by Ann, Natalie
“That’s just mean.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
“And maybe Sebastian gets that warped sense of humor from his aunt?” he asked.
She’d never thought of it before, but Noah was probably right. “Could be. Anyway, I like my job, it pays well, and I didn’t have to go into debt to get my career. But I also know it’s not for everyone.”
“No. I couldn’t do that. I don’t mind going to the dentist, but I’m happy to get it done at the same time. I see enough kids in school that don’t do well with hygiene so I can’t imagine looking in their mouths.”
“Teens can be the worst because they are so lazy.”
“Except Sebastian?” he asked.
“He’s only lazy when he wants to be. Around home he does his chores without too much prodding. He does most of his schoolwork, when he wants.”
“He handed in his history paper today.”
“I didn’t know he had a paper due.” She cringed. “And that makes me look bad, doesn’t it?”
“No, that makes you look like a normal parent. Not many are aware of every assignment their kid has. I just wanted you to know that I saw him working on it Monday in school and when I got the weekly update from his teachers, Mr. Dent said the assignment was handed in.”
“That’s good. Maybe you got through to him. And I didn’t thank you again for doing that.”
“My pleasure,” he said, his hand reaching over and resting on her thigh. Oh yeah, her body heated right up making her want to return the gesture. Only she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to remove her hands from his body again.
Didn’t he have to uncurl her fingers from his shirt after that kiss on Sunday? If he hadn’t leaned down and given her another light kiss on the lips and say he’d talk to her later she would have been even more embarrassed over it.
It’d just been way too long since she’d touched a man let alone seen one naked.
Images of Noah without any clothes on were filling her mind more than they should. She needed to change the subject or get her mind focused on something else right now.
“So how was your week at work?” she asked.
“It was good. The normal, though it seems like it’s something different every day. Kind of like going to the zoo and watching the animals just waiting to see what their next move will be. Sometimes they are playful, sometimes aggressive.”
“I’m sure there are plenty that want to mate too.”
She slapped her hand in front of her mouth when she said that. What must he think of her? “There is plenty of that to be controlled also. All those hormones sniffing each other out.”
She could relate as she inhaled a bit in the car and got a good whiff of whatever cologne he was wearing. Her hand was itching to reach over and touch his thigh like he had hers.
Thankfully they pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. The minute he shut his car off, she opened her door and got out.
“You should have waited for me to get the door.”
“Are you always so chivalrous?”
“I try to be. I’m always holding doors and saying thank you, complimenting people on things. I do it at school all day hoping that the kids see it and follow along.”
“That’s nice. It’s a good example. It’s true too. If someone compliments me, I tend to do it to someone else too. I do it without even realizing it.”
“And I feel horrible that I didn’t tell you how nice you look tonight. Especially knowing that you might have stressed about it. Your jeans look mighty fine on you.”
She smiled when he winked. She knew he wasn’t just saying that. He could have said she looked nice and left it at that, but he commented on her jeans that she wore knowing that they made her butt look more than nice. “Thank you. I wore them for you.”
“I’m glad you did,” he said back.
He opened the door to the restaurant and they went in, the hostess seating them in a booth. “It’s not as busy as I thought it’d be.”
“It’s early yet. By seven the place will be filling up.”
“So we’ve got an hour yet before that happens,” she said, wondering what they were going to do for three hours unless they stayed here and talked. He did say she’d be back by nine. “Did you plan on going out for a drink after dinner?”
“Did you want to?” he asked. “I just thought we’d probably be here for about ninety minutes. I guess I planned on going to get coffee and dessert after but that might not be what you meant about a drink.”
“That’s a wonderful idea,” she said.
“I’ve been known to have a good idea now and again,” he said.
“I can’t wait to hear more of them.”
17
Uninvited Guests
Noah thought things were going well already.
First Paige was nervous about the date and not in a bad way. Any woman that stressed about what to wear wanted to make an impression on a man.
Second of all was the way she was in his car on the ride over. When he’d placed his hand on her thigh he hadn’t missed her slight intake of air and the stiffening of her body. The way her eyes glanced down either. If he wasn’t mistaken she was as attracted to him as he was to her.
But the best of all was the blush that spread across her face when she said she couldn’t wait to hear more of his ideas.
It was almost as deep as the blush when she made the mating comment.
Somehow, though, he was going to have to figure out how to make that next step because he knew damn well they’d get there soon. Not tonight, maybe not even the next date, but hopefully not much longer.
They’d just placed their drink orders and were handed their menus when he heard his name called. Son of a bitch, not tonight.
“Fancy meeting you here.”
He looked at his brother Wyatt and cousin Ryder. “Yeah. Now scram.”
Wyatt looked at Ryder. “My mother didn’t raise us to talk to each other in public like that. Aunt Diane didn’t either, did she?”
