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The moment Noah passed the fern, his walk evened out. He burst out laughing at the shock on Sophie’s face.
“I can’t believe you just did that!” she exclaimed.
“Come on.” He grabbed her arm and opened the door for her. “After you.”
Sophie walked out into the crisp evening air, feeling better than she had in a long time.
The image of Matt’s rage-filled stupid face sent her into hysterics and Noah joined her.
“Thank you,” she told him as she began walking towards her car, wiping her tears from her face.
Their hands brushed as Noah kept pace beside her. It sent a spark through her arm.
“Anytime,” he told her.
Her keys jingled in her hands and suddenly she no longer had the urge to flee.
“Do you want to grab a drink?” Noah asked.
Sophie considered it. Noah was her boss, but they had spent enough time together that it wouldn’t be awkward, and she supposed she was already dressed up.
…She also didn’t want to say goodbye to him just yet.
Tucking her keys back into her purse, she looked up at him. “Sure, why not?”
CHAPTER5
NOAH
The bar they entered was packed, the music so loud that Noah had to ask Sophie to repeat herself three times before he gave up, grabbing onto her hand and dragging her back out the entrance. The line to go inside was already growing down the street.
“My ears are actually ringing,” she laughed. “How does anyone manage to talk in there?”
“I think that’s part of the point,” he suggested.
Everyone inside the bar had been at least ten years younger than them and certainly not looking to talk. Noah had been surprised to feel out of place; those kinds of bars used to be his scene.
“I know another place that’s a little more high-end,” Noah said. “Somewhere we can get a good drink and actually have a conversation.”
“How about there?” Sophie suggested.
He looked past her outstretched hand to see a small tavern. It was a low-rise brick building with a red neon sign that read “Polly’s.” Noah gave her a skeptical look.
She rolled her eyes playfully. “When’s the last time you went anywhere that didn’t have a five-star rating?”
“Just now, and I think we can both agree it was terrible.”
Sophie laughed. “Okay, fair enough. But let’s just try it out. If it’s horrible we can go somewhere else.”
Noah found himself persuaded by her radiant smile. It was different from the one he saw every day at work. “All right,” he caved.
They waited for an opening in traffic and jogged across the street.
There was no line and they walked straight in through the glass doors. Most of the furniture was wooden and the place seemed to be a mixture of an Irish pub and a medieval tavern, though the music in the background was still of this century. There were enough people to make the place not feel empty but it wasn’t so loud that they couldn’t hear one another speak.
“Look’s good,” Noah agreed. They seated themselves and one of the servers took their order almost immediately.
As they waited for their drinks, he couldn’t help but admire how good Sophie looked. Two light brown strands were left out of her updo to frame her face. Her blue eyes were lined in dark kohl and her lips were plump with whatever red gloss she had applied. He had already admired every inch of the dress she was wearing on their journey over here and had absolutely no complaints.
