Page 144 of You Fall First

All the stops.

Afterward, Noah sits quietly, smiling at me across the table. Candlelight dances between us. Soft music plays overhead. “Hi,” he says, gently.

I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “Hi.”

“I hope you know how proud I am of you.”

Wow.

My cheeks pink up more than if he’d said something about me being beautiful. For the record, he did tell me on the car ride over that I looked gorgeous. But I’ll take a man recognizing my value over superficial compliments any day. “I think I do.”

“More importantly, you should be proud of yourself.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Better late than never, huh?”

“No.” His pupils lock on mine. “Right on time.”

“I’m not sure my parents would agree,” I tease. As much as I like the way Noah sees me, this kind of focus—not to mention praise—is unfamiliar. In the Michaels family, I’m far more comfortable being the punchline. It’s kind of the way we show our love.

“What about you?” I ask, deflecting. “How are things at Havenwood?”

“Oh, fine.” He averts his gaze. “The fundraiser was a success. And the head of the PR team’s been bugging Maureen to set up more photo shoots with me.”

“I’ll bet she’s shamelessly into you.”

“Nah. Just advertising,” he says. “A necessary evil. Other than that, though, I’ve been pretty focused on Paige and Dutton.”

“Awww. My little space ranger.” Now it’s my turn to smile across the table. “I miss him.”

“You do?”

“Of course.”

Noah’s Adam’s apple travels the length of his throat. “He’s the reason we got close.”

“He was just an excuse.”

He blinks, considering. “What do you mean?”

“After the petting zoo, I was hoping to accidentally run into you again, but I thought there was no way. Then, when you showed up for spaghetti, I wanted to keep running into you. Accidentally.”

“You did?”

I nod. “And if we keep seeing each other now, I’ll get to keep seeing Dutton, too.”

Noah leans forward. “If?”

I swallow, feeling a bit like I’m standing on the edge of a cliff about to launch myself into the abyss. “The if is what we’re supposed to be figuring out now, right? I mean, I’ve been figuring all week.” I press out a nervous laugh. “Have you been … figuring?”

He nods, slowly, not breaking eye contact. “I have.”

“And?”

“And.”

He reaches for my hand, threads our fingers together, and rubs a circle with his thumb. “I figure you’re worth any amount of juggling we have to do to see each other. Any time crunches or late nights or weekends I might have to put in to make up for work I’ve missed.”

“Life’s busy,” I say.