“In that case…” Noah held out a hand for my laptop.
I passed it over, and he put it on a table along with our plate from the avocado toast and both our drinks. Then he slowly lowered himself onto the chaise with me, sliding under the blanket and facing me while on his slide.
“I was wondering if we could find a way to pass a bit of time together.” The expression on his face could only be described as mischievous.
I immediately wondered if that was what Addie looked like when she was up to something.
“Whatever could we do?” I asked nonchalantly. “Look at the water?”
“Good idea, good idea.” His voice was thoughtful as his gaze roamed over my face before he tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “But I have something else in mind.”
“You do?” I asked, playing innocent. “Whatever could you be thinking of?”
He lowered his mouth to mine, hovering just above my lips. “This,” he whispered, pausing so I could tell him if I wasn’t interested. Like hell was that happening, so I pulled him flush with me, entwining our legs together under the blanket.
His lips met mine, and I wanted to fall into them. They parted, letting his tongue dance with mine before he backed off and nipped my lower lip. There was a moan—from him or me, who knows—before he began kissing down my neck. I arched my head to give him access as his hand slid up my shirt and I held his head to my neck, wishing for more room than this chaise provided.
Too quickly, his kisses slowed down, backing off in intensity far before I was ready for that to happen. I opened my eyes to meet his. “Why are you stopping?”
He tried to hold back a smirk and failed miserably. “Mary should be back from the store any minute, and I didn’t figure you wanted to do this with her one room away from us.”
“Do this? Make out?”
He gave me an indulgent look. “I mean, sure, that was part of it. However, that kiss just went from zero to ninety in a matter of seconds. I have a feeling that if we’d continued, clothing would have been shed in the cool April air. Am I wrong?”
I chuckled. “No, my fantasies were already heading there.”
His eyes darkened as he leaned forward to place another kiss to my neck. “I think I need to hear more about these fantasies.”
“Maybe tonight?” I said breathlessly.
“Noah, Jules, I’m back,” Mary called from somewhere in the house.
I groaned.
“Tell me about it,” Noah commented before swinging his body up to standing and offering me a hand. “Ready to head in?”
Chapter 18
Game On
Noah
I lay in an empty bed, staring at the ceiling in the light of the morning and wondering what today had in store. Two nights ago I’d thought—hoped, dreamed—that things with Jules would be heating up. I mean, they had on the porch and once we’d headed to bed, I’d assumed that would continue. Unfortunately, she’d gotten a call from Sue around seven, pleading for her to tag in on some last-minute tax prep. She’d sent me big eyes of apology and a promise that Tuesday night would be different.
Tuesday and Wednesday had been filled with the minutiae of learning everything I needed to do between my parents’ passing, the service on Friday, and everything that would come after. Jules had alternated between helping Mary and me, working on taxes, finding time to get more words on the page for her book, and making sure to take care of herself or Sue would personally hold her accountable.
Mary and I were able to get many things crossed off my to-do list while also making sure Jules didn’t get so far in the zone on either of her jobs that she forgot to take care of herself. I’d watched the woman, which was no hardship. I had a strongfeeling that if left to her own devices, she’d sit down at her laptop to work and only stop typing when she completely ran out of steam, even if that meant she’d go hungry, thirsty, or end up with a sore neck and back. More than that, I enjoyed doing things for her. She was so grateful for even the smallest of gestures, it made me want to do more.
I’d looked forward each day to the moment we could go to bed, and then one wrench and then another was thrown in the works. Tuesday Addie had a nightmare. Ivy and Jake had talked to her, but she was convinced I needed her. We’d texted back and forth, and our solution was an extra-long FaceTime past her bedtime and mine. It had done the job, and I got to see her little blond head sacked out next to Jake as he and I had teamed up to tell her a Little People story, a tradition he’d had growing up that he shared with Addie. Since she loved them so much, he had taught me his tricks, though this had been our first joint story.
By the time I’d finished and headed to bed, Jules had been sacked out. She’d been up late on Monday, doing the work for Sue, then ran herself ragged all day even though I’d tried to ensure she found time to rest.
Instead of the day ending the way I’d fantasized, I’d stood in the door, watching her sleep like some creeper, her hair spilling over the pillow. I noted that, similar to the nights before, she slept with the duvet pulled up to her chin and her feet kicked out of the covers at the bottom. It made me smile and wonder what else I could learn about this woman the longer I spent with her. Each day I uncovered more, and every quirk or fact learned just made me greedy for more.
I’d slid in next to her and was hit with the notion that lying in the same bed next to her didn’t feel anything but right. Like, I’d slept next to the woman for three nights and didn’t want to think of sleeping alone.
I needed to slow this train down. Was it the current circumstances that had accelerated whatever this was, or was it just the two of us? My conversation with Addie last night reminded me of my priorities, but didn’t I have room in my life for AddieandJules? And yet, if I did, how did I go about making sure I didn’t fall down on the job of parenting ever again?
