Or would that be too much?
Before I could make up my mind what to say next, a low buzzing came from Noah’s backpack. He reached down, pulled out his phone, and answered without looking at me.
“Hey. What’s up?”
I couldn’t hear the voice on the other end, but Noah’s eyebrows knit together as he listened.
“She’s probably just mad I haven’t been home,” he said after a beat. “Pippa gets around. It won’t be the first time she’s disappeared… Yeah? I left some chicken in the fridge. There’s gravy in the freezer. Just defrost that in the microwave.”
I didn’t even pretend not to be listening.
He slid me a quick, sheepish glance. “No. I haven’t decided yet. I told him I’d schedule a meeting when I get back… Yeah. Okay. Thanks, man.”
And with that, he ended the call and tucked the phone back into his bag.
“Sorry about that.”
“No problem,” I said, but my brain was spinning.
“I’ve known Simon since med school. He’s holding the fort down while I’m gone.”
I nodded. Totally not imagining some woman named Pippa waiting for Noah to come home.
“My cat,” he added, as if on cue. “Pippa.”
I blinked. Pippa was…a cat!
The relief that whooshed through me was embarrassingly potent.
“Of course. Obviously.”
“Did you think…” Noah shot me a glance—one that said he’d absolutely clocked my mistake. His mouth twitched, and then he laughed, an actual, full-body, crinkly-eyed laugh.
Just like that, the last bit of stiffness dropped from his shoulders, and he picked up the conversation like I hadn’t been weird at all.
“Yeah. Simon went over to feed her this morning, and she wasn’t there.”
“She just…comes and goes?” I asked, curious despite myself.
“Yup. There’s this widow down the street—Missus Clark. Pippa’s convinced she lives there too. Shows up, looks tragic until she gets fed, then waltzes back like nothing happened.”
“Sounds pretty clever.”
“It’s infuriating,” he muttered, but his voice was tinged with unmistakable fondness. “I bought her this ridiculously expensive heated cat bed. She ignored it for a month. Slept in the box it came in.”
Sweet baby carrots. Nothing could keep me from grinning at this. “She sounds like a con artist.”
“Oh, she is. Tiny, furry manipulator. She’s got the whole block wrapped around her paw.” He looked at me then, warm and relaxed. “I’m just the guy who pays the mortgage.”
That was when it hit me—this version of Noah. Talking about his cat. Not brooding, not biting. Just…a guy. A little amused, a little exasperated.
Totally, completely adorable.
This crush had just gotten even more inconvenient.
“We’ll be on the road for about three hours this morning.” Tay’s voice cut off our conversation. She was standing at the front of the bus like a general rallying her troops for battle. “Before we explore the park, we’ll stop for lunch in Moab, where you’ll have your pick of some of the best restaurants on the entire tour. But don’t get too comfortable. At 1300 hours, we’re heading to Arches National park where we’ll make four different stops. I highly encourage all of you to take the short hikes at these pull-offs. Trust me, the views are worth it.”
She paused, sweeping a look over her audience like a teacher about to drop a pop quiz. “That said, we’re in the desert for the next few days. And in the desert, there’s only one rule more important than showing up at the bus on time.”
