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Now? Now was a time for joy, in whatever way she could find it.
And she was very much finding it within the comfort of Noah Henderson’s arms.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
The next afternoon, Mindy was wiping down the counter of the bakery, preparing to shut everything down for the day when the sound of the bell on the door jingling merrily grabbed her attention. Her gaze snapped up to see who had entered, and surprise filled her when she saw Noah standing in the doorway.
He grinned at her as he approached, and she returned his smile despite her confusion.
“We didn’t have plans for touring the town today, did we?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Nope, but I do have a surprise for you.”
“Oh, really? What is it?”
He arched one dark brow at her. “You do know what the word ‘surprise’ means, don’t you? I can’t tell you that yet, or it would give away the surprise.”
Mindy chuckled. “Okay. Well, I’m just finishing up here, and then I need to walk Gus, if it’s something that can wait for a little bit?”
“I can help you close up,” he offered, shrugging his coat off and slinging it over the back of the nearest chair.
She was shocked to find him in jeans and a fitted, casual sweater. Granted, the outfit was only casual in comparison to his usual attire of a perfectly tailored suit. The jeans still looked like they had been ironed and the sweater was definitely a very expensive cashmere. But still, the more relaxed look caught her off-guard—almost as much as the words he spoke next.
“You can bring Gus with you for the surprise too. As long as he does okay with car rides?”
“You want Gus to come in your car?” Mindy asked, unable to hide the shock in her tone.
“Is he going to do okay in it?” Noah asked, and she could have sworn that there was concern forGuslacing his tone. “Because if he doesn’t like cars or something, I can just stay with you while you walk him and then we can head out. I don’t want to stress him out.”
Mindy studied him as he walked behind the counter, took one look at what she was doing, then grabbed a rag of his own and began to help her wipe everything down. She was dumbfounded. Absolutely perplexed.
Over the past twenty-four hours, she’d barely been able to process the fact that they’d almost kissed, let alone the beautiful moment they’d shared while dancing in the snow.
And now he was showing up with surprises and helping her with the bakery? And worried about her dog?
She shook her head, once again telling herself that there would be time to figure it all out later as she continued going through her end-of-day routine. As a thanks to Allison for taking so many extra shifts at the bakery lately, Mindy had been on her own all day as she’d given the other woman the full day off. So even if she was incredibly confused by all of it, she wasn’t going to decline Noah’s help.
“He does great in cars, actually,” she told him, working faster than ever now that she had a surprise to look forward to.
“Then it’s settled,” Noah answered with a grin. “Gus will come with us.”
They worked in tandem, with Noah needing surprisingly little direction in what to do to close up the shop. Before Mindy knew it, she was locking the front door and walking toward Noah’s car.
It was the same black car that she’d seen the day he’d arrived, and as she climbed into it, she eyed the back seat.
“It’s a good thing Gus is small,” she said, almost to herself as she eyed the expensive looking upholstery. “And he’s well-behaved too. But you might end up with some dog hairs on your seat.”
“I don’t mind,” Noah said, truly sounding like he meant it as he pulled away from the curb to drive toward Mindy’s house.
They made small talk as they drove, and since it was only a few blocks to her house, there wasn’t enough time for things to get awkward or anything.
They hadn’t talked about what had happened the evening before. When the dance had ended, they’d broken apart and walked back toward Mindy’s house with their hands linked, and there’d been a moment when he dropped her off at her house where she’d once again thought he might kiss her.
But now, neither of them brought up the dance or the almost kiss, although unspoken words hovered between them.
When Mindy unlocked the front door of her house, Gus was already waiting in the entryway, dressed in the bright green Grinch sweater she’d selected earlier that morning. Noah began laughing when he saw him, shaking his head at the dog’s attire.
“You put him in the most ridiculous stuff,” he said as Mindy hooked a leash to Gus’s collar.
