by Té Russ
"Tessa was always cute back in the day."
"She's a lot more than cute now," Isaiah said. "She's sexy, smart and funny."
"You're really feeling her, huh?" Ian asked, studying Isaiah.
"Yeah, man," Isaiah said. "I am."
"So it's serious?"
Isaiah took a swig of his beer before answering. "I brought her with me on this trip to Vegas. What do you think?"
"I think you're crazy for bringing sand to the beach," Ian teased.
"You would say something like that."
"You know I'm messing with you, bro. Seriously though, what's the deal between you two?"
He was quiet for a moment, thinking about his brother's question.
"Tess is great," he said. "We've been enjoying our time together."
"And is time going to be up soon?"
"What do you mean?"
Ian laughed. "You know what I mean. What happens between you two when you leave? Your home is in L.A. And I don't see her leaving Sweet Rapids. Isn't she and her sister running Everetts’ Bakery now?"
"More or less," Isaiah said. "Look, we're just focused on right now. I figured you, of all people, would get that."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know exactly what it means, if you even get a whiff of the word commitment in your vicinity, you break out in hives."
"Because when you live in Vegas, you get a buffet of beauties," he said, his arms outstretched.
"Don't remind me," Isaiah said with an eye roll.
When Isaiah had arrived at Ian's place, a woman was on her way out the door.
Ian told Isaiah he'd met her at the restaurant the night before. Apparently, she was in town for her birthday and she just had to 'compliment the chef'. She'd complimented him in more ways than one, and he returned the favor.
"Anyway," Isaiah said. "Don't forget, I have a place in Zephyr Cove. And with this revamp of the company, I'll probably be in Sweet Rapids for an indefinite amount of time."
"Holy shit..." Ian rasped.
"What?" Isaiah said, furrowing his brow.
"Are you thinking of moving home?"
Isaiah took another swig of his beer.
When he was with Tessa, everything seemed perfect and when he wasn't with her, he was counting the minutes until they could be together. For the last few weeks, she'd spent more time at his house than her own and he definitely wasn't complaining about it.
"You know what, moving home might not be so bad..."
Chapter 21
"Tess?"
Tessa opened her eyes and lifted her head off of the bath pillow.
"In here," she called from the tub.
Isaiah appeared in the door with a grin on his face. "Looks like I got back just in time," he said, eyeing her as she soaked in the tub filled with bubbles.
Tessa watched as Isaiah simultaneously pulled his shirt over his head, while he kicked off his shoes, and then his socks.
The mere sight of this man made her heart skip a beat. Watching him strip down to nothing made her mouth water.
"Looks like it," she murmured.
"I see we're going to have to check another bag on the flight home," he said, moving into the bathroom towards the tub.
"About that," Tessa said, nervously biting her lip. "Don't get mad."
"Don't get mad about what?" Isaiah asked, stopping.
"I wasn't aware that this was one of those hotels where they charge all your purchases to your room."
"Oh," Isaiah said.
"I'll pay you back for everything."
Isaiah waved it off as he joined her in the tub. "Don't worry about it."
"But...I spent quite a bit."
"Tess, I said don't worry about it." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "I told you, anything you wanted this weekend was yours."
He deepened the kiss and she melted in his arms. She braced her hands on his shoulders and pushed out of the kiss.
Searching his eyes, she asked, "Are you su–"
He cut off her question with another kiss.
"Sometimes you get way too far into that pretty head of yours," he said, nibbling her bottom lip. Tessa gasped when he lifted her out of the water and placed her on the wide edge of the tub. He pushed her legs apart, moving closer until his nose was pressed against her center. Her entire body shuddered as his tongue flicked out to taste her.
"So sweet," she heard him murmur, his warm breath teasing her now cool, wet skin. He lifted her legs, draping them over his shoulder. His fingertips dug in to her thighs as he kept her legs open wide, while he planted hot open mouth kisses on her pussy, before sliding his tongue inside of her, causing her to cry out.
