“Dad.” Elisa moved to stand between them, even though they remained on opposite sides of the room. She stretched a hand toward both men. “Noah and I are working on a project. That’s all.”
Noah’s gaze cut hard to her, and she averted her eyes.
Isaac lifted his chin. “I know what I saw.”
Embarrassment crept over her shoulders. “You got your answer about the mold. Was that all?”
Isaac nodded stiffly at Noah. “Hope yourproceedingsare well-planned. You’re going to need all the help you can get.”
She quickly tugged at her dad’s arm, willing him to move toward the door before he could humiliate any of them further. “I’ll go with you. Come on.”
She fought to hide her sigh of relief as her father turned and stalked for the front door. She cast an apologetic glance over her shoulder at Noah, who stood with feet braced apart in the middle of the lobby, his expression unreadable.
Boy, nothing like feeling eighteen all over again.
twelve
He clearly needed to do this by himself.
Cell phone glued to one ear, Noah paced the sidewalk in front of Magnolia Bank & Trust, aware that he probably resembled a caged tiger—sans cage. The morning sun played peek-a-boo with the clouds overhead, far too cheerful for his mood. A mother walking with her toddler gave him one glance and changed their route to the opposite side of the street. Great, now he was scaring children.
Noah stabbed his hand through his hair as he verbally approved the mold mitigation company’s quote.
The high one.
“Next week? Sure. As soon as possible.” He turned to pace again, narrowly dodging a light post adorned with a wreath of white magnolia blossoms. If last night’s meeting with Elisa had accomplished anything, it proved this treasure hunt was out of his league. Sure, they’d finally solved the first clue, but they had zero leads on the next.
More importantly, last night proved the sooner he left Magnolia Bay, the better.
After spending hours tossing in his bed, reliving the almost kiss and debating whether he’d been upset or relieved at Isaac’s interruption of it, he’d formed a middle-of-the-night backup plan. He cast a wary gaze up at the Magnolia Bank & Trust sign.
Hopefully Owen remembered they were friends.
Noah thanked the agent on the other end of the line—as genuinely as one could thank someone for highway robbery—and pocketed his cell before pulling open the front door of the bank.
A rush of air conditioning wafted over his flushed skin. He straightened his shoulders as he entered the fake fern-filled lobby, hoping the sweat he felt on his back wasn’t showing through his blue button-up shirt. He’d refused to wear a tie to this drop-in meeting, but figured adding a collar wouldn’t hurt his chances at a loan.
A low whistle greeted him as he headed toward the roped-off line in front of the teller counter. He turned in time to see Cade strolling toward him from the row of offices on the far wall.
“My man! Looking sharp.”
Noah shook his head as he returned his buddy’s handshake. “Just trying to keep up with you.”
“Good luck.” Cade straightened the lapels of his tailored jacket and posed with a toothy grin—the one that had earned him a spot as an extra when a movie crew came through the bay a few years back.
Noah smirked. “You’re fancy, even for you.”
“I had a meeting with the branch manager—still working on getting some post-hurricane fundraising sponsors for a big event this summer. Got a community softball game in the works, too, among other things.” Cade checked the Rolex on his wrist. “What are you doing here so early? The bank just opened.”
“Need to talk to Owen.”
“The hunt not going well?”
“Dude. I almost kissed her.” The admission blurted free before Noah could remember two important facts—he hadn’t planned on telling anyone, and they were in a public place.
Cade’s eyebrows shot toward his gelled hairline. “I’d say step into my office, but I don’t have one. So we’re stepping into Owen’s.” He tugged Noah around the corner into a glassed-off cubicle. “He’s not in yet.”
Noah glanced at the lobby they’d vacated. “We’re probably not supposed to be here.”
