Hazel winked at her. “Ha! That’s exactly how Jasper and I started out.” She held up her fingers and made air quotes. “‘Just friends.’ And look at us now. We’re a perfect match.”
Sophie shook her head. Hazel wasn’t letting this Noah thing go! And the way the other ladies were looking at her made her feel like a specimen under a microscope. They were practically salivating for any details about Noah.
She looked around the table. “Seriously. There’s nothing going on between me and Noah. I mean, he’s gorgeous and he can cook like nobody’s business. But he’s not looking to be matched up with anyone, so there’s no point in even going down that road.”
Sophie knew she needed to minimize any feeling she was harboring toward Noah. If these ladies sensed anything, it would be a feeding frenzy.
“So if he was interested would you give it a whirl?” Hazel asked.
Leave it to her to pose such a blunt question. Suddenly, all eyes were focused on Sophie again.
She fidgeted in her seat. “Maybe,” she blurted out, surprising herself in the process. For far too long now she’d played it safe, never really putting herself or her feelings on the line. It was time to stop making excuses. Being hurt in the past didn’t justify closing her heart off to romance. And if a man truly loved her, she’d like to think he would understand about her being the Java Giant heiress. Deep down, she thought it might take a special kind of man to get past her father’s fortune and the fact that she was the sole heir set to inherit Roger Mattson’s vast empire. Her biggest fear was that no man would ever be able to see past her father’s bank balance.
“What’s that saying? Love finds you when you’re not really looking for it,” Ruby said. “You never know what can happen.”
The thought of being matched up with Noah made butterflies soar in Sophie’s tummy. Was it possible that they could turn a fledgling friendship into something more romantic? The very thought made her pulse skitter with excitement. All this time she’d been dancing around becoming involved with someone here in town. She’d allowed her fears to get in the way. Sophie had put up roadblocks to her happily-ever-after.
If she was being honest with herself, she’d consider that Noah Callahan might just be her match. No other man in Love had ever given her goose bumps. And lately, when she closed her eyes at night and drifted off to sleep, Noah’s face flashed in her vision.
She sucked in a deep, fortifying breath. Sophie had to be strong. Giving in to a feeling was silly. Being drawn to Noah was unfortunate because there really wasn’t any way for the two of them to be together. After all, she wasn’t exactly being honest about who she was and why she had chosen to hide out in Love, Alaska. And she wasn’t at a place emotionally where she could trust a man.
It was such a shame. After all, God’s commandment was to love one another. She was sick of living in the past, but the truth was that she wasn’t over it, not by a long shot. And until those wounds healed, she would just have to stay out of the dating pond.
* * *
Noah stood in the tent on the town green looking around at the bustling crowd. He couldn’t believe the number of people who had turned out for the Taste of Love event. So much for Love being a small hamlet. The event was bursting at the seams.
He had arrived early to help Cameron set up the table and hang up a sign advertising the Moose Café.
Noah had decided to prepare mini pizzas, spinach quiches and Alaskan crab cakes. He knew for a fact that Sophie was a big fan of the crab cakes. It felt a little strange knowing he was making decisions based on her likes and dislikes. And it wasn’t a bad strange, either.
According to Cameron, Sophie would be making blended coffee drinks for the crowd. They would be working side by side at today’s event. Noah blew out a breath of air. Perhaps too close for comfort. In the back of his mind he couldn’t help but think about Sussex’s demand that he court Sophie. He could practically feel his blood pressure rising just pondering it. It didn’t give him a very good impression of his client.
“I’m going to head out, Noah,” Cameron said. “I’d stick around and help, but I promised to take Emma to a birthday party today.” He looked around the area. “Sophie should be here any minute.”
“Enjoy yourself with that little sweetheart of yours. We’ll be fine,” Noah said. It made him happy to think of Cameron spending time with his precious daughter. In a million years Noah had never imagined he would be envious of Cameron’s domestic life.