Her head fell back and her heels dug in to his back and he continued making love to her with his mouth. Soon her legs began to violently tremble around him.
"Isaiah," she moaned.
That ferocious growl that seemed to come from him only when they were intimate, bubbled up and vibrated against her clit as he suddenly stood. Her breath got caught in her throat, and she held on tightly to his head as he palmed her ass, his face still buried between her legs. She felt her back hit the wall above the tub, as the sound of her hitched breathing tangled with the trickling sound of the water going over the edge.
She was going over the edge herself, as he pulled her clit into his mouth, sucking her hard and making her buck wantonly against his face as her orgasm slammed through her.
He finally pulled away from her and eased her down the wall until she was sitting on the marbled edge of the tub again. He stepped out of the tub, grabbed a towel and then went back over to her. He held his hand out to her and she took it, allowing him to help her out of the tub.
He took his time drying her body off, before he picked her up, carried her to the bedroom and spent the rest of the afternoon making love to her.

"This is so good," Tessa moaned.
Isaiah sat back with a grin on his face. Tessa took another huge bite of the burger, delicately chewing as she wiped ketchup from the corner of her mouth.
After their afternoon romp, they napped for a few hours before they got up, took a shower and got dressed before heading out to the show Tessa had wanted to see. She'd loved every single minute of it and told him as much when they first sat down at the restaurant.
"It was absolutely spectacular," she'd said.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. You know, Laurel recently mentioned that she's been offered a Vegas show."
"Really?" Tessa asked, eyes lighting up. "Is she going to do it?"
Isaiah had shrugged, saying, "I think she's seriously considering it. With being a newlywed, she's mentioned that she would prefer not having to travel so much."
"At least with Rowan's job, he can travel with her. I can't imagine being away from someone you love that much."
"Neither can I," he'd murmured, before the waitress had come to take their orders.
Chuckling, as he now watched her devour her burger with as much grace as she could, Isaiah said, "We were never hungry during undergraduate school."
"Is that where you learned how to make your amazing risotto?"
Isaiah opened his mouth to speak, when an identical voice rang out, "There's no way in hell his risotto is as good as mine."
Isaiah turned to see Ian standing over his shoulder.
"Even if I did teach him," Ian finished, patting Isaiah on his shoulder. He went around to the other side of the table.
"Tessa Everett." He held his hand out and she placed hers in his, he leaned down and kissed it, before pulling her up to stand while eyeing her up and down. "Look at you, girl! As fine as you wanna be."
"How are you, Ian?" Tessa asked, her cheeks darkening.
"I'm much better now that I'm in the presence of such beauty."
"Laying it on pretty thick, aren't you?" Isaiah asked in a deadpan voice. "You can let go of my woman's hand now."
Ian chuckled before releasing Tessa's hand and she
sat back down.
"The food is great," she complimented.
"I'm glad you're enjoying it. Is my bum brother taking care of you?"
Tessa nodded, her eyes drifting over to Isaiah. "He's the best."
"Damn right," Ian said. "So you make sure you're taking care of him as well."
"She is," Isaiah said, eyes still locked on Tessa.
"Good. Well I can't stay, got work to do, but I had to come out and see you. I'll be home soon, so I'm sure we'll see each other again, Tessa."
Ian turned to Isaiah, who stood. They embraced quickly and Isaiah said, "I'll call you soon."
"No doubt. Love you, bro."
"You too," Isaiah said.
Ian turned to Tessa again, and bent down to kiss her on the cheek, causing her to giggle.
Isaiah glared at his brother, who laughed as he took off for the kitchen.
Isaiah knew his brother was just trying to rile him up. Once Ian was out of sight, he looked at Tessa, hiding an amused grin.
"You're not considering switching brothers, are you?"
"What?!" Tessa croaked as her head shot up. When she realized he was teasing, she laughed and threw her napkin at him. "There's only one Noble man that I lo–" She didn't finish her sentence, but her eyes widened with what looked like revelation.
