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Another couple passed their table, and Mia briefly broke eye contact. “True. You’ll get that promotion for sure. They’ll be blown away by the work you can get done without me distracting you.” She grinned. “Hey, I feel a little less guilty now.”
Noah frowned a little. “James mentioned the position the other day. He said he’s looking forward to discussing it more after my dad retires.”
“What? Noah, that’s incredible. Why aren’t you more excited?”
“It’s not guaranteed to be mine. David’s gonna go hard for it, too.”
She waved a hand. “You definitely deserve the position over him. You managed twice the number of projects he did last year.” Plus, she’d overheard several of the other architects comment on David’s propensity for laziness and lack of attention to detail.
“He had a few extensive projects that turned out really well.”
“So did you.”
He shrugged and folded his arms across his chest. “So how was class today?”
The excitement that rushed through her was the only reason she allowed the blatant subject change. “Good. There are fifteen of us. We went around the room and talked a little about ourselves. Why we’re coming back to school and the degrees we’re pursuing, that kind of thing. I had coffee with some classmates and walked around campus afterward.”And thought about you.Did he remember walking the campus with her when they were eighteen? “It was fun.”
“That’s awesome.” His hands dropped to his lap. “I’m happy for you.”
“Me too.”
Paula appeared at the table with their food, directing a megawatt smile in Noah’s direction. He smiled back.
“Thank you. I hope you’ll forgive me for being so unadventurous when it comes to food.”
“Oh pish.” Paula flicked her wrist. “Consistency in a man is one of the best qualities.”
Noah raised his brows and looked at Mia. “Did you hear that, honey? One of thebestqualities.”
Mia crossed her eyes at him and couldn’t help but grin. “How long have you and Steve been married?”
Paula beamed with pride. “Thirty-five years this spring.”
“Wow,” Noah said.
“That’s awesome. Good for you two.”
“He drives me crazy sometimes,” Paula said dryly. “Especially since we work together. But I love that man to the moon and back.”
Mia glanced at Noah and found his eyes on her face, soft and contemplative. He didn’t look away when he said, “Hey, Paula. If you could give us newlyweds once piece of advice for a long, happy marriage, what would it be?”
“That’s easy. Never stop showing affection.” She winked. “You’d be surprised how much a simple touch can mean to someone you love.”
20
“I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
Noah returned the book of tattoo designs to the table. “It’s not too late to back out. Not until that needle touches your skin. Even then, you could say the word and just have a permanent freckle.”
She laughed. “No, I want to do it. I’m still nervous, though.”
She held a printed image of a floral design in her hand, for placement on the upper left side of her torso. His muscles twitched uncomfortably in anticipation of the pain she would experience. Most of his tattoos were on fleshy, muscular parts of his body. Bones supposedly hurt the most.
“Sticking with your choice?” he asked. “That’s a pretty serious tattoo for your first.”
“Go big or go home, that’s what I always say.”
“Not once have I heard you say that.”
