“They’ll fix it, Faith. The book club is onto it and have said it’ll be done in the next month.” The book club always got things moving in Lake Howling. They were the real power in town.
“It’s ugly.”
“Yes, and getting fixed,” Noah said with a little more force.
That kiss with Lani had worked him up. How the hell did a five-second lip lock unsettle a man who’d kissed his share of women? Some in far more intimate settings. And it’s not like she was his usual type he reminded himself yet again. The woman hid herself under that cap and baggy clothes, and why did that make her hotter?
Of course, the problem was that extra tension that buzzed between them. The “I know you intimately” kind of buzz that made him think about what they’d shared whenever he was close to her. He knew the sounds she made when they made love—
“Noah!”
“What?”
“Why are you snippy?” Faith said, getting into the passenger side his car.
“Snippy?”
“I’m reading this historical romance novel, and the heroine uses it. I like it, so I thought I’d try it out.”
Noah laughed and felt himself relax. Yes, Lani was disturbing, and yes, she unsettled him, but he could handle that. He’d had other women he’d interacted with after they’d had sex. He didn’t need more. He had Faith and his friends, and Howling. Lani would be gone soon anyway and no longer a problem.
In fact, with exposure he’d probably get over this buzz he felt around her.
“So this heroine is really kick-ass?”
“She’s awesome, but then considering what the women in those days had to put up with, I think they’re all awesome.”
“Nothing to straighten your hair with… must have been a nightmare.”
Faith punched him in the arm, and then proceeded to explain in detail about the heroine’s experiences throughout the novel.
Noah let her ramble as he looked around his town. Not much had changed over the years. A few houses and trees had appeared, but fundamentally the place was the same.
The Redwoods, though, they were what he loved the most, standing sentry over the town for hundreds of years. Noah would often sit and just lean against the trunk of one when he was having an off day.
“The hero is a bit of an arrogant douchebag, but I think she’s going to sort him out.”
“It’s all about the happily ever after, right?”
“Right. I love that, though. Love the angst and journey, but the HEA is what I read them for.”
“HEA?”
“Happily ever after.”
“Gotcha. What did we get Rose for a present, so I don’t appear surprised when she opens it?”
“A doll. It eats, then poops and pees.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“Nope. Apparently it’s the latest go-to for young girls.”
“Just wow.”
“I’m going on a date later, so I may leave early, okay?”
“Who with?”
