AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Honestly? I’m not sure. I will think about it, though, I promise.’
‘Good. Well, I’m done here. All this woo-woo relationship bollocks has drained me. Sort it out, will you?’
‘I’ll do my best, thanks, Ted.’ I give him a cheeky wink.
‘Don’t you bloody dare,’ he growls, and disappears through the door.
* * *
As I adjust the plan yet again to try to get around the latest delivery cock-up, I think about what he’s said. I am attracted to Noah, there is absolutely no doubt about that, and, from the way he kissed me, I think I can be confident that he feels the same way. Is John right, though? What if we let this ‘thing’ between us turn into something more, and it doesn’t work out? Would that actually be any worse than the situation we’re in now?
My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of a van door slamming and the engine starting. I glance at my watch and I’m horrified to discover it’s lunchtime already, which means they’re packing up for the weekend. If I’m going to have any chance of talking to Noah before Monday, it has to be now. I grab my hat and rush outside.
‘Do you know where Noah is?’ I ask one of the departing brickies.
‘No idea. Sorry.’
I get the same response from the other people I ask, but I know he’s still here because I can see his van in the car park.
His van. Of course!
I don’t know how long I stand there, leaning against the bonnet of Noah’s van, but it feels like an age, and the site is pretty much deserted by the time I spot him walking towards me. His shoulders sag as soon as he catches sight of me, and I wonder for a moment whether he’s going to turn and go back the other way.
‘Can it wait?’ he asks wearily as he comes to a halt in front of me. ‘It’s been a hell of a week, and I really need to get away from here. I’m sure we can sort whatever it is on Monday morning.’
‘It can’t, I’m afraid. Would you mind coming to the site office with me? I’ll try not to keep you longer than I absolutely have to.’
He sighs. There’s so much sadness in that sigh that my heart breaks a little bit.
‘Fine.’
His lack of enthusiasm couldn’t be more evident as we make our way to the office. He’s not quite dragging his heels like a naughty schoolboy, but it’s not far off. We enter the site office and I close the door carefully behind him.
‘What’s up?’
‘I need to apologise to you about last weekend—’
‘No,’ he interrupts. ‘I’m the one who should be saying sorry. I got carried away. It won’t happen again, I promise. Can I go now?’
‘Not yet, please. I have one more thing I want to say. You see, the problem is that I’d quite like it to happen again. Right now, ideally.’
I can feel my heart banging against my ribcage with nerves. I’ve basically thrown myself at him; if he walks away now, I’ll be completely humiliated.
‘But last weekend—’
‘I know. I’m sorry. You caught me by surprise, that’s all. But I’ve realised that I do want this, if you do. I want you, Noah.’
It’s all I can do not to sag with relief as his miserable face lights up. Very slowly, I step towards him and take his face in my hands, the stubble gently tickling my palms.
‘I thought I’d ruined everything,’ he murmurs.
‘Shh,’ I whisper as our lips meet, very gently. We stay like that for a while, not moving, but just kissing very gently. Every so often, I pull back and stare into his beautiful, kind eyes, before leaning forwards for more. At some point, our arms wrap around each other, then our mouths open and the kissing becomes more intense and I know, deep down in the core of my being, that this is the man I want to be with.
‘We’d better get to the pub,’ I gasp when we finally surface for air. ‘They’ll be wondering where we are.’
‘Do we have to? I’m pretty happy here.’
‘We have the whole weekend ahead of us.’
