He moved to hug his mom, who was still holding the kitten and returned his embrace with one arm. Hot emotion filled his chest as he breathed in her familiar scent. He'd missed her.
When he pulled away, she held him at arms' length, her fingers firm against his upper arm. "You look... There's something different about you."
He wasn't ready to talk about Jilly yet. They weren't dating. Barely friends. He wanted—
"Cat," he said by way of explanation. "Her name is Honey Bear."
"Really?" Even his mom was amused by the name he'd chosen. He didn't care. It fit the little girl perfectly.
"What are you doing here?" he repeated the question, not unkindly.
"Visiting my son. Did you really think I was going to go on that cruise and not see you at all for Christmas?"
He had. And he'd been happy for her. At least that's what he'd told himself. Now that she was here, he realized how stupid he'd been.
"I'll stay the night and head back to Galveston tomorrow afternoon. Unless there's any reason you don't want me to stay."
It was a clear fishing expedition, and he was smart enough not to bite the hook.
"Of course I want you to stay," he said absently. His mind was reeling. Should he text Jilly and ask her not to come over today? His mother loved children. She'd adore Casey, PJ, and Lindsey.
But it wouldn't take long for his mom to see him together with Jilly and figure out exactly what was "different" about Noah. He was falling for her.
"I'll take your bag to the guest room," he murmured. He picked up the bag and started down the hall.
And then the decision on whether he should make a preemptive strike was taken from him when he heard the front door open again.
And Lindsey's tiny voice. "Who're you?"
He stopped and let his head fall back. Guess the choice was out of his hands now.
Jilly hadn't meantto interrupt a family moment. She hadn't known Noah was capable of having a family moment, but he'd been surprising her for weeks. She should've realized.
He seemed almost... embarrassed when he emerged from the hallway. No, embarrassed wasn't the word. Shy.
Why would having his mom around make him shy? Or maybe it was her and the kids. Maybe they were interrupting, and he didn't know how to get rid of them.
Introductions had been made. Ann was a hugger, and Jilly was still smiling from the impromptu greeting when she edged toward Noah, who was hiding behind the couch.
Casey was keeping his distance, playing with the kitten across the room.
PJ was chattering at Noah's mom about the lights they'd strung outside.
Ann glanced curiously at her son before her gaze swung Jilly's direction and then back to PJ.
Lindsey hung back, standing slightly behind her brother with both hands wrapped around the digital camera she carried everywhere.
"I didn't see her car until the kids had already barged in," Jilly whispered.
Noah had his head cocked. He seemed to be listening to PJ ramble about being up on the ladder—which had lasted all of thirty seconds, since the boy was afraid of heights.
Then, she felt the full force of Noah's attention on her, though she kept her eyes on the kids.
"Do you want us to go?” she asked. “We should go, right?" She didn't know why she was so nervous. It wasn't as if she had anything to hide. She and the kids were an open book. So what if Noah's mom was here? She and Noah were friends. F-R-I-E-N-D-S. That was it. Nothing to hide.
But that didn't stop her heart from pounding. It didn't stop her from wracking her brain, trying to remember whether she'd even looked in the mirror this morning. She probably had crazy hair sticking up in all directions. It'd been a stressful morning working on a project with PJ, one that was due Monday, and which, of course, he'd left until nearly the last moment.
"Stay," Noah said simply. "She'll get a kick out of visiting with the kids."
