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Wes had no intention of spewing his thoughts right there across the table. As with any business deal, he liked to step back, think about things before he gave an answer. “I’ll be back in Montana this afternoon. I’ll talk with my dad and then we’ll be in touch.”
Spellman leaned forward again in his seat. “It’s not like I need your approval here, Wes. But I respect your opinion and your father’s as businessmen.”
“I understand.”
He leaned back again, the momentary air of tension gone, but not forgotten by Wes. The man grinned. “Hey, look. I want what’s best for everybody here. I see it as a win-win situation.”
Wes nodded but didn’t answer. The deal did look good on paper. But as he shook the man’s hand outside the restaurant and they parted ways, Wes couldn’t ignore the warning lights flashing in his head.
Spellman had said he was only changing the facade of the buildings to match the old west theme of the film. That shouldn’t cause a problem for Noelle. Other than Noelle not having access to her studio during filming times, he didn’t foresee any problems for her. But one thing Wes had heard about Spellman was he didn’t let much get in the way of his vision. If he could contain Spellman, it could be really good for the town, but Spellman left him with a bad aftertaste in his mouth.
Wes checked in at his office, returning emails and coordinating things with his assistant for an hour or so. He looked at his watch. Almost ten o’clock. Time to get back to Noelle. He’d told her and the others to sleep in, that he would get his work done and meet them back at the penthouse at 10:30. Eager to see her again, thoughts of Ronald Spellman and anything work-related drifted from his mind. He left his office and ducked into the limo waiting for him at the curb.
Wes looked out the window, the city floating by in a blur of doorways and brick buildings. He rubbed his fingers over his mouth, the memory of Noelle’s lips against his own the main thing on his mind. He’d thought one taste of her would help extinguish the heat between them. But it backfired on him and managed to fan the flame instead. He wanted more. And a part of him began to think that was possible.
*
Noelle dropped herbag inside the door of her studio and tossed her keys on the front counter. In spite of Holly’s protests, Noelle had insisted on Wes dropping her there instead of going home first. Holly reminded her that all her classes were over for the afternoon, meaning she could take the time to relax and unpack and be ready to hit the ground running the next day, but she was too wired to sit around.
The events of the past thirty hours or so had her head in a spin. Not only from being whisked away on a private jet to spend the evening on the town with a gorgeous man and hang out in his New York penthouse, but more so from the kiss they’d shared that was seared into her memory, causing heat to flow through her even now.
She shook her head. “Get it together, girlfriend. You’ve got things to do.”
“Get what together?”
Noelle jumped about three feet in the air at the sound of Franchesca’s voice behind her. She must’ve snuck in the door while Noelle daydreamed about hot kisses from a hot bachelor.
Her hand on her chest if only to try and slow down her heart rate, Noelle turned to her friend. “What in the world are you doing sneaking up on me like that?”
Franchesca looked at the door then back toward Noelle. “Sneak up on you? I walked in the door and heard you talking to yourself. Your mind was eight thousand miles away.” She moved past Noelle and toward the office. Noelle followed. The room was still warm, afternoon classes having ended not long before. She must’ve just missed her other teachers leaving for the night. There were no evening classes so the two women had the place to themselves.
Franchesca dropped her purse on a chair in Noelle’s office then moved to the kitchen and prepped the teapot to heat up. “Of course, my mind would be racing as well had I just spent two days and a night with a gorgeous billionaire.”
“You don’t know how much money the St. Claires have.”
Franchesca rolled her eyes at Noelle as she took two mugs from the cupboard and added tea bags to them. “Oh, please. They probably have money that has its own money that has its own money.”
“They aren’t snobby, Franchesca.” Her defense of the St. Claires surprised even her, but she knew them well enough now to know their money didn’t define them. They were a nice family. Well, the ones she’d met so far were anyway.
“Don’t get all bunched up about things. All I want are the gory details of your getaway.”
Noelle laughed as she sat in one of the chairs in the kitchen. “Nothing gory. We went to the theater then hung out in his penthouse.”
Franchesca lifted her eyebrows. “Penthouse, eh?”
“And we flew there in their private jet.”
“Ha! And you’re giving me grief for saying they have money.” The teapot whistled. She poured hot water into the two mugs, handed one to Noelle, then sat in the other chair with her mug cradled in her hands. “That’s like saying you can’t talk about a zebra having stripes.”
“Whatever.” Noelle waved a hand at her friend and took a small sip of tea. “It was fun. A great night. And thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you. In fact, I feel bad for leaving you behind with all the work we still have to do for the show.”
“Think nothing of it. If some gorgeous guy wanted to whisk me away for a night, you’d do the same for me.”
“That’s true.”
“Oh! The reason I came over, besides getting the dish on your hot date, was to tell you I found out about the new owner of our building.”
“You did?” Noelle leaned forward in her chair.
