Noah didn’t seem bothered by my nonanswer. “Was it the sangria that has you down for the count, kitten? A less-than-ideal night of sleep? Or the fact that you and Addie squeezed a full day of activities into a span just shy of three hours?”
I raised a finger and pointed to the ceiling at that last one. Indeed, that had been the one to send me over the edge—not that I’d change a thing. I mean, I did start the day with a slight hangover. But that could have been overcome. It was the fort buildingandthe homemade cookie makingandthe doll playingandthe O’Malley groomingandthe art creatingand—last but not least—the nonstop dance party. And let’s not forget the insanity of a speed round of hide-and-seek.
I had no idea what the step count on my Apple Watch was for the day, but I surely had surpassed anything that would have been expected for a normal Saturday. And while I was exhausted, I was also happy. I hadn’t laughed like I did in… Well, I couldn’t remember the last time. Since I was a kid?
Noah grabbed my raised finger and squeezed it. “Addie had such a great time this afternoon, and it was all thanks to you.”
My eyes were still closed as I enjoyed his hand on mine, his other hand still toying with my hair. This was the best. Still, I should likely dig deep and participate in this conversation. Goddess forbid the man stop what he was doing. “I had fun too.”
“You were pretty clear about that,” he said, his voice heavy with amusement.
“Please keep up what you’re doing with my hair,” I whispered, hating to ask but willing to do so to keep it going.
Noah’s hand stilled—damn it, I shouldn’t have drawn attention to it. But then: “Want me to brush your hair?”
Holy smokes. Yes. Absolutely. Be chill, Jules. “Umm, that would be great?”
He squeezed my shoulder, oblivious to my mental cheerleader losing her darn mind. “Hold tight. Where’s your hairbrush?”
I did the mentally taxing work to remember what bag I had here. Heck, my full name would be a big ask right now. At the same time, I wanted to sink into this couch—one that was a style I never for a moment would have assumed Noah would own—and never leave. I was exhausted and at peace at the same time. Couple that with being a little horny, and my mind was not surprisingly a bit of a hot mess. “Front pocket, I think.”
He was gone and back in minutes, resuming his spot and… Sweet goddess above, he was brushing my hair. “I didn’t mean to leave so much of the responsibility of Addie to you this afternoon,” he said as he gently detangled my hair.
Noah had gotten a call from the company he hired to prepare his parents’ estate for auction shortly after Ivy left. He’d just gotten that handled only to then field calls from the real estate agent, then Mary, then someone from his office in Springfield, and finally someone who was handling his parents’ financial portfolio. I felt bad for the guy—he clearly was trying to get off the phone to be with us, only to get waylaid time and time again.
I cracked an eye and looked up to see him staring down at me. “I know that all evidence points to the contrary right now, but I loved the entire afternoon.”
He tapped my nose. “You sure about that?”
“Addie is awesome.” It was the only answer needed honestly.
Judging by the movement near my feet, O’Malley was joining us on the couch because of course I had followed through and brought him over to hang out with Ms. Addie.
I did not have a cat who was aloof and removed from humans. O’Malley was the lowest-maintenance cat ever. If I was out of town, he was happy on his own as long as someone took care of the basic daily needs. But if people were around, he wanted to cuddle. And it felt like… Yep, there he was, walking around to lie on my belly. My own personal weighted blanket.
Noah was still on his mission to make my hair the smoothest it had ever been, and I wasn’t complaining.
“Addie is amazing,” he said in reply to my earlier sentiment. “AndI do appreciate all you did today.”
“You contributed when you could.” Truly, I loved how he was in the mix with Addie. He’d been ridiculous creative when we played dolls, doing accents for different voices. It was next level. I was already adding to my mental notes for future books.I’d never written a single dad before, but Noah was inspiring so many ideas for my writing—both the current novel and future stories. It made me itch to get back to my computer.
To cover my need to moan as he worked to unknot my hair, I focused on my surroundings. “This couch is interesting,” I murmured randomly as I rubbed the fabric and, quite possibly, a little moan might have escaped at the end. Sue me. People paid top dollar for head massages, and I was getting this one for free and by a guy who was sexy as hell.
He chuckled. “You surprised by my jewel-colored couch and pillows?”
“Not what I expected,” I mumbled as I rolled my head to the right so he could get some brushing done at the nape of my neck.
“Ivy’s,” he replied as he lifted my head in one hand and ran the brush all the way from the bottom of my head up.
“Ahhh.” I couldn’t help it. Then I refocused. “Ivy’s?”
“This house, some of the furniture.”
“Ah, the couch is Ivy’s.” I gave a small nod so as to not disrupt the brushing. This couch fit Ivy. Noah? Not so much.
“Mm-hmm,” he replied. “I started the conversation about moving here right as she and Jake got together. They moved in together and I took over her place because Addie already knew it and it was only a few blocks from Jake’s.” He put the brush down and buried both hands in my hair as he began rubbing my head in a circular motion with the tips of his fingers. Jesus. This could be his job.
“Makes sense,” I replied as I felt my whole body relax. The exhaustion was abating as the peaceful feeling filled me up.
