“Gross,” said AJ, who hadn’t seen it. “Two Weeks Notice?”
“That one has strip poker,” said Emily. She began to giggle uproariously.
“What aboutMiss Congeniality?” said AJ.
“You seem really determined to watch something with Sandra Bullock,” said a low voice.
Noah was standing in the doorframe. AJ’s brain just gave up.
He had changed into jeans and a plain black T-shirt. Distantly, AJ noticed how well he filled it out.Jeez.She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a sexual thought—ever since Patrick’s accident, her body had been running on cortisol.
Noah wore a relaxed expression, his eyes playful, the polar opposite of the austere man who couldn’t wait to get away from her a few hours earlier. AJ tried in vain to sense what it meant.
Beside her, Emily began to bounce. “Hey, I know you!”
A genuine smile creased Noah’s face. “Emily, hi,” he said. “It’s good to see you.”
“Noah,” said Emily. “Noah and the puppies.”
“That’s right,” said Noah. He looked from AJ to Emily back to AJ. “I was on my way to the diner, and I saw you two come in here. Are you hungry?”
“Yes,” said Emily, immediately.
“Okay, great,” said Noah. He glanced at AJ. “You?”
AJ shuffled in place. She didn’t know what to say.Absolutely not,came to mind. But he was looking at her in that Noah way, and of course AJ wanted to go.
“You know your mood swings are kind of giving me whiplash,” she muttered.
Noah stared at her incredulously. “Did you just quoteTwilightat me?”
AJ couldn’t hide her delight. “Did you just recognize a quote fromTwilight?”
“I read for Edward Cullen, back in the day,” said Noah stoutly. “Sadly, I had to stand aside…”
“And you wonder why you haven’t won an Oscar,” said AJ.
Noah grinned.
They sat on spinningstools at the counter at Rob’s Country Diner, AJ between Noah and Emily. Burgers and fries were an easy call; when Noah put in for a beer, AJ very deliberately seconded Emily’s order for a milkshake. As they ate, Noah confirmed that he was in town for Easter. From there, he would be heading back to the U.K. to wrap up a shoot.
“We’ve got about a month left on location,” he said.
“What’s the project?” AJ asked, struggling to coax ketchup from a glass bottle.
Noah took the bottle from her. “It’s a surprise.” He gave the bottle one shake and handed it back to AJ. Annoyingly, it now produced a dollop of ketchup on her plate.
“That’s nice of you to come home for Easter,” said AJ conversationally.
Noah shrugged. “It’s a big house,” he said. “And the holidays are quiet as it is.”
Their gazes connected, and AJ was prepared to bet he was also recalling their conversation at Em Tyner’s Thanksgiving. This whole day felt like a hallucination. That morning, she’d never expected to see him again, and now she was listening to Noah ask Emily about her job at Big Y. “Emily, are you sellingPeepsto nice people?”
Emily grinned at him mischievously. “Maybe.”
There was a pinball machine in the corner of the diner; once they finished eating, AJ got change so Emily could play. As she monitored her sister in the bar mirror, AJ noticed a group of her mother’s colleagues hawkishly staring at them. She waved, then turned to Noah.
“Congrats,” she said, catching his eye. “You’re officially famous enough that the teachers at Gladstone Elementary have heard of you.”
