‘As ready as I’ll ever be. We’re going to get drenched!’
‘That’s half the fun,’ he said, looking at her from under his dark eyelashes and giving her a playful smile. There it was again, that explosion of flutters in her stomach.
They took off up the street, the rain bouncing off the pavement. Despite Noah’s umbrella, Elle’s shoes were sodden in seconds.
A second burst of thunder, even louder than the first, rumbled across the sky and Elle flinched. Noah passed her the umbrella then grabbed her other hand. They both glanced at the angry storm clouds above, then Noah began to run faster, pulling Elle along behind him.
Neither of them spoke as they ran. They reached the steps of Elle’s house in six minutes flat.
There was a huge crack as lightning flashed above them again. ‘This is me,’ she said, bounding up the steps and handing the umbrella back to Noah before rummaging in her bag for the key. ‘Would you like to come inside?’
Noah was soaked to the bone. Little droplets of rain fell from his hair and a smidgen of chest hair curled over the top of his T-shirt. She fought the urge to wipe the raindrops from his forehead. Their height difference meant she’d been holding the brolly too low for him, so he’d had to run most of the way without its protection.
He hesitated for the slightest of moments. ‘That would be great, but only if you have time?’ he said, flashing her a smile that showed off his perfect white teeth.
There was something about the way he smiled at her that made her heart skip yet another beat.
‘Yes, I have time.’
‘Then I’d love to,’ he replied. ‘Now open that door! In case you haven’t noticed, I’m drenched.’
‘I hadn’t noticed,’ she said as she stared towards the wet T-shirt clinging to his torso.
He followed her gaze andsheknewheknew she was staring.
Once they were in the hallway, she pushed her own wet hair from her eyes and risked a tentative look in the mirror. Damn, that really wasn’t a good look. Her mascara had blackened her eyes, her nose was red and her hair was limp. This was definitely not the look she wanted when meeting Noah again.
‘That was a downpour and a half,’ he said, smiling, raking his hand through his hair and sweeping his wet fringe from his eyes. ‘Am I okay to kick off these wet shoes?’
‘Of course! And let me get you a towel – then I’ll pop the fire on. It’s the least I can do. Go in there and make yourself comfortable.’ Elle nodded towards the living room. Noah disappeared through the door and Elle hurried up the stairs, reminding herself to stay calm. She couldn’t believe it – Noah was really in her living room.
* * *
Elle quickly dried her hair and pulled a brush through it before using a facial wipe to remove the mascara from round her eyes. Then she touched up her make-up before grabbing a towel from the airing cupboard.
When she walked back into the living room, Noah was kneeling in front of the fire, which he’d already managed to light.
‘Here, take this,’ she said, handing him the towel. ‘Would you like a warm drink?’
‘You read my mind! A cup of tea would be perfect.’ He smiled, rubbing the towel over his arms. ‘One sugar please,’ he called after Elle as she headed to the kitchen to switch on the kettle.
While she waited for the water to boil, she looked back through the gap in the kitchen door. It was so surreal – the man she’d had on her mind since their kiss all those months ago was now sitting in her living room. She watched as he peeled his T-shirt from his body and dried himself with the towel.
Elle couldn’t take her eyes off him. His body was wonderful, his muscles toned to perfection. With a stomach full of butterflies, she wandered back into the living room clutching two steaming mugs of tea. Noah had started slipping the T-shirt back over his head. As he did so, she averted her eyes towards the fire.
‘I hope you don’t mind – I was a little sodden.’ He smiled and the corners of his eyes crinkled.
‘No, not at all,’ she replied, placing his mug on the table and deliberating over where she was going to sit. Feeling a good type of nervous, she perched on a chair next to the fire. Noah looked sideways at her.
‘How’s your friend?’ he asked, sitting down on the rug and stretching his legs out in front of the fire.
‘Friend?’ she asked.
‘Last night – the ambulance.’
‘Oh, yes, sorry. Unfortunately, she suffered a miscarriage.’
‘I’m so sorry to hear that,’ he said sadly.
