But when I scanned my key card at the pool gate and flung it open, I stopped dead in my tracks, the smile sliding off my face like a limp noodle off a wall.
Noah Becker stood in the shallow end of the pool, leading a group of women and one brave man in a charade of water aerobics to an old 70’s disco song.
His smile was blinding, hair wet and glistening in the sun as he pumped his arms and legs to the music. He shouted out instructions, laughing at all the women who were attempting to follow and giggling like a bunch of school girls in the process.
Betty was front row.
Noah threw his head back on one particularly loud laugh, elicited by something Betty had said that I couldn’t hear, and when he was facing her again, his eyes flicked up to me.
Everything muted in that moment — the splash of the water, the bass of the music, the laughter of the women and the men lined up on the sides watching them. Noah watched me for what felt like an eternity — but was actually only a second — before he smiled.
That smile turned my knees to putty.
“Alright, take a break, ladies. Grab water, lather on some sunscreen, and meet me back here in fifteen.”
Everyone let out various sounds of disappointment as Noah climbed out of the water, turning the music down on the pool stereo and swiping a towel off the back of one of the lounge chairs before he jogged over to me.
It was like a stupid scene out of a Baywatch episode, the way his pecs bounced as he ran, the water dripping slowly down every lean, toned, tanned muscle of his body. He shook the water out of his short hair right before he reached me, and when he did, his grin doubled.
“Hey there, Legs.”
“Noah,” I seethed, crossing my arms and ignoring his attempt at an adorable nickname. “What are you doing here?”
He just smiled wider, toweling his hair and a little of his abdomen before hanging the towel over his shoulders. He held it at each end, letting his arms hang in a way that accented his biceps.
Asshole.
“I volunteer here,” he offered innocently.
I narrowed my eyes.
At that, Noah barked out a laugh, the hands holding his towel lifting as he shrugged. “Look, I came here to call a truce.”
“I didn’t realize we were at war.”
“Oh, didn’t you?” he countered, one thick eyebrow climbing.
I didn’t respond, just shifted weight onto my other hip, keeping my arms crossed as I waited for him to continue.
“I know I crossed some lines, and I know I said some things that upset you.”
“You already apologized for that.”
“And clearly, all is forgiven,” he shot back, still eyeing me with a cocked brow. “Would you just let me talk, Miss Stubborn?”
I pursed my lips. “I liked Legs better.”
Noah chuckled, taking a step toward me, and the way his smile was shadowed with sincerity as he spoke his next words softened my heart. “I like having you as a friend, Ruby Grace.”
I swallowed, eyes searching his as the sun above danced in the ocean blue waters of his pupils.
“I have to admit, my life was pretty boring before you showed up. It was work and family dinner and cards with my brothers and some random girl in my bed Saturday night. Wash, rinse, repeat.”
I tried not to be affected by the mention of a woman in his bed. I had no right to be, but it still made my neck hot at the thought. I wondered if he’d taken Daphne home after the Soirée, and as soon as I thought it, my chest tightened painfully.
“I have fun with you,” he said on a shrug. “And I think you have fun with me, too. I know you’re not in town much longer, so what if we just… put all the bickering and bullshit behind us and be friends?”
“Friends,” I deadpanned.
The corner of Noah’s mouth lifted. “Yes. Friends. As in, let’s volunteer together, and maybe hang out when you’re free.” He shrugged. “I can help you with wedding shit, take some of the pressure off. I’ll even put up with your crazy mother and whatever task she needs handled.”
A breath of a laugh escaped me at that, and I watched Noah carefully, looking for some sign of crossed fingers or a trick that I wasn’t seeing. “You’d do that?”
“I’d do just about anything for you, it seems.”
I smirked, chest fluttering at the mixture of excitement and warning blending in my gut. Part of me knew it was better to stay away from Noah Becker — especially with how much he’d been on my mind. I knew I had a crush on him, some sort of feelings that were beyond the friend zone he was proposing.
But the bigger part of me? She didn’t care.
The bigger part of me felt the same way Noah did. I had fun with him. I liked being around him.
I missed him.
So, against every nerve in my body that warned me not to, I sighed, extending one hand toward him.
“Fine. Friends.”
Noah glanced at my hand, a wicked smile on his face as he took it in his and gave it a firm, mock handshake with a serious business look on his face. “Friends.”
“On one condition.”
“And that is?”
I cringed. “We can’t let my mom find out.”
Noah full-on belly laughed at that. “What, Princess Barnett can’t be seen with a Becker ruffian?”
