“And why it’s important to you,” Caitlyn added.
Noah winked at her, and she glanced away, not sure how to take him. He couldn’t seem to decide about her. She’d thought she’d made peace with losing him two years ago, but then he would look at her the way he had when they dated. Like breakfast that morning.
She shivered, confused. She accepted that she still had feelings for him, but she had to limit them. Her life was crazy enough at the moment. Falling for Noah again was a really stupid idea.
It was too bad her heart wasn’t listening.
But Caitlyn wouldn’t think about it. Pulling out her phone, she added the zoo scavenger hunt to her list.
With her heightened awareness of his proximity, it would be alongday.
6
After another pleasant group-made breakfast the next day, Noah walked beside Caitlyn ahead of the other interns as they made their way to the park again. She hadn’t looked at him once today.
“Did the games go so well last night only because of this particular group of people?” he asked.
Caitlyn glanced at him, and he had to push down an unexpected sense of accomplishment that she had. He was such anidjit.
“Could be.” She looked ahead again. “We should discuss it as a team.”
As they made their way to the model-boat pond, Noah found himself struggling. A part of him wanted to do something—anything—to make Caitlyn look at him again. Wasn’t he supposed to hate her for the false accusations she’d made against Keven?
Yes, but whenever Noah was with her, he experienced selective amnesia. Then, when he was alone again, he wouldcome back to himself. Why couldn’t his heart and his brain get in sync?
“I’ve always wanted to go sailing,” Zoe said as the oval-shaped pond came into view. “This is probably the closest I’ll ever come.”
“We’ve been sailing many times,” Finn said. “‘Tis craic.”
“Crack?” Zoe stared at him.
“It means fun,” he said with a grin.
“Come decide which color sailboat you want,” Caitlyn called. “If we’re going to race, we need to tell whose boat is whose from a distance.”
“What’s your favorite color?” Noah glanced at her hair. “Pink?”
Her expression lightened for the first time in two days, and she gave a soft chuckle.
“Since I see it in the mirror every day, it may now be myleastfavorite color.” Caitlyn looked at him, and Noah made a mental tick. Twice now. She said, “What about you?”
“Blue,” he said, his voice soft as he stared into her eyes.
They widened, then she dropped her gaze. There he went, being anidjitagain. Noah took a step back and asked Heath, “What color do you want?”
Once everyone had chosen, Max, who had the most experience using remote control toys, went into an explanation. Noah accepted his plain white boat and did what he was told. He focused only on getting his sailboat across the pond. It was harder than he’d expected, especially with the breeze.
“Look out!” Caitlyn yelled.
Noah’s gaze shot to her yellow boat as a small destroyer-type vessel crashed into hers. It flipped onto its side, its sail now bogged in the water. Unless someone went out into the shallow pond, there was no way she could get it back.
“I’m sorry,” a boy of about twelve cried from a few feet away.
Noah let his remote drop, and it bounced on the lanyard around his neck. Before he could bend down to roll up his jeans legs, though, an older man approached Caitlyn carrying what looked like a model tugboat.
“I’m Bart, and I’ll rescue your boat, young lady,” he said. “Don’t you worry.”
Noah and the others came to stand beside Caitlyn while the man put his boat in the water. With ease, he drove his tugboat to hers. Once the two boats were close, Bart tried to maneuver a little hook to the sailboat. The breeze, and too many helpers, kept him from latching onto it.