Noah wasn’t alone for long. Residents began streaming into the tent and lining up for a sampling of his appetizers. Noah couldn’t believe how many townsfolk greeted him by name. It felt as if he was being woven into the fabric of this quaint town, stitch by stitch. And it felt good. He never would have expected to feel so at home here.
Sophie showed up a few minutes after he began serving the crowd.
“I’m so sorry to be late, Noah,” she said, looking a bit flustered as she joined him at the table. She immediately began setting up the cups, ingredients and blender. Watching her in action was akin to seeing a whirlwind.
Of course, she looked adorable, right down to her boots and the hot-pink down jacket she was wearing. She had on a pair of earmuffs and leg warmers pulled up past her boots.
“No problem. Take your time. This isn’t a pressure cooker. It’s a very relaxed event.” He inhaled deeply, then exhaled. “Just breathe.”
Sophie followed his instructions. She inhaled, exhaled, then told him, “I was at Hazel’s house. She was having a gathering about her wedding.” Sophie beamed. “I’m a bridesmaid.”
Noah had observed the close relationship between the two women. He had to admit it was heartwarming. Surely Sophie couldn’t be this terrible person if Hazel and all the residents of Love adored her. Or could she? So far Noah had seen up close and personal the way Sophie could charm birds from the trees. He needed to put up his armor today. Sophie had the ability to wear down his defenses. Every time he was in her presence, he found himself liking her more and more. And every time he spoke to Sussex, he began to lose more and more respect for him. Everything was turned upside down. More than anything else, Noah liked order. He liked for things to make sense, and with each day that passed he found himself more conflicted.
Every time he thought about Sussex asking him to date Sophie to keep her away from other men in town, he wanted to clench his fists in anger. His client radiated entitlement, which rubbed Noah the wrong way. He had tossed and turned in bed last night, disturbed by the turn the assignment had taken.
At the moment he needed to keep his thoughts focused on Sophie and today’s event. There would be plenty of time later to try to figure things out.
He grinned at her, getting a kick out of how excited she was about the upcoming nuptials. “That’s pretty special, to be in the wedding. She told me to look for an invitation in the mail,” Noah said, surprised that he was on the invitation list.
Given the unpredictable nature of this assignment, Noah had no idea whether he’d still be in Love to attend the wedding. The very thought of going back to Seattle didn’t have as much appeal as he’d imagined it would. After all, he’d taken on Sussex’s assignment in order to help his struggling company. Catalano Security still represented his hopes and dreams, as well as the livelihoods of all his employees.
And could he really sit in God’s house and watch a loving couple get married, all the while knowing he was in town under false pretenses? His gut twisted with the implications of the lie he was living. Nothing he’d established here in Love was real. It had all been built on falsehoods. There was no way of getting around it.
Sophie chattered on in a chirpy voice. “It’s really going to be a wonderful day, full of romance and celebration. Jasper and Hazel are this town’s version of Romeo and Juliet.” She had a dreamy expression on her face as she spoke about the older couple
.
“I hope not,” Noah teased. “Look at how they ended up.”
Sophie swatted at him in a playful manner and giggled. “You know what I mean. They might fight and fuss, but they’re the real deal.”
As more customers streamed in, Noah and Sophie could no longer talk one on one, but they interacted with the residents as a duo. Noah would serve up an appetizer while Sophie handed each person a blended coffee beverage. Everything was running as smoothly as possible, without a single hitch. The food and drinks were a big hit.
“Hey, Dwight. How are you? Thanks for stopping by,” Sophie greeted the brown-haired, bespectacled man with enthusiasm and warmth, neither of which was returned. Noah thought the new arrival looked as sour as a lemon drop candy. His eyes radiated unhappiness and a hint of despair. Noah felt a smidgen of sympathy for the nerdy resident, who was obviously not a happy camper.
Noah knew Dwight in passing, as the town treasurer with the no-nonsense attitude, and the annoying habit of leaving customer comments on his receipt at the Moose Café. Suffice it to say, they were rarely compliments. Cameron dismissed Dwight’s feedback. He’d explained to Noah that the guy was a “miserable bachelor” who seemed determined to be unhappy.
