AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Well, there is one, he reminded himself. A beautiful redhead. But she was the last person he should pursue. Crossing the line with the person you were investigating was a recipe for disaster. Noah wasn’t going down that road.
“Mornin’, Noah.” The greeting came from behind him. He quickly turned around at the sound of Sophie’s voice.
For a moment Noah simply allowed himself to soak Sophie up like rays of sunshine streaming down on him on a gorgeous sunny day. “Hey, Sophie. How’s it going?” he asked, surprised to see her out of her Moose Café uniform. She was wearing a pretty pink sweater and a dark pair of jeans. She had a stack of books in her hands. One false move and the books would tumble out of her arms.
He reached over and took them from her. “Let me help you with these. They probably weigh more than you do.” Noah placed them on the table next to him.
Sophie seemed content to let him take the books off her hands. “Phew. Thank you. I love coming to the library, but I always end up with more reading material than I can handle. I forgot my tote bag at home. I’m thankful I didn’t topple over.”
Noah chuckled. There was a look of such earnestness on her face.
“No worries. I would have caught you,” he said in a teasing voice. He was actually serious. There was something about Sophie that brought out his protective side.
He looked down at her books. “What do you have here?” He began reading the titles out loud. “Thirty Places to Visit before You Turn Thirty. A Guide to Spotting Alaskan Birds. How to Find the Love of Your Life in Six Easy Steps.” Noah swung his gaze up to look at her. Clearly, she really was interested in finding love.
“Interesting books.” His words were loaded with meaning. As a result, Sophie’s cheeks turned rosy.
“You’ve got quite a few books yourself,” she noted, her eyes widening as she scanned the titles. “True crime.” She shuddered. “Books like that give me the willies. I wouldn’t be able to catch a wink of sleep if I read this type of material.”
“Let’s just say I’m a bit of a crime buff,” Noah admitted. He supposed it was one of the reasons he’d been drawn into the world of private investigations and security. There were a lot of bad guys in the world, and he wanted to be able to figure them out before they hurt innocent people. Suddenly, he felt like the world’s biggest hypocrite. Wasn’t he potentially harming Sophie by continuing this ruse? If she had been telling the truth it might mean Sussex couldn’t be trusted. In that case, shouldn’t he warn her? His chest tightened. Doing so would be violating the rules of his profession.
“I guess great minds think alike. Working at the Moose doesn’t afford me much library time.” Sophie looked around her and let out a sigh of contentment. “This place is divine.”
“It’s a great place to hang out,” Noah said. “I like the quiet. Growing up in a rowdy household made me crave moments of pure silence.”
Sophie smiled. “I’m actually the opposite. As an only child I longed for loud noises and the sound of doors slamming and running feet. You have no idea how blessed you are to have so many siblings.”
“They’re a tough bunch, but for the most part they’re keepers,” Noah said.
“Thanks again for agreeing to help out with Dwight. He’s such a sweetheart. He truly hides his light under a bushel. Most people here in town find him a bit grating, but he’s really a very special person.” Sophie was in full cheerleader mode.
It sounded like she was trying to sell him on Dwight. Uh-oh. Perhaps he’d misread the situation. Most of the time when the majority of the people in a town didn’t care for someone it meant the person
had big huge annoying flaws. He prayed it wasn’t the case with Dwight, considering the fact that Noah was now mentoring him. Whatever that meant.
“So, I was wondering if you’d like to go with me to the Founder’s Day celebration?” Sophie blurted the question out at such rapid speed that he almost asked her to repeat herself. Judging by the near panic etched on her face, he didn’t dare. It was a look of such sweet awkwardness and bravado.
If he was using reason and logic, Noah should turn down Sophie’s invitation. He needed to keep his eye on the prize and do the work he’d been hired to perform. Getting closer to her was only going to make him more conflicted about this assignment. There were too many people back in Seattle who were counting on him to keep Catalano Security afloat. He didn’t need to start second-guessing himself and this profitable gig.
Eyes on the prize, he reminded himself.
Once he saw the hopeful glint in her eyes, Noah didn’t have the heart to say no. Truthfully, he didn’t want to. Even though he knew it would be like walking on thin ice in springtime, his every instinct was telling him to say yes.
* * *
There! She’d done it. Even if Noah said no to her invitation—which would be incredibly awkward and humiliating—Sophie had stepped out on a ledge. No guts, no glory! She wanted her first date in Alaska to be with a man who gave her goose bumps. And that was Noah Callahan. She hadn’t even meant to ask him, but the words had just slipped out.
She locked gazes with Noah, resisting the urge to look away from his intense stare. She felt as if she was holding her breath, waiting for him to answer her. It was nerve-racking.
The corners of his mouth slowly began to lift up into a smile. “Sure thing, Sophie. I’d love to go with you.” The deep timbre of his voice made her pulse race with excitement.
Sophie blinked at Noah. She hadn’t really expected him to say yes.
“You would?” she asked. “Seriously?” Suddenly it felt as if she had wings and could fly.
“Of course I would. Actually, you’re the only woman in town I wanted to ask me. You’ve been a good friend.” He winked at her. “Truthfully, I was thinking about asking you.”
“Just thinking about it, huh?” she stated, wondering what had stopped him.
