“Not helpful, Noah,” she giggled, despite herself, and rolled her eyes. “Ugh, I should have known you wouldn’t take this seriously.”
“Au contraire,” I scooted closer to her in my chair. “I’ve never been more serious about anything.”
“That’s not exactly saying much,” she pointed out, smirking. “You’re notoriously unserious.”
I grabbed the arm to her chair, tugging her closer to me. “I’m looking forward to proving you wrong.” I smirked as I leaned forward and capturing her lips in a kiss that wasn’t exactly office friendly.
Not that any kisses were really office friendly, but this one? Yeah. Probably shouldn’t have done it, but I couldn’t help myself. I needed to taste her.
Nellie had let out a squeak before our lips met, but once we started kissing, she all but melted into it.
“Noah,” she chastised, pulling back and looking around, as if making sure we were still alone. “We really shouldn’t do that here.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry. I needed to kiss you again, and I couldn’t wait for our next date.”
“We haven’t set a next date,” she replied dryly.
“Exactly. How am I supposed to wait for that, when I have no idea how long it will be?”
Nellie’s eyes narrowed. “You’re impossible.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m impossible,” I replied, lifting a brow. “But while we’re on the topic, when can I take you out again?”
“I’m free this weekend.” Nellie shrugged, fighting a smile as she clicked on the reservation software.
* * *
Nellie
* * *
It was strange, going to work the Monday after my date with Noah, after he declared his intentions and asked me out officially. Especially when he acted like a boyfriend when I arrived, all flirty smiles and stolen kisses.
I tried to put a stop to that. We were at work, after all—but Noah wasn’t concerned. I, however, felt like everyone else at work had opinions already, and that made me feel claustrophobic.
At lunchtime, Easton kept smirking knowingly at me, which was almost as disconcerting as Damien’s refusal to look in my direction. Damien was always grumpy, and it frequently seemed like he was mad about something. I had no reason to believe I was the cause of his irritation, but his refusal to even grunt a hello at me made me feel like I was the cause.
Especially because he was ignoring Noah, too. He sat at the usual table he and Charlotte usually occupied, eating his lunch in stony silence across from Easton, who’d sat there probably to annoy him more than anything.
Rhonda and Denise didn’t seem to treat me any differently. They kept to themselves at their own table toward the back of the dining room. Neither of them spared any conspiratorial glances in my and Noah’s direction.
Noah sat with me, as he usually did, save for that short period of time when I think he was attempting to avoid me. He kept a respectable distance, keeping to his side of the table as he talked about mundane things. Mostly what we could all expect from the next two weeks while we waited for the plumbing issues in the Sprucewood cottage to be dealt with.
Rhonda and Denise didn’t seem too excited about having to add The Rustic into their rotations, even though they’d be removing the Sprucewood for the time being. The Rustic was far enough away that they’d have to reorganize their cleaning schedules.
Apparently, it was a bit of a hike from the main office. The Rustic was one of the more private cottages on the northern side of the property. Noah said they normally kept it shut down during the winter seasons, opening it up only during the summer.
I half-listened to the conversations happening around me, distracted by the way Noah kept stealing glances and smiling at me. The feel of his lips earlier that morning hadn’t done anything to douse the fire he started Saturday night, when he’d kissed me at the door.
I felt wound up and I didn’t like it. I knew myself well enough to know that when I got into a certain state of provocation, so to speak, I could make some poor decisions.
Noah’s kisses and touches had activated that part of me that I thought was dormant. I’d honestly thought my libido had fled the building upon seeing those two pink lines on the pregnancy test—and it had, for a spell.
Until Noah awakened it.
I needed to talk to Sage, and STAT. But first, I had to get through the workday. And it dragged on and on.
When Noah stepped out to go deal with maintenance jobs or whatever else he handled during the day, two hours after lunchtime all but froze.
