No, she wouldn’t have. Noah’s grandfather was cared for by their family. He’d served in the military at one point or another, but they’d had the ability to care for him, unlike so many other families.
Jane’s smile remained. “It really is wonderful. There aren’t many charities out there that offer so much. And if you do the research, you find out that the people who run it don’t get excess amounts of money to do so. It’s all very focused on those we help. Not even the CEO seems to get paid. From what I understand, he was a wiz at investing, and he uses all the profits from his investments to help fund at least fifty percent of the charity.”
“Wow. That’s…” His mother trailed off.
“I know. It’s crazy. The rest of the donations come from everywhere,” Jane continued.
“Noah donates to charities.”
Noah’s whole body froze. He couldn’t breathe. How had Mack known about that? Had he seen receipts? Or had he heard Noah on the phone with someone? Slowly, he turned his attention to his brother, praying that this wasn’t going to go sideways.
Mack nodded when several eyes shifted to him. “Yeah. I don’t know how he does it, but he’s always donating to charities like that. You donated to The Wounded Heroes Project, too, right?”
Noah nodded. What else could he do? His name was listed on the donors list for more than one reason. People just didn’t know how much he’d given them.
Jane eyed him with surprise. “I didn’t know that.”
“He’s full of surprises, that one,” Mack chuckled.
The conversation somehow shifted to other topics, but Jane’s eyes remained on him, unreadable. Finally she faced him, legs crossed as she plucked at pieces of grass around her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He shrugged.
Jane let out a laugh. “Normally, when people donate to charities, they like it to be known. They want their good deeds recognized.”
“Is it really a good deed if the person doing it wants something in return? That sounds more like a quid pro quo to me.”
Her soft smile deepened ever so slightly. “I suppose you make a good point. Though, there’s nothing really wrong with other people knowing. I guess what matters are your motives behind sharing.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “I’d agree. But for me? I’d rather just help where I can for my own reasons.”
The look she gave him was one he couldn’t easily decipher. It was like she was seeing him through a different lens. Had he impressed her somehow?
No. That didn’t matter. Noah stood by what he’d said. He wasn’t doing this to win over her approval or anyone else’s, for that matter. If she wanted to be impressed, then that was up to her. Still, the warmth that seeped into his heart at the way she was looking at him was next level. He offered a smile in return, and they shifted to other topics of conversation.
Maybe Mack was right.
There was a chance that Jane actually liked him. And he was going to see how far that attraction could go.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Trouble with a capital ‘T’.
Jane couldn’t ignore that fact any longer. She was attracted to Noah. And this attraction wasn’t some little crush. This attraction was bordering on something truly dangerous. Whenever she closed her eyes to go to bed, she saw his face. Whenever she allowed herself to daydream, she thought about the way he’d tasted when they’d kissed.
She craved his touch.
What was wrong with her?
Jane sighed as she leaned against a filing cabinet in the copy room at work. They were supposed to remain friends. That was what she’d told herself from the very beginning. They couldn’t get close for several reasons.
But now she couldn’t recall a single one of them.
The door to the copy room opened, and one of the volunteers moved inside. She’d seen him once or twice, but he hadn’tworked with her, and she hadn’t learned his name. He was tall and gangly, and he usually volunteered early in the mornings.
He offered her a smile before moving to the printer and placing a flyer within it to be scanned. “Morning,” he murmured.
“Morning.” Jane couldn’t spend the rest of her morning hiding away in this room thinking about Noah. She had work to do, and the more people who came and went from this room, the more likely she’d get caught not doing her job.