"That you...what?" he asked, his eyebrow raising.
"That I love...being with." she said, before grabbing her glass of wine to take a sip.
"Hmm," he said, nodding. After talking to his brother earlier, he'd come to a few revelations of his own. "Well," he said, lowering his voice and leaning closer to her. He reached out and grabbed her hand. "Just so you know, I love...being with you as well."
"You do?"
"Yeah...I do."
Chapter 22
Isaiah was sound asleep, with Tessa wrapped in his arms, when the suite's phone rang at three in the morning. Rolling over, he picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Why the hell haven't you been answering your cell?"
Isaiah shot up at the frantic tone in Ian's voice.
"What's wrong?" he asked, snatching his phone off of the dresser.
"Mom's been trying to call you. You guys need to meet me at the airport right now."
Sure enough, there were several missed calls and texts from both his mother and Ian.
"Dad's in the hospital," Ian said.
The next couple of hours were a blur. After those four words from his brother's mouth, Isaiah told him they were on their way. He woke Tessa and they hurried and got dressed. Their bags were already packed since their original flight was supposed to be later in the day, so they just grabbed them and left.
The flight that took only a little over an hour, felt like the eight hour drive it took to get from Vegas to Reno.
As Isaiah sat with his brother on one side of him, and Tessa sat on the other side, holding his hand and soothingly rubbing his arm, two words kept flashing through his mind.
Heart attack.
When the plane landed, they rushed to the hospital that their father had been taken to in Carson City.
"We're looking for Isaac Noble," Isaiah told the attendant when they arrived.
"Room two oh four," she said, giving them a soft smile.
Isaiah and Ian hurried down the corridor and entered the room. Isaiah's heart slammed into his chest when he saw his father lying on the bed with his eyes closed. Irene was sitting by his side, holding his hand. She looked up, and her face was stained with dry tears. She stood on wobbly legs, and both Isaiah and Ian went to her, wrapping their arms around her. After she embraced both men, she said, "Let's step outside."
Her voice sounded raspy, probably from crying, Isaiah gathered.
As soon as they were out of the room, Ian asked, "What happened?"
Irene shook her head, eyes filling up with tears. "He was working late in his office at the house. I went down to check on him and found him slumped over his desk." She covered her mouth to stifle a cry and Ian pulled her into his arms.
"What's going on now?" Isaiah asked. "How is he?"
Their mother pulled away, wiping the tears from her eyes. "He's stable. But he's going to need surgery. I spoke to your sisters and they're on their way home."
Isaiah looked at Ian. Their flight from Vegas to Reno had been pure hell, and they'd been in the same state. They both could feel their sisters' anxiousness, flying all the way from Paris.
"When will he have the surgery?" Ian asked.
"They're going to continue monitoring him for a few days, make sure he remains stable and then perform the surgery." She pulled away from Ian. "I'm going to go back in there with him and let him know you boys are here."
"Let him rest," Isaiah insisted. "Just come and get us when he wakes up."
Ian nodded in agreement. "We're not going anywhere."
Irene finally noticed Tessa for the first time. "How are you, sweetheart?" she asked.
Tessa moved closer and gave the older woman a quick hug. "I'm okay," she said.
Irene headed back into Isaac's room and they moved to the chairs in the waiting room.
Isaiah turned to look at Tessa. "You don't have to stay," he said, wearily.
Tessa took his hand in hers and interlocked their fingers.
"I'm not going anywhere."
A few hours later, Irene came back out. "Your father's awake."
Tessa lifted her head from Isaiah's shoulder. When he looked at her, she smiled. "Tell him I said hello."
Isaiah nodded, and then he and Ian went into the hospital room.
"My boys," Isaac said, with a normal wide smile. He was sitting up in bed and Irene was fluffing his pillows. He looked at his wife. "Sweetheart, it's fine. Thank you. Can you give the men a minute?"
Irene nodded, smiling. "Is Tessa still out there?" she asked Isaiah.
