by Force, Marie
“It was what I needed to do to get past it. I focused on work and just said fuck it to everything else.”
“I don’t blame you, but I do wonder why you’re telling me this now.”
“I never got divorced, and suddenly that seems like something I need to do.”
“Ah, shit, well, we can get that done. Do you know where she is?”
“No idea. I hoped you might have an investigator who could find her and get her out of my life.”
“I’ve got someone I can put on it.”
“I should’ve done this a long time ago. I just didn’t have any good reason to.”
“And now you do?”
“Maybe. I like Brianna. And I like that she gets what I’ve been through, because she’s been there herself—even worse in her case.”
“I couldn’t believe the things she was saying he did. What a scumbag.”
“Seriously. She’d told me some of it before, but I was still shocked by the new stuff that came out when she was talking to you.”
“What happens when you finish the inn, and she goes back to Boston?”
“I have no idea. She’s going to be done there before much longer. I guess we’ll see what’s what when it’s time for her to go.”
“It’s nice to see you living again, Noah, but I’d hate to see you get your hopes up about her and then have them dashed when she leaves.”
“Maybe I’ll go with her.”
“Really? Your whole life and your business are here.”
“I could get a job there, and it’d be kind of nice not to have the responsibility of running the business anymore.”
“You say that now, but you’ve been self-employed a long time. It’d be tough to go back to working for someone else.”
“I’d hold out for a good fit, and I’m not saying it’s going to happen. I’m just saying I wouldn’t rule it out.”
“I understand better than you might think. If Emma hadn’t been into moving up here, I would’ve moved to New York to be with her and Simone. When it’s right, it’s right, and you should do whatever it takes to make it work.”
“That’s the plan, but first, I need to get divorced.”
“I’ll take care of that.”
* * *
Brianna couldn’t stop thinking about her night with Noah and how he’d stayed with her, even while knowing it would cause a stir with his siblings when they discovered he’d been out all night. Noah said he didn’t care what they thought. Knowing how little he’d told them about his private life, that made her feel extra special. He didn’t care if they knew he’d stayed with her.
And she was so glad he had.
She was falling for the sexy contractor, even as she continued to deal with the fallout of her last relationship. Part of her felt like maybe she ought to put this thing with Noah on hold out of fairness to him, but she couldn’t bring herself to go back to where she’d been two nights ago when she’d told him she wasn’t ready for what was happening between them—ready or not.
After last night, there was no going back to before everything had changed with him. There was only forward, hopefully with him.
He’d gone somewhere at lunchtime, saying he’d be back in an hour, and had been quiet and withdrawn since he returned.
The electricians were all over the place doing their work, which made it difficult to do much of anything else. Noah sent his crew home early with orders to be back at seven the following day.
Brianna found him in one of the guest bathrooms, measuring, making notes and talking to himself as he worked.
“Do you ever get an answer?”
Startled, he spun around, saw her leaning against the doorframe and smiled. “I’m capable of in-depth conversations with myself.”
“You want to get out of here and take a walk or something? It’s forty-five degrees, which is like summer around here.”
“Haha, it gets much warmer than that in the summer.”
“For what? Like, five days a year?”
“Easily six. Sometimes seven. And yes, I’d love to get out of here. Let me just finish this, and we can go for a hike.”
“I said walk, not hike.”
“A walk is a hike in Vermont.”
“I’m not signing on for any treks up the side of a mountain or anything.”
“So noted.”
“Why are you remeasuring in here anyway? You should have all the measurements.”
“Just double-checking.”
“Haven’t you learned to trust me on these things?”
Amusement danced in his gorgeous eyes as he surprised her with a kiss. “I trust you more than I’ve trusted anyone in a very long time.”
Suddenly, she realized they were no longer talking about bathroom measurements but something much more important. “I trust you, too.”
“That’s a pretty big deal for both of us.”
“Yes, it is.”
“I want you to know that at lunchtime, I went to see Gray about something I should’ve taken care of years ago.”
She was almost afraid to ask. “What’s that?”
“I need to get divorced.”
“Noah! You never got divorced?”
“Nope. That would’ve required me to contact her, and that was the last fucking thing I wanted to do.”
“But still…”
“I know. I should’ve done it. I just didn’t want to, and I had no reason to. Until now.”
“Why now?”
He slid an arm around her waist and rested his forehead on hers. “After last night, you have to ask me that?”
“What do you see happening here?”
“I don’t know. All I know is I like being with you. I like how I feel when you’re around, and I want as much of that feeling as I can get for as long as I can have it.”
“That’s starting to sound like a pretty big deal.”
“Could be.”
She knew him well enough by now to understand that him saying even that much was the biggest deal of all.
“Does hearing that freak you out?”
“Not like it probably should.” She looked up at him, a smile tugging at her sexy lips. “I’m being sued by my ex. My divorce isn’t final. Your divorce hasn’t even started. I live in Boston. You live here. I mean, what could go wrong?”
