And because he couldn't stop thinking about what she'd felt like in his arms, he found himself at the front door without a conscious memory of how he'd gotten there.
Her scent hit him as soon as he opened the door. He was hit with a visceral memory of the feel of her skin beneath his fingertips, and his throat closed up.
For once, she didn't barge inside.
"Can we talk?" she asked almost tentatively.
He held the door open, and she stepped in, though she swung wide as she slipped past him.
"The kids okay?" he asked.
"Yes. Lindsey is staring at the oven, waiting for her pumpkin pie to bake."
He smiled a little at that. Lindsey the baker.
"She wanted me to ask if you'd changed your mind about coming up to the house for dinner."
He raised his eyebrows at her. "Lindsey wanted you to ask?" That seemed like a lot of words for a little girl who'd uttered all of three words in his presence, one of which wasmeow.
She sighed in an exasperated way. "Fine. I don't like thinking about you all alone over here. Come over for lunch."
It wasn't an invitation. It was a demand. One that, by the sound of her tone, she would rather not have to make.
Which made his hackles rise.
"How can I refuse an invitation like that? Uh, no."
"Noah."
"Jilly."
She made a muffled noise that sounded suspiciously like a scream, as if she'd covered her face with both hands.
"You don't really want to be here alone, do you?” she asked. “We're going to have a full house. You can eat, and no one will even notice you're there."
He doubted that. The boys had chattered to each other enough this week that Noah knew Iris and Callum and their twins would be attending. Along with Cord and his wife, a woman named Molly whom Noah had never met.
Thinking about coming face to face with his two former best friends made his stomach twist. Both Callum and Cord had seen the real Noah, and neither one had stuck around after the big reveal.
"Iamhappy to stay here." It was true. He'd be really unhappy if Cord or Callum brought up what he'd revealed to them in confidence.
"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" she demanded.
"Why do you?"
And suddenly, the same energy that had sparked between them last night was ratcheted up to a thousand, so full and terrifying he could almost hear it crackling between them.
Fabric rustled as if she’d shifted her feet, or maybe turned away from him. Silence stretched.
"We should talk about what happened last night," she said finally. Her voice projected away from him.
It bugged him.
"It was top five for me," he said. "If that's what you're asking."
"Top five?"
"Top five kisses. Of all time."
