over to the car and climbed inside. Noah stayed outside to help put our luggage in the trunk, and then he and the driver climbed into the front at the same time.
The driver started the engine and then turned to wink at me. “Ready?” he asked.
I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as I shifted my gaze out the window. “Ready,” I responded.
7
SABRINA
I wasn’t sure if it was my nerves or the time zone change, but I was wide awake at five a.m. I’d hoped I might sleep in after tossing and turning all night, but I hadn’t been successful at relaxing my body or quieting my mind long enough to actually fall asleep. It didn’t matter that the mattress was the softest I’d ever slept on or that the sheets were both cooling and warming at the same time; sleep had evaded me.
My eyes were wide open as I lay on my back, staring up at the ceiling. There was no way I was going to fall asleep now. I might as well get up and start my day.
I slipped into the bathroom and showered without waking Samuel. I was so grateful that he’d become such a sound sleeper. Even though I’d thrown him into a whirlwind of travel these last few days, he was taking the constant change in stride.
With my hair wrapped in a towel, I stepped out onto the plush bathroom mat and shut the glass shower door behind me. I made my way over to the mirror, where I wiped the steam with my hand. I slipped in my earbuds so I could listen to the newest Drifter song, which had been uploaded last night, while I started on my skin care.
I’d never really cared too much about my appearance. Harmony was a small town with very few people to impress. After scrolling through images of rock stars and their assistants last night, I’d realized that I not only didn’t know the part, but I didn’t look it either.
The last thing I wanted was to embarrass Liam by looking like a sleep-deprived, overworked mother. I was determined to make an effort.
With my makeup on and my damp hair brushed, I turned off the bathroom light and slipped into the bedroom. Thankfully, in my doomscrolling last night, I came across an article that highlighted Liam’s likes and dislikes. Things as mundane as his coffee preferences and how he liked his eggs.