“Nope,” Ryder said, “she didn’t. I’m Ryder, Noah’s cousin, and you are?”
Paige held her hand out to Ryder. “Paige Parker.”
“This is my brother Wyatt,” Noah said, having to make the introduction now.
“Ah, the joker of the family,” she said.
“She knows that much about our family?” Wyatt said. “I think we need to find out what more she knows.”
“I think so too,” Ryder said, pulling out a chair and taking the menu out of Noah’s hand, Wyatt and him looking it over together.
Damn it all, the one time Noah didn’t want this to happen. When he was just trying to learn more about Paige. He knew there wasn’t much he could do at this point though. The bigger fuss he made about it, the worse it’d be.
“Looks like we are having company on our date,” he said to Paige. “So sorry about that.”
“Not a problem,” she said. “I’m getting a little heated up sitting here with you three.”
Wyatt laughed. “I’m a doctor. I can check to make sure you don’t have a fever.”
“I thought you put people to sleep,” she said back.
Ryder started to laugh. “I like her.”
“Me too,” Noah said, giving them a look that he wished they understood meant to behave.
“So you know about Wyatt, which means you know about Drake because Noah always tells people he is a twin,” Ryder said.
“You’re just jealous because you aren’t a twin,” Wyatt said.
“Hardly,” Ryder said.
“He’s the baby of the family,” Noah said. “There is Sam, his brother, the oldest of the crew. Then his other brother Bryce. Drake, me, Wyatt, Jade, the five in Charlotte, and then Ryder.”
“I’m the baby too,” Paige said. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Really?” Ryder asked. “How many in your family?”
“I’ve just got an older sister,” she said, “But I do have three cousins on
my mother’s side and two on my father’s. They are all older.”
That was the first he’d heard about any extended family and wondered if maybe they weren’t that close. He’d have to find a time to ask more about it. Not here and not now. The conversation was going to be light with the two uninvited guests.
When the waitress came over, she quickly got the two extra drink orders and all the dinner orders. Thankfully Wyatt and Ryder behaved as well as he could have hoped and when the bill came they took off like he expected.
“Ah, what was that?” she asked. “They both jumped up like something they ate was going to end up in the toilet.”
He laughed. “Now I know you are around kids as much as me.”
“Not even close, but one teen in the house is enough. I’ve got to curb my words better.”
“No, it’s fine,” he said. “It’s actually nice to know I don’t have to worry about it as much.”
“I’m glad then,” she said, smiling and reaching her hand out to touch his. He’d been wondering if she’d make a move toward him or not.
“And what that was was a family tradition of sorts. We all do that to each other at some point. See a family member out on a date and make our way to their table, run the tab up, and leave.”
“That’s horrible.”
“That’s my family for you. I can’t complain since I’ve done it a few times myself. It’s all in good fun except when it happens when you least expect it or don’t want it.”
“Because of the money?” she asked.
“No,” he said, pulling his credit card out. “That’s not an issue. No one would do it if they thought someone couldn’t afford it.”
Then he remembered she didn’t have the same situation as him. She was basically a single parent on one income and he suspected there was no help from anyone else. No child support or assistance of any kind.
“Then why?”
“Because it’s only our second date and I wanted to know more about you. I wanted it to be about us and not them.”
* * *
Talk about sweet.
“It can still be about us,” she said. “Didn’t you mention you wanted coffee and dessert?”
“I did,” he said, handing over the billfold. “We’ve got a little less than two hours before curfew.”
She smiled. “I don’t have to be home by nine.”
“You don’t, but I said you would be and maybe Sebastian will be waiting. There is no reason to get on his bad side. I’m a man of my word, so I should be back by then.”
She just didn’t expect Noah to be this way. She shouldn’t be surprised after hearing so much about him and his family though.
“I don’t think you could get on his bad side. As much as he might be defiant about things, he wouldn’t be with you.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because he wanted you over and he did his assignment. I can be embarrassed all I want that I thought he was setting us up, but the truth is, that wouldn’t make him do his history assignment. That was you. He likes you and respects you.”
And Sebastian would never pick a man out for her he didn’t like or respect. As much as he never told her about the life he had with his mother, she suspected he’d never want anyone like those men in her life.
“Then I’m glad I’ve got his stamp of approval.”
Secretly she was happy too. She didn’t like that she might have been maneuvered into this relationship of sorts—and that was what she was calling it in her mind and hoped she wasn’t setting herself up for heartache—but she was thrilled too.
When Noah got his credit card back, he signed his name and they left, driving to a small cafe and going in to get their coffees and some cookies. “I think when we are done I’m going to grab a few for Sebastian too. Kind of a thank you.”
Noah grinned, almost reading her mind. “In that case I should get them and it can be a thank you from me. He’s the one who agreed to getting some history help.”
