“I’m glad.”
Yeah, he didn’t sound glad. Or like he’d had fun.
“Tanner is really nice. I hope you told him goodbye for me.”
“Tanner’s fine.”
Uh, huh. She’d have to give Tanner a free piece of pie when he came into the shop next time.
“So you never had a pet growing up?”
She looked over at Noah in surprise. “Tanner told you that?”
“He also said that you love Penn.”
“You know I love Penn.”
She watched Noah squeeze the steering wheel. “I didn’t know you didn’t have any pets growing up.”
She turned, tucking her foot underneath her. “Why would you have known that?”
“Tanner knew within two hours of knowing you.” He looked over at her.
She shrugged. “He asked.”
“Exactly,” he muttered. “If you could have had any pet, what would it have been?”
Brynn didn’t know what was going on but she answered, “Anything, honestly. I love animals. I would have been happy with a cat or a dog or a guinea pig or…a ferret.”
He nodded, focused on the road.
She draped her arm over the back of the seat. “What pets did you have?”
“Cats and dogs. Usually both at the same time.”
“So you do like cats?”
“Of course.”
“You don’t like Penn.”
He glanced at her sharply. “I like Penn.”
“You don’t pet him or hold him.”
Noah blew out a breath. “Penn doesn’t like me.”
She watched him. She wasn’t sure that was true. But that said a lot about Noah right there. He didn’t think the cat liked him or appreciated him, but he kept feeding him, kept him safe. That made something twinge in her heart. “How long have you had him?”
“Ten years.”
Brynn’s brows rose. “Wow.” He also stuck with it. He was there for Penn even if the cat never loved him back.
Noah nodded. “He showed up at the shop one day as a kitten and hasn’t left.”
“So he must not dislike you too much.”
Noah gave a half smile. “Well, I have opposable thumbs and a can opener.”
She laughed softly. They turned onto Main and then pulled up in front of the garage. She didn’t mind at all that he wasn’t dropping her off at home, but this was interesting. He looked over as if expecting her to ask what was going on. She just met his gaze.
She wanted this man in a way she’d never wanted anyone and, dammit, he was going to know that. Yes, she typically just went along with what the people she loved wanted, but if she was going to be more independent back in New York, maybe she needed to practice going after what she wanted now.
Noah might not think Penn liked him, but he would believe that she did.
“I also hear you think you know how to change a tire from just watching me,” he said, shutting the truck off.
“Am I getting quizzed?”
“Maybe.”
“Okay.”
“You’re up for it?”
“For following you into the garage right now and doing whatever you want me to?” she asked. Because that was definitely what she wanted.
He arched a brow and she felt a little thrill. She was getting better at this flirtatious stuff. She fought a smile and just continued to meet his gaze directly.
“Is that right? You think that beautiful brain can handle anything I come up with?” His voice had dropped to a delicious, low, husky level.
She nodded. “And the rest of me too.”
He stared at her for a few long seconds. Then he nodded. “Let’s go.”
She was out of the truck before he could get around to open it for her, and he took her hand without hesitation. He unlocked the door that led into the front office. Brynn took a deep breath of the motor oil scented air and felt equal portions of comfort and desire course through her.
Noah opened the door to the garage then stepped back to let her go first. She brushed past him, nice and close. She might have heard a soft intake of air from him, but when she glanced up at him, he was just watching her with a tight jaw.
She walked to the middle of the first bay. There was a car up on the lift and the second bay was empty. She looked over at her reading truck, wondering if Penn was sleeping inside. Then she felt Noah move up behind her and, as much as she loved the cat, she didn’t care what he was up to at the moment.
She turned. “Well, this will definitely be easier since it’s already up in the air.”
“You know where the wrenches are.”
Okay, then. She retrieved a lug wrench and went to the front tire on the passenger side. She eyed the lug nuts. Those had to come off. But the tire was so far above her that even if she could reach them, she wouldn’t be able to lower the tire to the ground. She went to the button that would lower the car and let it down a couple of feet, then returned to the tire. She reached up to put the wrench over the first nut, then pulled. And it didn’t budge. She pulled harder. Still nothing. Blowing out a breath, she pivoted so that her back was to the car. She pulled again, this time nearly hanging on the wrench to use her body weight. She felt a slight give and grinned. Turning back to the car she turned the wrench. The nut didn’t come easily, but it did eventually turn fully and she was able to spin it off. She held it up to Noah.
He nodded. Then asked, “What’s your favorite ice cream?”
“Lemon sherbet. Why?”
“Just wondering.”
She lifted the wrench back overhead and fit it over the next lug nut. “What’s yours?”
“Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia.”
She looked at him. “Yeah?”
“Yep.”
“Never had it.”
“You’re missing out.”
She pulled on the nut, hanging on it like the first and it gave right away. She took it off and tossed it to him.
“Do you prefer to watch movies at home or in the theater?” he asked.
“Both. For different reasons. I love the huge screen and the sound and seeing a really highly anticipated movie with a bunch of other fans. But I also love to wear pajamas to watch, and Cori makes amazing popcorn you can’t get anywhere else.”
