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But before he could respond, she walked out of the room.
O-kay…
When she came back almost five minutes later, she had a pile of clothes in her hands. “Here.”
“What’s this?”
“There were several drawers filled with clothes when I got here. My grandfather said it was just extras in case anyone ever needed anything. So I rummaged around and found some stuff I thought would fit you.” Then she motioned to his clothes. “I know you’ve got to be uncomfortable, so hopefully there’s something in this pile that works.”
As much as he wanted to argue, he was way too grateful. “Thanks. I honestly thought it wouldn’t be a big deal, but…”
“There are a couple of towels in the bathroom too, if you want to grab a quick shower. We’re eating down here according to my grandfather, so…”
The idea of a shower was beyond appealing, so he simply accepted the clothes and headed for the bathroom. “Fifteen minutes, tops,” he said before closing the door and he heard her soft laughter.
He certainly didn’t want to waste any time, so he turned on the hot water and quickly stripped. It felt a little weird to be doing this, but as soon as he stepped under the spray, he knew it was the right decision. The tiled shelf was lined with all sorts of fruity and flowery soaps and body washes, but there were also a couple of bottles of…well…non-fruity and flowery stuff that he could use. So, he lathered up from head to toe and rinsed off before simply letting himself stand under the water and relax.
The knock at the door, however, made him instantly tense.
“Pizza’s almost here!” Lily called out. “Just FYI!”
“Thanks!” And that effectively put an end to the shower. Turning off the water, he reached for one of the towels and quickly dried off before wrapping it around his waist. He hadn’t looked too closely at the clothes Lily pulled out for him.
After pulling his briefs back on, he took a pair of black sweatpants from the pile and slid them on. All of the t-shirts she picked out, however, were too small.
Crap.
With no other choice, he folded up his work clothes and put them on the vanity before grabbing the pile she’d given him and stepped out of the bathroom. “Any chance there are a few more shirts to choose from? These are all too small.”
Lily turned and froze. There was no other way to describe it, and it reminded him of the night she’d seen him shirtless in Asheville three years ago. She’d stared at him with that same intensity that told him she wasn’t as disinterested as she wanted everyone to believe.
Slowly, he took a step toward her, but her gaze was locked on his chest. He swallowed hard before taking another step and then another until they were almost toe to toe. “Um…these are all too small,” he said gruffly, and almost groaned when she finally looked up at him.
“I…can go check,” she said, her voice softer than he’d ever heard it. “Or…you can come with me and see for yourself.”
Nodding, he followed her into her bedroom, and suddenly it felt too warm in there. He wasn’t thinking about how she was the boss’s daughter or granddaughter or that there was pizza on the way. He watched the soft sway of her hips and how perfect her backside was. And when she reached the dresser and bent over…yeah…his hands twitched with the need to touch her.
She straightened with another shirt in her hands and carefully held it up to him. Her knuckles brushed against his bare shoulders and his eyes drifted shut.
This was torture.
Then her hands flattened on his chest to hold the shirt in place, but she didn’t say a word.
Noah opened his eyes and gently tugged the shirt out of her grasp as they both seemed to be leisurely closing the gap between them. Lily’s gaze fixated on his chest again before pressing her hand on it.
“This is new,” she whispered, touching the tattoo there. She looked up at him. “You didn’t have this in Asheville.”
He swallowed again. “My brothers and I went and got them in Vegas the first time Simon performed there. He flew us both out and we thought it would be something fun to commemorate it.” It honestly wasn’t something he’d ever considered, but once the idea was out there, he’d been on board. The Phoenix represented rebirth— a reminder that no matter how tough life gets, there's always the possibility for a fresh start.
“It’s really cool. The artist did a great job,” she said as her finger traced the design.
When her eyes met his again, Noah whispered her name before lowering his head. She went up on her toes to meet him halfway when…
“Dinner’s here!” William called out.
They immediately jumped apart and Lily raced from the room while he slid the t-shirt on and took a moment to compose himself. It was obvious there was an attraction between them, but…there shouldn’t be, and there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that this sort of thing was going to keep happening the more time they spent together. She was back in town, but that didn’t mean they had to see each other again other than in passing after tonight, and as long as William stayed to eat with them…
“Tell Noah I said thank you,” he heard William saying.
