AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So, how have you been feeling?” Colette asked Shelley, and Mindy turned around to find her friend’s hand resting on her belly.
“Good,” Shelley answered as she gazed lovingly down at her stomach. “The morning sickness is still a battle. But Matthew and I finally told Brandon.”
“And?” Mindy prompted eagerly. “How did it go?”
“He took it really well. You all were right, he’s excited to be a big brother.” Shelley beamed as Colette gave her a ‘we told you so’ look.
Mindy’s eyes flicked to Lacy, finding her sitting silently on the floor staring intently at the carpet. She recalled how strange her friend had acted when Shelley had announced her pregnancy and was surprised to see the same thing happening again. Lacy’s cheeks were flushed, her expression slightly pensive, and Mindy watched as Lacy blinked her bright green eyes hastily, clearing them of the unidentifiable emotion lurking within them before glancing up at Shelley.
“That’s great, Shelley,” Lacy said, her tone warm. “I’m so happy that it all worked out.”
Mindy stored the look she’d seen on Lacy’s face away as something that she’d bring up later. Maybe she needed to talk to Lacy one on one? She hoped nothing was wrong. Lacy seemed to be in good spirits otherwise, so maybe Mindy had just been imagining things.
Just then, the doorbell rang, drawing her out of her thoughts. Gus started barking, and all of her friends’ gazes landed on Mindy.
“He’s here,” Lacy said with a gasp, all previous strangeness gone from her voice as she grinned widely.
“Which means it’s our cue to go,” Shelley said, giving Mindy a wink as she pushed herself to standing before extending a hand to help Lacy off the floor.
Mindy’s heart beat wildly, and she was filled with sudden nerves as she walked through the room to the front door. Gus was prancing around by her heels, yapping excitedly as he waited to see who was on the other side of the door.
The women paused in the entryway, and Mindy gave them just long enough to start putting their coats on before pulling the door open to reveal Noah on the other side of it. Her mouth went dry at the sight of him, looking more handsome than ever in the golden light of the setting sun.
“Hi,” she greeted him, her voice a little breathy.
“Hey,” he answered, giving her a boyish grin before his gaze moved behind her and landed on the women donning their coats and scarves.
He arched a questioning eyebrow at Mindy, and she chuckled.
“They’re just leaving,” she explained.
“Yes, yes.” Colette laughed merrily, slipping past Mindy as she stepped out onto the front step. “Don’t you worry your perfectly coiffed head, Noah. We know all about yourdate.” She emphasized the word, waggling her eyebrows at them as Shelley and Lacy made their way out the door as well. “Have a fantastic time. Make sure to get her back home at a reasonable hour!”
Mindy watched them go, shaking her head slightly as her friends linked arms and walked down the sidewalk, giggling as they went.
She adored them for many reasons, including the fact that they were willing to suspend all of their previous reservations about Noah and still be excited for her to be going out with a guy she liked. Although she knew they were all still concerned about what he had come to Snowy Pine Ridge to do, they were giving him a chance because they knew he was important to her.
“So they know that it’s a date?” Noah asked, stooping down to give Gus a scratch on the head.
“They absolutely do,” Mindy responded, still smiling fondly after her friends.
“And you aren’t worried that everyone knows our business?”
She fell into step beside him, stepping delicately over the packed snow as they crossed the front yard to where his car was parked in her driveway.
Mindy shrugged. “You get used to it pretty quickly.”
Noah laughed, shaking his head as he rushed forward, pausing just long enough to pull the passenger side door open for her and give her time to slide in. Once she was tucked safely inside, he didn’t close the door right away, and she turned her head to give him a curious glance.
“You look lovely, by the way,” he said with a wide grin, which Mindy happily returned.
“So do you,” she answered. “Handsome, I mean.”
She blushed a little, making Noah smile as he closed the door and strode around to the driver’s side of the car.
When Noah was settled in his seat and navigating his way out of the driveway and onto the road, she glanced at him sideways. She focused on the way his green eyes glinted as they stared out at the road, noticed the sharp edge of his jaw, and the way his dark hair shone in the fading light.
Mindy’s heart fluttered, and she wondered if it would be possible to keep spending this much time with him without doing something she definitely shouldn’t.
