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She’d bet all the money raised so far that Wes had never in his life stumbled with what he wanted to say. A small part of her broken heart kind of liked watching him squirm. Although instead of it being awkward, it made him even more appealing. Dare she say, cute?
He took a deep breath and gained his composure. “Well, I have one more Bake-Off to go through. I was hoping you’d still help me.” Looking at her through long lashes wasn’t hurting his cause either. Her thoughts went from cute to something much steamier. Could she make it through one more baking session with him and come out of it with her heart still intact?
“I promise. I’ll be on my best behavior.”
Oh, so many parts of her wished he wouldn’t. Before she could talk herself out of it she said, “I’ll help you. But just as friends.”
“Friends. Got it.” His words said one thing, but his eyes said something else.
Chapter Eighteen
Noelle sat ather desk in the studio and tried to focus. With the performance behind them, things had settled down a bit. She shied away from using the word “normal” often, but without the stress and chaos, life was feeling a bit more normal.
Of course, it had only been one day since Saturday. Since the performance and the second Bake-Off. She’d spent the previous day sleeping in, walking to the grocery store to stock the fridge and pantry, something that had been neglected with all the craziness going on, and she had even put her feet up to read a book. It had been ages since she’d taken the time to do that. However, it didn’t take her mind off Wes the way she’d hoped it would. Reading a romance novel didn’t help, but they were her favorite. She never tired of a happily ever after ending, even if there wasn’t one in the cards for her. Not with Wes St. Claire anyway.
Holly kept trying to convince her otherwise. And in truth, Noelle’s harsh feelings toward him were fading. Maybe it was because of time or a small part of her admitting she may have overreacted just a tad. But either way, it didn’t matter. He was leaving Marietta when the Bake-Off was over so there was no point in pursuing things between them. Why fight for something that had no future?
Holly had come home after the Bake-Off having spent time at Grey’s with Jeff and some friends, saying that the word in town was everyone was excited about Spellman making part of his movie in Marietta. There was no buzz about anything changing and most everyone thought the added exposure would do the town good, not harm. Yet another reason to concede that she may have been too harsh on Wes. Even so, friendship was her best option. The fact that she’d fallen for the man had to be irrelevant. Something she pushed down and prayed would go away over time as well.
She’d even turned her phone off all day. Wes had texted asking what day worked for her to bake together, but she’d only seen it that morning and answered that Wednesday would be best. He hadn’t tried to push her to talk beyond logistics of the final Bake-Off, which she appreciated. However, they’d be spending all morning together Wednesday in his kitchen—a place she chose this time for the simple fact that if she wanted to leave, she could. It was much easier to grab her coat and go if things got heated between them again than to try and kick him out of her apartment. His dad and Glenna would most likely be there as well, which would help keep things friend zoned between them.
Although part of her recognized there was always a chance things would heat up in a way that had them kissing again, it was something she had to keep from happening at all costs. If Wes worked his way into her heart again, there’d be no turning back. No matter how much she told herself otherwise.
She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Her desk was covered in precious cards and little gifts from her students, all thanking her for her hard work and saying how much they enjoyed the performance. Overwhelmed by gestures of such kindness, she didn’t know where to start. Not only had she’d fallen for Wes St. Claire, she’d fallen for the town of Marietta as well. Too bad she couldn’t have both.
As she opened a card and tiny heart confetti poured out of it, the chime above the front door dinged. Her heart skipped a beat, caught between hoping it wasn’t Wes who had come to see her and hoping it was. Franchesca came through her office door and dropped herself into a chair. Noelle masked her disappointment and told herself to be relieved instead.
“Hey, friend. You get any rest yesterday?”
“Yeah. Well, sort of.”
Noelle brushed heart confetti off her desk and into the wastebasket beside it. “Sort of?”
“I caught up on errands and stuff I hadn’t done being so busy with getting ready for the show.”
“Ah, I did the same myself.”
“No downtime?”
“Some.”
“Well, I hope you’re rested enough to hear what I have to tell you.”
Noelle sat back in her chair and folded her hands in her lap. Was Wes okay? Had he said something to Franchesca? She mentally shook her head and berated herself for always thinking about Wes. The world didn’t revolve around the man. Certainly not her world. But the instinct to hope he was all right, that nothing bad had happened, was her knee-jerk reaction now. Yet another thing to work on since he would be leaving soon.
“What is it?”
“Can I make tea first? We’re both gonna need it.”
In her mind, Noelle cursed her friend’s desire to add drama to every situation as she said, “Yes. Help yourself.”
Franchesca left the room and Noelle listened to cupboards opening and closing, the faucet running water, and the clank of ceramic against the counter as Franchesca moved around the tiny break room next to Noelle’s office.
After what felt like hours, her friend came back in with two steaming mugs and set one down for Noelle before claiming her seat once more across the desk and taking a sip. With a sigh, she leaned back in her chair.
“You’re killing me, you know that right?”
“Normally I would admit to stretching things out for dramatic effect, but this time, I’m merely trying to form the words to say what I need to.”