“Have you heard anything from Marta?” Dwight asked Sophie. Noah couldn’t help but overhear the question since he was standing mere inches away. It was obvious he had it bad for this Marta woman. There was a desperate quality to his voice and he had a hangdog expression etched on his face. Noah instantly recognized the name Marta. She had been his predecessor at the Moose Café.
Sophie shook her head. “No, we haven’t heard a word. I’m sorry. I wish I could tell you differently.”
Dwight hung his head. “I should have known better than to put all my hopes and dreams in a woman I didn’t know very well. I’m some kind of fool.”
“No, you’re not, Dwight. There’s nothing wrong with holding on to hope,” Sophie said.
He let out a sigh. “It’s hard to keep hope alive when I’m still as single as a dollar bill.”
“Don’t worry, Dwight. She’s out there. I just know it.” Sophie’s voice was filled with sincerity and encouragement. She was buoying him up when he appeared to be at his lowest. Noah had compassion for the man, who likely only wanted love and devotion. No doubt the cranky attitude was a facade he wore to prevent people from feeling sorry for him.
“From your lips to God’s ears,” Dwight said in a low voice.
Noah handed a plate of appetizers to a scrawny teenager, then turned to Dwight. He couldn’t help but add his two cents’ worth. “You’re no different than most of us. At the end of the day, we all want to be happy, preferably with a partner by our side.”
Dwight blinked at him with surprise. There was a world of pain resting in his eyes. “Yes. That’s very true. We weren’t meant to walk through this world alone.”
“We most definitely were not,” Noah concurred, thinking about his parents and their forty years of marital bliss.
Dwight seemed like a good egg, he realized. Sometimes appearances were deceiving.
“And I know you’re lonely, but you’re not always going to feel this way. It’s just a passing thing,” Sophie added. “I get lonely sometimes when I think about being so far away from home, but then I focus on how the townsfolk in Love always treat me like I was born and bred here. That’s an awesome cure for loneliness. Surround yourself with people who care about you.”
Dwight nodded. “Thanks. I’m going to listen to your advice. This town does have a lot to offer. I take that for granted sometimes.” After quickly downing a coffee drink, he headed away toward another booth.
Sophie’s gaze trailed after him. She resembled a mama bird watching her baby leave the nest. “Dwight won’t truly be happy until he finds his match,” she said in a low voice. “He needs someone to give him some pointers in the romance department.”
“Like a tutor?” Noah asked with a chuckle.
Sophie’s face lit up. Her green eyes flashed. “Yes!” she cried out. “Exactly. What a great idea, Noah.”
Noah couldn’t take his eyes off Sophie. Everything about her was animated. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head regarding Dwight’s situation. Something told him she wouldn’t rest until her friend had his happily-ever-after. She cared about people—truly and deeply. It radiated from within her.
He felt his stomach doing somersaults. What was it about Sophie that made him feel like a teenager with his first crush? The town of Love was filled with attractive women, most of whom had come to town due to the Operation Love campaign. They were all looking for love and companionship. Some of them had even come into the Moose Café to flirt with him. Yet all he could see was Sophie. It was more than her good looks. He supposed it boiled down to simple chemistry. The laws of attraction. Something you couldn’t really put your finger on.
He felt a slight pang in the region of his heart. If he was smart, he would pack his bags and head home on the next thing smoking. But he knew it would only complicate his life back in Seattle if he bailed on the assignment and lost much-needed salary. Noah was in the middle of a tug-of-war—his budding feelings for Sophie versus his obligation to save his company and his employees from financial ruin.
Noah had known before he ever stepped foot in Love that Sophie was capable of twisting men around her finger. Perhaps he was just another man who’d fallen for her charms. The past had him in its grip, reminding him of the way he’d been taken in by a woman once before. Kara had shown him in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t always the best judge of a woman’s character.
