By the time I woke up the next morning, Noah was already up and getting dressed.
“Morning,” I said, taking an appreciative look at the way his ass looked in his jeans. He hadn’t put a shirt on yet, so I also got to explore the curves of his back.
“Stop perving or I’ll call my family saying I have the flu and then book this room for the weekend,” he said, throwing his shirt on.
I got up, and ten minutes later, we were ready to go. The plan was to join his family for breakfast at the hotel on the island after we checked in, so we just grabbed a coffee to take on the ferry.
The hotel grounds were stunning. It was such a contradiction that on a day without a cloud in the sky, it felt like a storm was brewing.
We shared a glance and walked into the hotel lobby.
The reception desk didn’t have a line, so the receptionist welcomed us with a smile as soon as she saw us.
“Welcome to Mabel’s Vineyard. Are you here to check in?”
“We are,” Noah said. “The reservation is under Spencer. Noah Spencer.”
“Oh, you’re with the wedding rehearsal party. Most of the guests arrived last night, but we made sure all the rooms were ready, so once you’re checked in, we can take your bags up and you can enjoy our luxurious breakfast with the other guests.”
She took our IDs and started to type away on her laptop.
“Nervous?” I asked Noah.
“It’s too late to back out now. Better face it head-on.” He steeled himself and grinned.
I took in our surroundings while we waited. The hotel was stunning. It had an old-world feel, but the number of windows and skylights made it bright and airy.
For a moment, my grandfather popped into my mind. He would have said the hotel needed several stained-glass windows to make the brightness colorful.You can never have too much color in your life, is what he always used to say.
I’d never understood those words so much until now. Having Noah in my life had certainly added a new palette.
“It really is you. Mr. Van Stern?”
I turned toward the young voice calling my name.
“That’s me, and you are?”
The girl must have been in her teens. She had light-green eyes and bright-red hair.
“My name is Emily. My mom took me to visit your museum last week. It’s so pretty. I loved all the colors, and…everything is so bright. My favorite was the gardens. I made my mom promise we’ll go there again before school starts. I want to spend a whole day in the garden. Are we allowed to bring a picnic?”
I chuckled. “You certainly are allowed to bring a picnic to the gardens. You know where my favorite place is?”
Her eyes bugged out and she smiled like she was trying to control all the energy inside her.
“Find the giant caterpillar. When you stand next to it and look to your left, you’ll see a row of trees. Go to the trees and look very carefully. You’ll see a small gate. You can open it. It’s allowed. Inside, you’ll find a secret garden. Only our very special guests know it exists.”
She gasps. “Mom, did you hear that?”
A woman who was the spitting image of the girl came closer. “I hope she’s not bothering you, Mr. Van Stern. She’s been obsessed with your museum. She probably recognized you from the museum website. She… Last year, she was bullied at school for having red hair. I wanted to show her that bright and different things can be beautiful and magical.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I said.
“Who’s this?” the girl asked as Noah stood beside me with the room keycards.
“I’m his husband, Noah. Nice to?—”
“Excuse me?”
