I shook my head, thinking I could write the vision instead, and looked to Noah as I drew willpower I wasn’t aware I had. “As much as I’d like to say writing can wait, that isn’t the best idea. Thanks for looking out for me.”
Noah looked around at my place, Addie’s fort still up and reminders of our afternoon visible on the counters. “Where do you write?”
“Umm, a variety of places. Today I was thinking of lounging in my bed.”
He gave a small groan that I’d love to hear again, but then he stepped back and pointed to the stairs. “Go get some words down before I lose my ability to stay strong. I’ll clean up down here and lock the door behind me when I leave.”
Damn, also sexy to have this gorgeous man straightening up while I went to write. At this point it would be easier to catalog what wasn’t hot. Hadn’t found anything yet, time would tell, but I sure as hell wasn’t looking a gift horse in the mouth.
I stepped up to him once again, rose up on my toes, and brushed my mouth against his. “Thanks, Noah,” I whispered. “Text later?”
“You better believe it,” he said. “Now go get that story out of your head and down on paper.”
“Hope you don’t mind if my new hero is heavily inspired by a single dad I’ve recently met,” I said, shooting a wink at him. Who had I become? A person who winks?
Luckily he flicked me with a towel and replied with a smile. “I’d be disappointed if I hadn’t inspired something in your writing. Now head up there.” He pointed to the stairs again.
Hours passed, and I awoke to the sun shining in my window. It had a direct line to my face and pulled me out of my deep slumber. A glance around found O’Malley snoozing on the pillow next to me, my laptop buried in the comforter near my waist, and my clothes from yesterday still on.
I rewound my brain and remembered coming up here while Noah cleaned. I vaguely recalled his shout that he was leaving.The words were flowing and my fingers were flying. Sometimes that happened and time evaporated as the story poured out. I had no idea when I went to bed or if I’d just rested my eyes for a moment.
Untangling my laptop, I woke it up to see how many words I’d written before I’d gone to sleep. After my document loaded, I narrowed my eyes to focus on the word count on the bottom. Seemed I’d crossed the twenty thousand mark, which meant I’d cranked out over three thousand. Dang. I did a mental high five. That was far more than I’d gotten in one writing stretch of late.
I grabbed my phone off the dresser I used as a bedside table. At least I’d plugged that in last night. My first item I noted was that it was already ten in the morning. Damn. Good thing it was a Sunday. Second, I had a plethora of missed texts. Starting with Noah’s first, I noted that it was from eleven p.m.
Noah:Sweet dreams and thanks for being a sounding board today. We need to talk more about your top secret gig at some point, but I swear I won’t share with a soul.
I hoped he didn’t mind that it had been almost twelve hours since he texted. I thumbed out a reply immediately.
Me:Sorry for the delay, I was in the writing zone and crashed sometime last night in the wee hours before dawn. Glad to chat anytime even though it makes me nervous. Honestly, I liked sharing about my writing with you. Kind of nice for someone else to know.
Before I could even check the other texts that had come in, I saw that he was typing so took a swig of water from my bottle on the table while I waited. It didn’t take long.
Noah:Love that the words were coming to you so much that you were in a zone. Sounds like a good thing. Have fun at book club tonight. I think Ivy said it’s going to be memorable.
Holy hell, I’d forgotten about book club. I’d read the Pippa Grant book that they had mentioned the day after I learnedabout it but then fell down the rabbit hole of freaking out about my book being the May pick and completely flaked on meeting this week. Maybe that’s what the other texts were about?
I stuck a heart on Noah’s text and quickly clicked back to see the rest of my messages. Sure enough, there were a bunch in the group chat that was labeled The Coven.I opened it, wondering what could possibly make a book club memorable.
There were a handful of unread texts waiting for me.
Maggie:Good news, ladies. Book club is on the move tonight! We’re going to have our conversation of Pippa’s newest at the mansion in Highland Woods, though the book conversation might be on the light side tonight. Maybe we’ll meet again this week over coffee? The mansion is opening for a show, and I’ve got tickets for us all. Be there at 7, you won’t want to miss this.
A show? What kind of show would you attend for book club?
Emma:Maggie, what are you up to? The park’s website doesn’t mention any events tonight, and Max just laughed at me when I asked.
Hmm. That seemed suspicious.
Maggie:Trust me, chickie. A women’s group that some of my colleagues belong to have the mansion reserved for a show and they had extra tickets. They opened it up to a few groups of women in town, and our group is one. The mansion’s bar in the solarium will also be open for those of you not pregnant or nursing. Let’s go!
Ivy:I’m cackling over here because I know exactly what tonight’s show is. Who needs a ride?
Maggie:Don’t ruin the surprise, Ivy!
Ivy:I would never. I also talked to Maeve. She had some tees made by one of the café’s customers who has some vinyl shirt setup. She and Allyson will have them available for everyone in our club at the café if you can get up there to pickthem up before four. Otherwise, they’ll text to arrange pickup. Wear them tonight and spread the word.
Shirts? Shows? My normal anxiety about attending something for the first time was now being compounded by the unknown. However, there was also a quiet voice that was celebrating that I was included in this crazy group of women and whatever the evening was going to hold for us. I tentatively waded in.