She reached to fit the wrench against another nut.
“Are you allergic to anything?”
It bothered him that she’d talked to Tanner about her pets. Or lack thereof. That made her feel strangely warm. “Nope. You?”
“No.” Then he shrugged. “Maybe a little pollen in the spring.”
She tossed the third lug nut to him.
“What did you want to be when you were little?”
She paused with her arms overhead. “You mean what job did I want?”
“Yeah. What did you think you’d grow up to be?”
“A piano teacher,” she told him honestly. “I loved my piano teacher and I figured it was a great job because you got to listen to music all day.”
“You can play the piano?”
She nodded.
And suddenly he shoved a hand through his hair and swore.
She dropped her arms. “What is going on?”
“Nothing.” But he wasn’t looking at her now.
“Well, what’s with the third degree?”
“I just—” He blew out a frustrated breath. “Tanner knew stuff about you tonight that I didn’t.”
“Right. He asked me some questions that you never have. That’s not a big deal.”
He looked up, their gazes colliding, and Brynn felt something shift in the air between them.
“It felt like a big deal,” he said.
“You can’t know everything about me,” she said softly.
“But I want to.”
She thought about that. And she understood it. She felt the same way. This was messing with her, she had to admit.
But this man took care of a cat that needed him, even when he thoug
ht it didn’t like him, when he didn’t really get anything out of it, for ten years. And she suspected that maybe the cat wasn’t the only thing that was like that.
She wanted to take care of him like that.
The thought seemed to hit her in the center of the forehead. But it was clear and nearly took her breath away.
Did anyone really take care of Noah? Did she really take care of anyone? She was the mediator between her sisters. She let people take care of her when she knew it was important to them. Maybe that was a little like taking care of them. But it wasn’t direct. It wasn’t active. The only place she took care of people was in her lab.
Her mom was a powerhouse philanthropist. Her sisters were, well, Cori and Ava. They didn’t need her. Rudy had certainly never needed her. The only people who did were the people she was working to heal. And they were all strangers. People she would never meet.
But Noah… she wanted to be active with Noah. In so many ways.
“What did you want to be when you grew up?” she asked. She reached up to loosen the last two lug nuts.
“A mechanic,” he said, watching her.
“Really? Always?”
“Fixing cars is easy,” he said. “You can figure out exactly what’s wrong with them, what you need to do, and then you do it. And everything is good again.”
Brynn couldn’t help but glance at him. Wow. There was a lot there. It sounded to her like he was more used to things not being easily fixed or staying fixed. “What was—”
“Dammit, Brynn.” He suddenly stomped over to where she was standing.
She thought he was reaching for her, but instead his hands went to the tire over her head. He was nearly on top of her, his arms up, his big body stretched out right in front of her. He looked down at her with a frown.
“You have to watch what you’re doing around cars. This could have come off right on top of you.”
She didn’t move back an inch. In fact, with his hands up balancing the tire, he was kind of stuck. Right there. Right in front of her. Almost against her.
She leaned in, pressing her body to his. “I never worry when you’re around.”
His brows slammed together, but his voice was husky when he said, “I won’t always be around.”
No, he wouldn’t. So she had to enjoy every minute she had now.
She set her hands on his rib cage on either side. He sucked in a quick breath. She went up on tiptoe and put her lips against his jaw. “You’re around right now. And I need you, Noah.”
His abs tensed under her hands, as if he was holding himself still on purpose. She ran her hands up over his ribs to his chest. His hard, wide, hot chest.
“What’s your favorite vacation spot?” he asked, his voice tight.
Still with the questions? “Italy,” she said, moving her lips along his jaw to his chin. “Though I love San Francisco too, if we’re staying in the US.”
She trailed her lips down his neck and she felt, more than heard, his groan.
“What do you usually eat for breakfast?” It sounded like he had gravel in his throat.
“Yogurt,” she said against the hot skin along his collarbone.
Then the skin to skin between her lips and his neck wasn’t enough. She ran her hands down his torso to his waistband and snuck her fingers under the edge of his shirt. Her fingertips grazed over his abs and he sucked in a harsh breath.
“Brynn.” There was a low warning in his voice.
She smiled without looking up. Yeah, like she was worried about upsetting him. This was Noah. And her. She knew that she had some kind of power over him. She knew that he wasn’t this attentive to other women. He wouldn’t follow someone else around on their dates to be sure they went well. He wouldn’t notice when someone else needed a break from socializing and pull them behind a potted plant. He wouldn’t care what pets someone else had grown up with. She was special to him. She knew it, and it gave her a rush unlike anything she’d ever experienced before.
She ran her hands higher under his shirt, stroking the skin, relishing the way his muscles bunched and his breathing grew ragged.
He tipped his head back, looking up at the car tire and swallowed hard. “What’s your…what do…do you listen to music while you work usually?”
Yeah, she definitely loved having some power over this man. “Not usually, no,” she said, running her hands up under his shirt to his chest. “But I’ve learned to really like listening to it here with you.” Her palms brushed over his nipples.
