4
No. Noah wasn't doing this again.
The persistent knocking at his front door started as he was lacing up his sneakers, getting ready for a workout in his home gym.
It had to be Jilly. The kids were in school, right? She must've rushed over immediately after Aiden's phone call.
His threat about calling the sheriff had been just that—a threat. He hadn't really intended to do it. But now? When she completely disregarded his request that she stay off his property?
He finished tying his shoes and strode from his bedroom toward the kitchen, where he'd left his phone after breakfast this morning.
He was done with Jilly and her kids interrupting his life.
The knocking stopped as he passed from the hallway into the living room.
But instead of silence, he heard the distinct sound of his front door opening. Cool air rushed in.
Had she just opened the door?
Movement in the doorway amped up his awareness. She had.
"Noah, can we talk?"
The door closed. And she was on the inside of it.
What was left of his composure went out the window. "What the heck do you think you're doing? Breaking in to my house—"
"Please don't call the cops."
"Why shouldn't I? You're inside my house, uninvited!" But he remained frozen, in a strange no man's land between the hallway and the kitchen. He was breathing hard, as if he’d just completed a set of fifty nonstop push-ups. Each indrawn breath brought the faintest whiff of something flowery. A scent that meant Jilly.
"If you would justansweryourdoor, I wouldn't have to. Show some neighborly courtesy."
"You've got some nerve coming in here and lecturing me about courtesy after what those kids did."
She went silent.
Fabric rustled, as if she'd shifted and her jeans-clad legs had rubbed each other. He experienced an instant memory of Jilly in her cowboy boots. Other teen girls had dressed in skirts or even cheerleading outfits. Not Jilly. She'd almost always been in a T-shirt, jeans, and scuffed old boots that looked as if they'd seen better days.
He'd forgotten about that.
Jilly was handlingthis all wrong.
She could see that Noah was upset in the tense set of his shoulders, the way his arms were crossed, his body language all closed off. It didn't help that she’d lost her composure. Why couldn’t he have just opened the door?
She had to make him understand. She exhaled a breath that rattled her chest. "Look, I'm sorry. Can we please start over? I'll pretend you let me in when I knocked, and you pretend like I don't annoy the snot out of you."
Was that a twitch of his lips? "I'm not sure I am that good of an actor."
Oh. It wasn't aget out.
He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to speak. And... she was still staring at him. She couldn't help it. He looked like he was getting ready to hit the gym. He wore basketball shorts and a T-shirt that had had its sleeves cut off and showed off the rippling muscles in his arms.
As she stared, she felt warmth bloom low in her tummy. Attraction?
She wasn't equipped to deal with it, so she started talking.
"PJ and Lindsey lived with their grandma after their parents died. She was elderly and had some health problems, and they were left on their own a lot. Casey is their cousin and came to live with them after his dad went to prison."