Noah grinned at her. “Our timing is horrible.”
“The worst.”
“And yet…” Leaning in so close, his lips a heartbeat away from hers, he made her breathless.
“And yet what?” she asked.
“This.” He kissed her without seeming to care that one of the many electricians working in the building could catch them.
“Ah, that.”
“Mmm, that. It’s all I seem to think about.” He tipped his head and kissed her again from another angle. “And this, too.”
By the time he finished kissing her, she had fists full of his coat, and every part of her was on fire for him. “Maybe we should hike another day.”
“What would you rather do instead?”
“This.” She pressed against his erection as her hands encircled his waist and cupped his ass. “And some of that, too.”
“You’re killing me.”
“Same.”
“I wanted to take you somewhere, do something fun.”
“Take me to my house. We’ll have fun.”
“I meant fun that isn’t the sexy kind.”
“Can’t we have both?”
He held her close, nuzzling her neck until her hard hat fell off with a loud whack that made them laugh. “We absolutely can have both, but first, we’re going to hike.”
She moaned when he withdrew from her. “That’s just mean.”
“How so?”
“You got me all… interested.”
“I assume you’ll still be interested later.”
“If I don’t fall off any cliffs.”
“I won’t let you get anywhere near any cliffs.”
Noah cuffed her chin playfully. “I’m already standing at the edge of a cliff with you. It wouldn’t take much for me to take a pretty serious fall.”
Amazed to hear him admit such a thing, Brianna could only stare at him for the longest time.
“Am I standing on that edge by myself?”
She swallowed hard and shook her head. “Not at all. I’m right there with you.”
“Look, I know the timing stinks, and lots of things are a mess for both of us, but this…” He rested his hands on her hips and kissed her. “This is…”
“It’s good. Very, very good.”
“Yeah.”
“And maybe,” she said, “after everything that’s happened to both of us, we deserve to feel good.”
“We do deserve it. Let’s stay focused on things that make us feel good while we deal with the shit that doesn’t, okay?”
“I can do that.”
“Before we hike, I need to get you a good pair of hiking boots.”
“I can get my own hiking boots.”
He guided her out ahead of him toward the stairs. “I insist. My treat.”
“No way. You’re not buying me boots.”
“I get a family discount, and I’m not sharing it with you unless you let me get them for you.”
“How much is the discount?”
“Forty percent.”
“Fine, then you can buy them, but I’m buying dinner.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
He grabbed her ass and squeezed it. “Yes, you certainly are.”
“Knock it off, Noah. I’m busy fighting with you.” Lately, she loved fighting with him. It was the most fun she’d had since her life went sideways. He was right about focusing on the stuff that made them feel good while dealing with the crap that didn’t.
Noah asked the lead electrician to lock up when they finished for the day.
“Will do,” the man said.
“I never leave when subs are still working,” he said. “But I’ve been doing business with him for years, and he’s fine on his own.”
“It’s nice to have people you can count on.”
“Indeed, it is.”
Chapter Twenty
“A broken heart is just the growing pains necessary so that you can love more completely when the real thing comes along.”
—J.S.B. Morse
As they left the inn, his sister Ally was coming toward them from the parking lot. “Ah, just the duo I was hoping to find.”
“Is Izzy okay?” Noah asked.
“She’s fine. They’re hoping to send her home in a day or two.”
“That’s good news.”
“I came to find you to tell you that Nessa is cooking Mexican for dinner, and you’re both invited.”
“I’m invited to my own house?” Noah asked, smiling.
“After much debate, we decided to invite you. Brianna was at the top of the guest list.”
“I see how things work around here,” Noah said.
Ally grinned at her brother. “We already like her better than you.”
“It was the lasagna, wasn’t it?” Brianna asked.
“That certainly didn’t hurt anything. Dinner is at seven, and Nessa said don’t be late.”
“We’ll be there,” Noah said.
“What can we bring?” Brianna asked.
“Not a thing. Nessa said to tell you that. She said for you to bring beer, Noah.”
“Will do. We’re going for a little hike before the sun disappears. We’ll be there afterward.”
“See you then.”
Brianna and Noah walked to his family’s store across the parking lot from the inn.
“Have I told you before that this is my favorite store in the entire world?” Brianna asked him.
“You might’ve mentioned something about that.”
“It’s magical. I come in here almost every day just to poke around, and every time, I see something I haven’t seen before.”
“It was my favorite place in the world when I was a kid.”
“I can see why. I love how it’s a family business that’s been passed through the generations.
“It is, and like I said, everyone still speaks to each other, which is a big accomplishment in a family business.”
“That’s so true! The brothers I work for are always at each other’s throats about something. It’s so stressful.”
“That has to suck.”