Suddenly Noah’s hands clasped around her wrists. He pivoted them, pushing her out of the way as the tire wobbled above them. He reached up, grasped the tire, and tossed it to the ground. It bounced and rolled until it thumped into the garage doors.
But he wasn’t watching the tire. His eyes were hot on her.
“What was the best birthday party Cori ever set up for the three of you?”
Her eyes widened. They were still doing this?
“Come on, B,” he said. “I know Cori was always in charge of your birthday celebrations, right?”
She nodded. He knew Cori. It didn’t take long to know that Cori was always in charge of all parties, so it was a very educated guess. “I guess maybe the time she flew us to Orlando and we dressed up as princesses and took on a big, popular theme park.”
“How old were you?”
“Twenty-five.”
He actually grinned slightly at that. “And you got a lot of attention, I’d guess? Gorgeous, twenty-five-year-old triplets traipsing around dressed up as Cinderella?”
She stared at him. “How did you know I was Cinderella?”
He just looked at her for a few seconds. Then slowly shook his head. “I’m not sure.”
But she thought that he did know. He just didn’t realize it. “Ava was Elsa from Frozen. And Cori was Rapunzel from Tangled.”
“I don’t know as much about Rapunzel.”
“But you do know Elsa?”
“I haven’t been living under a rock. And I have nieces.”
“Well, Elsa—” She broke off and stared at him. “Wait, you have nieces?”
He nodded. “Two. My sister Lori’s daughters.”
“You have a sister?”
“Two of them too,” he said, watching her as if he was concerned about her.
“I didn’t… I didn’t know that.” How had she not known that? How had that never come up in conversation?
“They don’t live here. They went off to college, fell in love, stayed where they were. Lori is in Manhattan. Kansas,” he added. “And Kate is in Lawrence.”
“But…” She was still staring at him, but this was a lot of new information. She had no idea why she was surprised he had sisters. She had just never heard him talk about them. “You’re not close?”
“We’re close,” he said, lifting a shoulder. “They’re not here every day and they’ve got their husbands now, so I don’t need to do as much for them, but we’re close.”
“How old are they?”
“Lori’s two years younger than me, so she’s twenty-seven, and Kate is twenty-five.”
“And they were into princesses?” Brynn asked.
“Definitely. So I know all about Cinderella.”
Ah, right. Good old Cinderella. The classic princess. The one Cori had dressed her up as for their twenty-fifth birthday. Not their fifth birthday. Their twenty-fifth.
“Elsa is super independent. In charge. Does her own thing. Kind of takes over,” she said. “I mean, yeah she basically tried to freeze everyone to death, but… she didn’t really mean to.” She frowned. She wasn’t sure why she was explaining this to him, but it seemed important.
“Okay.” He clearly didn’t know why she was explaining this to him either. “Sounds a little like Ava. Maybe not the freezing everyone part.” He lifted a shoulder. “Or maybe that a little too. Before Parker.”
Yeah. Before Parker. And Bliss. And the pies. Brynn sighed. “And Rapunzel was all into adventure and
trying new things. That’s completely Cori.”
“Okay,” he said again.
“And then there was me and Cinderella.”
“Right.”
“The damsel in distress. The girl sitting around waiting for the prince to save her. She had to be practically forced to go to the ball!”
Brynn hadn’t really thought of all of that before she blurted it out, but it was all true.
“I’m pretty sure she wanted to go to the ball,” Noah said.
“She wanted to, but when it came time, she needed help with her dress and her hair and even getting there, for fuck’s sake.”
Noah’s eyebrows rose. And the corner of his mouth curled. “I think walking all the way to the ball in glass slippers could be pretty uncomfortable. Even dangerous.”
But Brynn wasn’t in the mood to be placated. “Elsa and Rapunzel would never have worn glass slippers. I mean, that’s practically screaming, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing and need help’.”
Noah snorted. “Brynn, you’re reading way too much into your costume.”
She shook her head. “No. That is really me. I hole up in my lab, never going anywhere, until my Fairy Godmother, Cori, comes along and dresses me up and takes me out. Then I go home again and wait around for something else to happen. For my prince to come to me, I guess. What the hell is that?”
Noah shook his head. “Babe, I was asking about the birthday party thing just to get to know you better. I didn’t mean to stir all of this up. I’m sorry.”
“No, this is good,” she insisted. “This is getting to know me better. That’s who I’ve been, Noah. My dad had to force me to come here, to work in the pie shop, to go out with men. And then I get here and I sit around until you tell me what to do and that it’s time to go out.”
Noah took a breath. “Okay. So what do you want to do now?”
She thought about that seriously. What did she want? “I want to take myself to the ball.”
His smile was full of affection. “Well, I can’t let you go all alone. But I can follow along behind.”
She studied his face. Then let her eyes wander over him from head to toe. She stepped forward and rested a hand on his chest. “You can come along,” she said. “But you have to stop treating me like I’m wearing glass slippers.”
He covered her hand with his, pressing it into his chest. “I can try. But you’re pretty much a princess to me, Brynn.”
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