He had good form, AJ noticed, probably a vestige of his stint at West Point. As they ran, she watched a dark spot on his trapezius expand until his entire shirt clung to him, which was not at all a bad look.
There was something deeply grounding about breathing together, sweating together—it hearkened back to the comfort they’d once shared as the two greatest living experts onNOW 4.Some version of those people was still inside them; as they moved together, AJ could feel them stir.
When they arrived back at Drew House, the sun was at its highest point. The endorphins from the run carried them into their bathing suits and out to the pool, where they proceeded to try to blow up the pool toys, which was a mistake because they were both extremely winded.
“I think I might actually pass out,” gasped AJ, whose orange plastic donut had barely changed shape since she’d unfurled it from the box.
“Push through,” wheezed Noah, whose blue donut was further along, but only just.
AJ could tell that Noah wasn’t going to give up until they finished at least one, so she abandoned the orange float and they focused on the blue, exchanging the pool toy in silence, listening to each other breathe. Finally, Noah declared it done and tossed it into the pool.
They watched it drift forlornly in the water until AJ started laughing. Noah stood, tugging his shirt off, then jumped into the water to retrieve it for her. She floated on her back, feet dangling over the side; he treaded beside her, occasionally spinning her with his hand.
“It’s a nice pool,” said AJ, and it was. Definitely another Noah-driven project by the look of the dark flagstone, sleek lines, and general severeness. “You’re really going to town on this place.”
Noah was submerged up to his eyes. He smiled at her, and for an instant AJ thought he might pull her in. Then he surfaced enough to speak. “I figure I might as well do it now while I have the energy,” he said. “Swimming will be especially beneficial as I…get older.”
AJ nodded. She didn’t want to rupture the pristine bell jar of this day, but she didn’t want him to feel like she was ignoring his implication either. “That makes sense,” she said after a beat.
Noah splashed her foot lightly, then dove under, reemerging at the other end of the pool. Water cascaded down the muscles of his back as he stood and surveyed the lawn.
They swam until their hands and feet were pruney, then Noah brought Bud out and the two of them air-dried, watching the dog chase white butterflies through the grass.
At sunset, they prepared dinner: grilled chicken with a panoply of vegetables. As Noah enumerated his very specific views on how this should be executed, AJ was finally forced to admit that he was actually a suburban dad. A super-hot, very famous, child-free suburban dad.
“What can I do?” she asked, as he lovingly applied marinade to the meat.
“You know where the plates are, right?”
AJ set the patio table as Noah fired up the grill and engaged in a complicated flamenco dance of timers and tongs.
“Can I get you anything?” he asked when he came up for air. “Water? Wine?”
“I’m okay with water,” said AJ. She swallowed. “Actually, I don’t drink anymore.”
Noah’s eyes shone. “I was thinking water as well.” He squinted. “Is it too dark out here?”
He checked his timers and took her inside, through the kitchen, past the formal dining room, to a butler’s pantry AJ had never seen. He flung open a wood-paneled door revealing a series of increasingly ornate candelabras, including the silver pair from Eudora’s gazpacho banquet.
“Pick one,” he said, then dashed off to minister to his chicken. AJ selected an ornate glass piece whose five arms had been sculpted to look like dolphins, the candles rising up out of their mouths. It was just this side of obscene, and AJ instantly loved it.
They ate by the light of the candle-fellating dolphins, moths fluttering nearby as the stars began to peek out. “So, how did Eudora come by this?” AJ nodded to the dolphins.
Noah squinted. “I believe this one was a gift from the Venetian consulate while she was touring Italy with ETT.As You Like It.”
AJ smiled. “Must have been quite a production.”
Noah gave her a wolfish grin. “You should see the one she got forCymbeline.”
AJ laughed, and he gave her a long look she couldn’t decipher. Just when she thought he wouldn’t speak, he said, “It’s strange. All these people I knew…they’re just stories now.”
AJ’s heart constricted. If she hadn’t been here, he would have spent the day after Eudora’s memorial completely alone. AJ held his gaze. “Not to me.”
He looked at her fiercely, then turned back to his plate.
The conversation wended on, but for the first time in many hours, their ease began to feel artificial. They had spent the day at a respectful distance, avoiding the hard parts of last night, avoiding the bedroom, each trying not to spook the other.
But now they’d run through almost every diversion and a fresh tension had set in. AJ wanted to face it, but she also didn’t. When Noah began to clear, she stopped him.