“It’s the worst. That, and the shit with Rem, were the reasons I couldn’t say yes fast enough to the job up here.”
“I’m glad you said yes to the job up here.”
“Are you?”
He put an arm around her waist. “Uh-huh, very glad indeed.”
“Noah?”
His arm fell from her back. “Hey, Charley and Ella. How’s it going?”
“Good,” the darker-haired woman said. “How are you?”
“I’m hanging in there. Busy next door.”
“It’s looking great and going up fast,” the one with lighter hair said, glancing at Brianna with curiosity.
“Brianna, these are my cousins Ella and Charley. Ladies, this is Brianna Esposito, the architect working on the inn.”
“Oh,” Charley said. “The architect. I thought you two did nothing but fight.”
“That was so last week,” Brianna said, making them laugh.
“Brianna needs hiking boots,” Noah said.
“We just got some new ones in,” Charley said. “I can help you find the right size.”
“That’d be great,” Noah said. “How’s the new baby doing?”
“He’s adorable,” Ella said. “We were over there at lunchtime, and he’s settling right in. Even slept for a few hours during the night.”
“Glad to hear it. That was pretty crazy doings at the diner yesterday.”
“We heard you were there when it happened!” Charley said.
“I was. I thought Hunter was going to implode, but he held it together for Megan. How’s she feeling?”
“Sore but thrilled to have her little guy finally here,” Ella said as she followed them through housewares to the shoe department.
“And how’s Sarah doing?” To Brianna, he said, “Ella’s daughter was born right before Christmas.”
“Oh, congratulations. I told Noah I’m going to need a map to understand your family.”
“Don’t feel bad,” Charley said. “My partner, Tyler, has been around for a while now, and I’m still drawing pictures for him.”
“That makes me feel a little better.”
“To answer your question, Noah, my Sarah is lovely and delightful and already has her Mommy and Daddy completely in love with her.”
“Happy for you, cousin,” Noah said.
“Thank you. Stop by to meet your cousin any time.”
“I’ll do that.”
With Charley and Ella’s expert assistance, they had Brianna outfitted in new hiking boots twenty minutes later.
“Do we still have that awesome silk long underwear that keeps people super warm?” Noah asked.
“We do,” Charley said.
“Can I get some for Brianna in what, medium?”
“Medium is good,” Brianna said.
“Coming right up.”
Charley went to get the long underwear and returned with three colors—off-white, light pink and black.
Brianna took a good look at each of them. “I’ll take the black, please.”
“Put them on my tab, please,” Noah said.
“Wait, I was supposed to buy you dinner in exchange for the boots, but now your sister is making dinner,” Brianna said. “And you’re not buying me silk underwear.”
“You can buy dinner tomorrow night,” Noah said. “And it’s long underwear, which doesn’t even count as underwear, so stuff it.”
His cousins watched their exchange with interest.
“So are you guy
s… like…”
“Hush, Charley,” Ella said. “It’s none of our business what they’re doing.”
“Yes, it is our business,” Charley said. “Everything in this family is our business, just like it was when you started seeing Gavin and I started seeing Tyler, and everyone was up in our crap.”
“That’s true,” Ella said. “So, what gives?”
“We’re hanging out,” Noah said. “Having fun and going hiking before we lose the daylight. So as nice as it’s been to see you ladies, I’m afraid we have to go.” With his hand on Brianna’s back, he moved her toward the exit.
“Thank you for your help,” Brianna said to his cousins.
“Pleasure to meet you,” Ella called after them.
“Phew, we escaped their clutches,” Noah said.
“They were very nice.”
“They’re great, but they would’ve stayed there all day trying to get the scoop on us.”
“It’s so cool how you run into family everywhere you go in this town.”
“I love my family, but I like my privacy, too, and that’s hard to come by with a relative on every street corner.”
Brianna laughed at how he said that as if he had family members planted on every corner. “I think it’s an awesome way to live, surrounded by people who love you and want the best for you.”
“It’s pretty awesome. Between siblings and cousins, we always had lots of friends to play with—and fight with—as kids.”
“Your moms must’ve had the patience of saints with eighteen kids between them.”
“They were pretty chill. Charley says there was vodka in their coffee cups when we were all young and used to spend time together.”
“Who could blame them for drinking with that many kids to oversee?”
“Not me.”
“Do you want kids?”
The question took him by surprise as he held the door to his truck and gave her a hand up. “I used to.”
“Not anymore?”
He shrugged and closed the door.
Brianna hoped she hadn’t struck a painful nerve with the question. When he got in the driver’s side, she said, “Sorry if I shouldn’t have asked that.”
“It’s fine. You can ask me anything. You know that.” He started the truck and headed for Elm Street, taking a right turn out of the lot. “I figured I’d have a few by now. I didn’t want eight, but three or four, maybe. But we all know why that didn’t happen.”
