“You keep forgetting my dad’s the mayor.” Cade pointed to one of the two armchairs opposite Owen’s desk. “Sit.”
Noah sat, bracing his arms on the legs of his jeans. He couldn’t bring himself to wear the khaki pants, but at least these were the Levi’s without stains. Not that Owen needed impressing.
His gaze drifted to the framed family photo on his friend’s desk, taken with Owen’s pastor-father, Sunday-school-teaching mother, and his two fellow PK siblings, Sawyer and Adeline. They all smiled big for the camera, a happy blend of autumn leaves and denim shirts.
Noah’s throat knotted. What would it have been like growing up with two parents who loved each other? What would have happened if he hadn’t left town as a young teen, after his dad cheated and left him and his mom to face the gossip alone?
Would he and Elisa still have had that one summer together, several years later?
“So.” Cade mirrored Noah’s posture from the other chair. “Back to this kiss.”
“Almost kiss,” Noah corrected.
“Potato…” His friend’s voice held warning.
Noah sighed. “We started the hunt. Finally figured out the first clue—well, Elisa did, anyway.”
Cade squinted, but didn’t interrupt.
“It was at the lighthouse.”
He flinched. “You hate heights.”
“I remember.” Noah snorted. “So did Elisa. She helped me focus on finding the clue and not the fact I was one hundred and seventy-seven steps above the earth.”
“So you kissed at the lighthouse?”
“Almostkissed.”
“You almost kissed at the lighthouse?”
“At the inn. We grabbed a pizza and were celebrating our victory. Started talking. Laughing.”
“And one thing led to another.” Cade nodded. “I get it. You don’t have to kiss and tell, don’t worry.”
“There’s not a kiss to tell about.” Close, though. Noah snagged a business card from the holder on Owen’s desk and spun it between his fingers. So close he could still smell her, could still feel the lines of her face under his fingertips.
“You’re sure worked up over an almost kiss.” Cade leaned back, hooking one expensive loafer over his knee. “Did she reject you?”
Hardly. She’d been leaning toward him like the tower of Pisa. “Her dad walked in.”Thenthe rejection started.
Cade’s foot slipped off his knee and hit the ground with a thump. He leaned forward, chin braced in his hands. “Isaac caught you with his daughter?”
Noah spun the card faster. “Remember, we hadn’t actually kissed.”
“What happened?”
This was the part he hated most. Noah spread his hands. “Isaac told me off and they left.”
“And Elisa?”
He swallowed. “Didn’t say a word.” History repeating itself.
“Man.” Cade shook his head. “So you’re here to get a second loan because you’re giving up on the hunt.”
“Maybe. Isaac resorted to drastic measures that one summer. Not sure if his ire would have calmed by now or grown hotter.” Noah bounced one leg. “I can’t risk him sabotaging this inspection.”
He’d never told anyone about the letters Elisa’s dad had started sending to the inn that year—and there was no reason to now. The people who needed to believe him wouldn’t, and the others wouldn’t care.