He needed to stay focused on the reason he had traveled to this small fishing village in Alaska in the first place. Getting caught up in Sophie’s web could prove to be disastrous, not only for the future of Catalano Security, but for his heart.
Chapter Seven
Sophie felt a surge of triumph flow through her veins at the sight of Noah helping himself to another one of her coffee drinks. She felt a huge grin tugging at her lips. She vividly remembered him telling her how he didn’t drink coffee. Score! Sophie had the feeling her mochaccino had made a believer out of him. It was the yummiest drink she created at the Moose Café. Customers ordered it in droves.
Her father would get a big kick out of this story, Sophie realized with a sinking feeling. He loved hearing tales of people who had been converted to drinking coffee. It was moments such as this one when she missed him like nobody’s business. Roger Mattson was far from perfect. He tended to focus too much on Java Giant and business meetings and his vast empire. But he always said he loved her more than anything else in his world, including his corporation. Sophie wished she could believe it. Maybe then it would be easier to forgive him and bridge the gap between them.
She wrapped her arms across her chest. “I’m f-freezing,” she said. Cameron had placed little heaters inside the tent so they wouldn’t turn into Popsicles, but it was still bone-chillingly cold.
“Just keep moving around,” Noah advised her. “Then you won’t feel it as much. The crowd is starting to thin out. Only a half hour more to go.”
Sophie began walking back and forth in front of their stand. Then she began doing jumping jacks. She felt the intensity of Noah’s gaze. Truthfully, she wasn’t sure if he was checking her out or marveling at her silliness.
As the clock ticked down, they serviced the last of the crowd, then began packing up the leftover items. Despite the frigid temperature, the time had flown by.
“By the way, Sophie, I hope that I didn’t make you uncomfortable the other day at work,” Noah said, his voice full of apology. “I only meant to tease you about Hazel’s comment. Sorry if my sense of humor made you cringe.”
“No. Not at all,” she said, right before correcting herself. “Well, actually, maybe just a little, but I’m a bit on the
shy side, so it doesn’t take much to make me blush.”
Noah began to chuckle, creating little creases at the sides of his mouth. His blue eyes twinkled.
“What’s so funny?” Sophie asked.
“You don’t really seem all that shy. I mean, sometimes you do, but for the most part you’re bubbly and personable. There doesn’t seem to be a single customer you don’t chat with as if they’re your best friend. Honestly, you seem like a classic extrovert.”
Sophie felt flattered that he had noticed all these things about her. It made her feel ten feet tall. “I think that’s the Southern gal in me, if I’m being honest. Back in Saskell, I used to be a quiet little mouse until my mama taught me a big lesson. She told me that I was her ray of sunshine and it would make her the happiest mama in the world if I could spread that sunshine wherever I went. It was her way of helping me come out my shell, but she made me believe I was doing something for her. And I would have done anything to make Mama smile.”
“You must miss her a lot.”
Emotion clogged Sophie’s throat. It was never easy to let people know her mother was no longer with her. “More than you know, Noah. She passed away when I was small. She was everything a girl could ever want or need in a mom. I think a mother is really the heart of the home. And when she died nothing was ever quite the same. The sparkle was gone. I think a lot of the miscommunication between my father and me stems from that loss...that void. We never managed to fill it up. My parents were divorced, but they never stopped loving each other. My daddy and I both grieved her loss, but as time went by, we did it independent of each other. We didn’t lean on one another.” Sophie’s eyes pooled with tears. “But I do believe that I carry her around with me every single day. We don’t ever lose the person’s essence. It’s ingrained in us.”
“I agree with you. My gram passed away two years ago. I think about her all the time. She taught me how to make my famous meatballs and gravy.”
“Well, she did a great job. It’s already spread all over town that your meatballs are scrumptious.” Sophie rubbed her hand across her stomach. “One of these days I’m going to sit down at a table at the Moose and order a huge serving of them. No pasta. No bread. Just meatballs.”
His Secret Alaskan Heiress Page 8
