Page 23 of Falling Back to You

“Can Miss Noelle come over for dinner?” Khia’s guileless blue eyes pleaded with me, completely bypassing the matter at hand.

Between dinner, bath time, and bedtime, I’d listened to Khia sing Noelle’s praises—Miss Noelle this and Miss Noelle that. She’d only spent fifteen minutes with the woman, tops. But Noelle had that effect on people. One encounter with her left you wanting more.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

It was, in fact, a terrible idea. Noelle and her tropical goodness in my space? I’d never recover.

“But, Daddy, I looooooove her!”

You and me both, kiddo.

What? No. Not love.

Keep telling yourself that. That sounded decidedly like Greyson.

Shut it. The number of mental conversations I had with him was frankly ridiculous. And he said we didn’t have twin telepathy. Pff.

Noelle, for all her organized and no-nonsense energy, was easy to love. Or at least she had been. I’d gotten a front-row seat to just how big her heart was. The way she showed up for others without complaining. How well she helped out with her younger sisters.

My gut churned. Maybe that was part of the problem. Noelle was a giver, but did anyone ever give back to her? I’d like to say yes, that I’d taken care of her, but I’d been a punk kid at nineteen, head over heels in love and riding the high of getting drafted into the NHL. Maybe our breakup was more my fault than I’d been willing to admit back then.

Time and hindsight turned us all into wise old sages.

And made us realize we were all fools in love.

Maybe you’re finally listening.

Her words haunted me. How much had I missed?

“Can I go see her tonight?” Khia begged, pulling me out of my musings and back into the present.

I frowned. “It’s time for bed.”

“She’s just outside,” Khia wheedled.

What? “Lovebug, she’s staying with Miss Ruby.”

“Nuh-uh. She’s in the cottage.”

My blood froze. Ruby had told me she had a friend coming to town who needed a place to stay, and I’d agreed. But she’d never said who that friend was. Saying yes to Ruby was officially a detriment to my health. I made a mental note, complete with neon lettering, to say no to her next time. “Miss Noelle . . . is in the cottage? Our cottage?”

Khia nodded vigorously, curls bouncing. “Can I go see her?”

“Not tonight. I’m sure you’ll see her again soon.” It was a small town. Kinda hard to hide in. I scooped Khia up from the counter. “Now, time for bed. Princesses need their beauty sleep.”

She giggled, wrapping her arms around my neck. “Then you need extra sleep, Daddy.”

I barked a laugh and jogged up the stairs to tuck her into the pink canopy bed. Once the covers were arranged, I’d read two more stories, and Mr. Snuggles, her stuffed shark, was found, I kissed her forehead and flicked out the lights. Soft Vivaldi music, her favourite, wafted through the room. “Good night, sweetie. I love you.”

Khia yawned. “Love you.”

Slipping from the room, I strolled back downstairs to the kitchen. Noelle Shepherd was not only back in town. She was on my property at this very minute and was my new tenant.

I glanced at the clock. It was only eight thirty. Too late for a house call? Probably. And what was I going to do? March over there and kick her out? Of course not. Ask her about New York? Tempting. But I’d had enough Noelle exposure for the day.

Still I needed answers. Pulling out my phone, I shot a message to Ruby.

ME: