I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, he turnedon his heel and strode toward the door, his movements stiff with barely contained frustration.
“Noah—”
But he was already gone, the door swinging shut behind him.
And just like that, I was left alone in the kitchen, my pulse racing, the ghost of last night’s kiss lingering on my lips.
After spending a few minutes collecting myself—read: chugging the rest of the coffee and banging my head against the wall—I headed downstairs myself. Sure, getting into something romantic with Noah was a bad idea, but I had taken it too far. It wasn’t fair of me to use information he told me in confidence against him like that.
When I didn’t immediately spot Noah, panic set in.What if he ran off the property? What if he’s livestreaming our breakup somewhere?
I checked the watch around my wrist. It was almost time for the garden tour, so he was likely…by the gardens.
This resort was way too huge. I pushed through a set of doors, only to be greeted by an empty hallway.Wrong exit. Again.By the time I finally stepped outside, the heat was already sinking into my skin, and I spotted him in the distance.
Thank God he was tall—he stood over all the other press team members nearby like a damn lighthouse.
“Noah, thank God I found you,” I said, huffing as I rushed up to him. “Listen, I?—”
“Thank you all for joining us for our tour this morning of the gardens!” a bright, cheerful voice cut in.
Fucking Jennifer.
“We are going to get started now, so if I could have your undivided attention, please.”
Noah didn’t even look at me.
I clenched my jaw as the group moved forward, followingJennifer through the perfectly manicured pathways of the resort’s sprawling gardens. I tried to focus—really, I did. There were so many plants I didn’t recognize, some with big, waxy leaves, others with tiny, delicate petals that looked straight out of a fairy tale. Jennifer rattled off names I’d never heard before, something about sustainable gardening practices, something else about native flora…
I couldn’t care less.
Because the entire time, I was only aware ofhim.
Noah walked just a few feet ahead of me, hands shoved into his pockets, his broad shoulders tense. He was ignoring me, fully committed to acting like I didn’t exist.
Every time I stepped a little closer, every time I opened my mouth to say anything, he shifted just slightly, positioning himself so he was always just out of reach.
By the time we made it to the orchid house, I was ready to grab him by the arm and force him to talk to me. But just as I reached for him, he turned, finally meeting my eyes.
For a split second, hope flickered in my chest.
And then?—
“Myfavoritecouple! How did you enjoy the tour?”
I nearly jumped. So focused on Noah, I hadn’t even noticed that the tour had ended, the group already dispersing into smaller clusters, chatting about flowers and sustainable gardening.
I inhaled deeply, trying to find my inner Zen.You are calm. You are composed. You are not going to strangle Jennifer.
“It was lovely,” I said, forcing a smile. “Thank you for the tour, Jennifer.”
“Wonderful!” She beamed, clearly thrilled to have done her part in making us more connected to nature. “I just wanted to point you two in the direction of the cooking class. It’s a straight shot down this path. You can’t miss it.”
“Thank you,” Noah said, flashing her one of those polite smiles that came so easily to him, the kind that felt effortless but held no real warmth.
“I’ll see you both later!” Jennifer waved as she headed off, leaving us alone again.
We walked down the path in silence, the gravel crunching beneath our feet. I glanced at him once, twice, trying to gauge if his posture had softened at all.
