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Noah comes down from his room and stands in front of the reception desk where I’m going through the day’s checkouts.
“Hey, I gotta head out for two days this week. There’s a waterfall I need to shoot for a magazine. How about you come with me?” Noah leans on the counter and pins me with a stare.
“I can’t leave the inn.”
He looks around, probably thinking what I already know—that there aren’t nearly enough people around with it being tourist season. A good sign of things not going as planned.
“Can’t Trina help you out? It’s two days.”
“Where are you going? I’m not really an outdoorsy person.” Though the thought of some alone time with Noah isn’t exactly a deterrent.
“I’ll be there to protect you.” He wiggles his eyebrows a few times and I can’t help but smile.
I’m really realizing what he meant by the whole sexual tension thing. The other day, he was coming out of his room and putting on a shirt at the same time. His back is rippled with muscles, and all I could think of for six hours after that was what it would feel like to rake my fingers down his back.
I cross my arms and tilt my head. “Cabin or tent?”
“What fun is a cabin? A tent. You’ll fall asleep to the sound of the waterfall.” His expression says he thinks it’ll be awesome. “Come on. I want you to get a glimpse into my life.”
My heart rate picks up. “Why?”
He bites his bottom lip. “I just want you to see why I love it.”
“When are you going?” I look at the small desk calendar I keep on the counter.
“End of the week. Wednesday through Friday. We’ll be home before the weekend rush here, and I’ll even help you clean rooms when I get back.”
I roll my eyes, although it’s in that playful, flirty vibe that Noah’s been pulling out of me lately.
“What do I need to bring?” Although I’m agreeing, there’s a whine in my voice because even though I want to spend time with him, I know it’s a horrible decision. We should try to keep our distance as best we can.
“Just clothes. I’ve got everything else we’ll need.”
“Okay. Hey, while I have you, I’m heading over to the grandmas’ this afternoon to check on bridesmaids’ dresses. If you wanted to see Midge, you could join me…”
He shrugs. “Sure.”
“I want to be there by one.”
“Want to have lunch before?”
Every time we have to do anything wedding related, he asks to spend a little extra time together. Whether it’s lunch or dinner or ice cream the other night. I’m trying not to read too much into it, but I have a feeling we’re straying off the path we decided to travel and moving into uncharted territory.
When we walkinto Northern Lights Retirement Center, I see the eating area is still busy with lunch service.
As soon as we walk in, everyone hits their plastic glasses with their forks. It doesn’t really have the same effect as clinking glasses, but I stop and glance back at Noah. He’s smiling as though he’s happy about this development. I begin walking again, heading toward Ethel’s table, but Noah grabs my hand and tugs me into his body.
He dips me and presses his lips to mine, this time opening his mouth slightly. Enough for me to taste the peppermint he had on the ride over. My insides turn to goo and my stomach explodes like the grand finale of Fourth of July fireworks.
I’m flipped up to stand and he winks to a round of applause from all the seniors.
“Be careful, you might turn them on,” I whisper.
“The men were already turned on when you walked in.” He slides his hand in mine and leads me over to Ethel’s table.
His compliments about my looks are more blatant now and I can’t deny that I love them. No one has ever made me feel as wanted or as beautiful as Noah Winters, which is probably a little sad since we’re not even a real couple.
“Look at you two, quite the couple,” Dori says, but something in her eyes doesn’t sit well with me.