"Yes ma'am."
"I'll go see if she'd like to grab a cup of coffee with me. You boys want anything?"
"No ma'am," both Isaiah and Ian said.
Once she was gone, they turned to their father.
"How are you?" Isaiah asked.
Isaac stretched his large arms out wide, grinning. "I'm still here."
"You look good, Pop," Ian said, moving closer to Isaac's bed. He leaned down and gave their dad a long hug, before Isaiah did the same.
"Apparently I'm not as invincible as I thought I was," Isaac said.
"Maybe now you'll follow Mom's strict diet and stop sneaking all that unhealthy junk," Ian grumbled.
"I already promised her I would," Isaac swore, holding up a hand.
"Good," Isaiah said.
"Look," Isaac said, his face growing serious. "Before your mother gets back and before your sisters get here, I want to talk to you boys."
"What's up, Pop?" they both asked.
"I'm going into this surgery in a day or so," he started. "If something goes wrong..." Isaac cleared his throat. "If I don't make i–"
"Pop," Ian said, shaking his head. "Don't talk like that."
"You'll be fine," Isaiah added.
"You boys will be the men of this family," Isaac went on. "I need you to look after your mother and your sisters. Isaiah, you make sure Noble Naturals continues to thrive. Ian, you make sure to help, and your sisters too. Do I make myself clear?"
When neither Isaiah nor Ian spoke up, Isaac asked the question again, much more brasher, "I said, do I make myself clear?!"
"Yes, sir," they both said quietly.
Isaiah refused to believe that anything but the best outcome would happen with his father's surgery. He looked good right now. The color was back in his face and he looked and sounded like he always did.
Everything was going to be fine.

"The girls should be here by this evening. They had a layover in Frankfurt."
Tessa watched as Irene's hand trembled as she looked at her watch. She'd been surprised when Isaiah's mother came out of Isaac's hospital room and asked if she would
walk with her to grab some coffee, which she quickly agreed.
The machine finished filling up Irene's cup and she grabbed it. Moving over the condiments, she tried to grab the cream, but her hands were still shaking uncontrollably.
"Let me help you, Mrs. Noble," Tessa said, quickly.
"Thank you, dear," Irene said, clasping her hands together as Tessa fixed her coffee for her. "It's a sad day when you can't put together your own cup of coffee."
Tessa didn't say anything, just finished her coffee and handed it to Irene. They moved to sit in a bank of chairs.
"This is all my fault," Tessa heard Irene whisper.
"Your fault?" she asked. "How?"
"I knew he was sneaking those foods that are now on his restricted list after he got diagnosed with high blood pressure. But instead of getting on him and telling him to stop, I just let it slide; thinking a little extra something here and there wouldn't hurt anything. And now he has to have a bypass. What if something happens?"
Tessa heard Irene's light sobs and she did the only thing she could think to do. She pulled the older woman into her arms and held her.
"We have to stay positive, Mrs. Noble. Have faith that everything will work out."
After a few moments, Irene pulled away. "Did you stay here all night with Isaiah?" she asked.
"Of course," Tessa said. There was no question where she would have been.
"You must care a lot about my son."
"I do," Tessa said, with no hesitation.
"Do you love him?"
Tessa's mouth fell open at the question. "I do."
Irene gave Tessa a small smile. "Have you told him?"
Tessa thought back to their conversation at dinner the night before, after Ian had left and how she'd almost slipped and said Isaiah was the only Noble man she loved.
"In so many words."
"Don't waste time on 'in so many words'. If you love him, say the exact words." Sighing, she added, "Life's extremely too short and precious."
Chapter 23
Isaiah, Tessa, Ian and Irene were sitting in Isaac's room several hours later when the door burst open and Isabella and Ivy flew in.
"My girls are here," Isaac said, as they rushed to his bedside, both of them hugging him. "If I'd have known all it would take is a heart attack to get all four of my kids in one room after so long, I'd have had one a long time ago."