“But you thought of doing it,” she said.
The two of them drank their coffees, they chatted about life in general, but she made sure to keep her family past out of it. He knew what he was getting into and there was no reason to bring up anything that might turn her sweet mood into a salty one.
“It’s a little after eight thirty,” he said. “I might get more points if I get you home before curfew.”
She shook her head with a grin. “You’re really playing this up. Wish there was someplace we could go and make out first. I mean if we are talking about curfews and all shouldn’t we be like two teens trying to get away with something?”
She couldn’t help but notice the bobbing of his Adam’s apple when he swallowed. She knew she might be teasing him, maybe even testing him, but she didn’t care.
When they were back in his car, he took a left instead of a right toward her apartment. “Where are we going?” she asked.
“Someplace to park.”
She giggled and was surprised to hear the sound from her lips. She didn’t have a lot to giggle about in life.
He’d parked in an empty parking lot behind a building, undid his seat belt the same time as her, and they reached for each other.
Their hands moving fast into the other’s hair, their mouths opening, the tongues seeking. Good lord, she was on fire and wanted to use his hose to put her out of her misery, then started to laugh when that thought popped into her head.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” she said, reaching for him again and starting to laugh.
“No way, I’ve got to know.”
“I don’t think I want to tell you,” she said. “Just kiss me again.”
“Not until you tell me. I’ve got all sorts of willpower. I work around teens all day long. Trust me, I can wait you out all night.”
She had a feeling he could. “Fine, don’t laugh. Well, you will. I was thinking I was on fire and that your hose could put me out.”
He didn’t laugh. He didn’t even smile. Instead he threaded his fingers through her hair and yanked her forward almost across the seat and onto his lap if the steering wheel weren’t in the way. He growled against her lips, “I swear you were put here to torture me. That wasn’t funny at all.”
“Sorry,” she said, her hands trying to pull his shirt out and slide under to touch his skin. “It was just a juvenile thought and that is what made me laugh. God, your skin is so warm.”
He was just trying to move his own hand under her jacket when they heard a tapping on the window and jumped apart.
She slid back in her seat as Noah rolled the window down and there was an officer peeking in with a flashlight. “Is everything okay here?”
Noah started to laugh. “Yes, Officer. Just talking.”
“Sure, you were. But this is private property so you might want to take your conversation elsewhere. Like the hotel down the street.”
“Thanks,” he said and rolled the window up. “Well then.”
“That just about caps the night off perfectly.” She looked at her watch. It was nine o’clock. “And we’re past curfew.”
18
Plans In Life
Almost a week had gone by and there hadn’t been any way to find time with Paige alone.
She was working, he was working. Things were just nuts with it being a week before Christmas. Though the two of them had been texting back and forth daily, they just couldn’t figure out how to make it happen.
He left work around four on Thursday and drove to his father’s firm knowing Drake was in. He’d been texting him too. He hadn’t said he was stopping over, but he needed to talk to someone.
Rather than take the elevator to the fourth floor, he went to the stairs. He’d been doing a lot of walking around the school making the kids nervous. He used the excuse the natives were restless, but it was him that was skirting around with his head bopping everywhere looking for signs of danger or being caught by surprise.
He
opened the door to the fourth floor and turned the corner, going down the hall to his brother’s office. His father was there and he knew he’d have to play this up without giving it away. He wasn’t ready for his parents to know he was seeing someone and struggling with it so much.
“Hey, Dad,” he said.
“Noah. Did you actually get out of work early today?”
“There isn’t that much going on. Tomorrow is the last day before the break. I figured I’d take off myself.”
“I didn’t even hear the elevator ding,” he said. “I always hear it when I’m at this end of the hall.”
“I took the stairs,” he said. “Just trying to get some exercise and burn off all the cookies and candy everyone is bringing in.”
His father laughed and rubbed a hand on his relatively flat stomach. “Tell me about it. Your mother has been in the baking mood. This weekend she is delivering her trays to everyone and has been making a few kinds a night. You know I can’t resist snatching them up.”
“When are we getting them here?” Drake asked.
“Monday. Diane is bringing fudge tomorrow. You know they don’t like to drop it all off on the same day,” his father said.
“I should have come Monday,” Noah said. He loved his Aunt Diane’s fudge. “Is she putting it in little bags for everyone again?”
“She is. You’ll get your bags this weekend too if you stop over to the house. Now that you are all on your own, we don’t drive around delivering your goodies. We expect you kids to all stop and visit with us.”
“I’ll be there,” Noah said.
“Kara and I will definitely be there,” Drake said.
“I’ll let you two talk. Drake, I’ll catch up with you later.”
He watched his father leave the room and shut Drake’s door. “What’s going on?” Drake asked.
“I’m going nuts. I don’t want Dad to hear though.”
“Paige?” Drake asked.