“Not when the whole town has been whispering about us and it’s been making its way back to my dad… and therefore, my mom.”
Noah nodded. “Fair enough. An on-the-low friendship, it is.”
He was still staring at me like he’d won some sort of prize when I rolled my eyes and shoved him back toward the pool. “Stop looking at me all goofy and get back in that water before these women lose their damn minds.”
Noah laughed, wrapping his hands around my wrists where I was pushing against his chest. “Fine. But you’re coming with me.”
I blanched. “Noah… don’t you dare.”
In the next second, I was tossed over his shoulder like a bag of sugar, and he ran, jumping into the deep end with a splash that earned us applause from the entire nursing home once we emerged.
I swatted at him, splashing water in his face as he laughed at me catching my breath. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t even pretend to be annoyed. I laughed, too, tossing my head back and letting the sun warm my face.
And for the first time all weekend, I was happy.
Chapter 12
Noah
I didn’t know if my plan was working, or if I was just setting myself up for a massive fail.
Logan had high-fived me when all of my brothers and I got together to play cards at my place Sunday night. I told him how it went at the nursing home, how Ruby Grace had agreed to be friends, to let me help her with the wedding, and how we’d spent the entire afternoon together.
I had to admit, at the time I high-fived my little brother and simultaneously got a glare from my older one, I was on a high. It’d been easier than I thought to get her to agree to still spend time with me — even with her fiancé in town — and I’d spent an entire afternoon with her. Even better, I’d spent an entire afternoon with her in her element. She thrived at that nursing home, and everyone there loved her. They could tell she was different. She cared. She gave a shit.
I was convinced that people like her made up not even one percent of the entire population. She was just too good, too kind, too giving. It was like she’d strip herself bare if it meant she could shelter even one other person.
So, yes, that first night had felt great.
But now, five days later, I was beginning to wonder if I was the biggest idiot to ever exist.
On Monday, I worked all day at the distillery and then met Ruby Grace for dinner. Her mother had tasked her with booking the rehearsal dinner venue, and Ruby Grace looked like she was about to have a complete meltdown trying to decide on a place that would fit and please everyone.
Then, on Tuesday, I’d been half asleep on my couch after a long day at work when she
called me and asked if she could come over. She showed up with chalkboard signs in hand and an apologetic shrug. We stayed up until almost one in the morning making welcome signs and seat yourself signs and cocktail hour this way signs and gifts here signs. Chalk dust clouded my living room by the end of the night, but hugging a sleepy Ruby Grace goodbye on my front porch made up for it.
I’d thought I’d be relieved to hear I wouldn’t see her Wednesday, but instead, I was gutted when I saw her at the nicest restaurant in town on my walk home from the gym — seated next to Anthony in a cozy little booth, him feeding her a fork full of decadent dessert while she giggled and the cameras around them flashed.
And now it was Thursday, and here I was, circling yet another rack of expensive dinnerware at some fancy department store I couldn’t pronounce the name of. I had a register gun in my hand, a fake smile on my face, and a knack for pretending like I had any shot in hell of waking up the girl holding the gun next to me and convincing her she was making the wrong choice.
The gun beeped in my hand each time I scanned a potential gift, and it was like those beeps were tied to my frustration.
Sure, I’d played in the pool with her all day long on Sunday, but she’d gone home to him.
Beep.
And sure, it’d been me who helped her with the signs, with the rehearsal dinner, but it’d been him who got to kiss chocolate off her lips.
Beep.
And fucking sure, she told me over and over how much she appreciated me being here with her today, told me how much it upset her that Anthony hadn’t been able to make it, told me how much it meant to her that she didn’t have to do it alone.
But it would be him she’d tell she loved in less than four weeks. It would be him she’d vow to love forever, that she’d promise to be faithful to, that she’d build a life with.
And I would still be here.
The friend.
The fool.
Beep-beep-beep.
“You okay over there?” Ruby Grace asked, smirking at my aggressive scanning.
I blew out a breath, cracking my neck before I resumed a more casual pace. “Just wondering why one couple needs so many plates and bowls, I guess.”
Ruby Grace mirrored my sigh at that, holding up the gun to scan a set of wine glasses. “Honestly, I thought this would be my favorite part. I’ve always imagined hosting dinner parties the way Mama does, entertaining a house full of guests, making a four-course dinner and custom cocktails.” Her hand dropped, the gun loose between her fingertips. “Now, I just wish I could fast-forward a few weeks and have it all over with.”
I watched her for a long moment, a sickening wave of nausea settling in at her words.
Weeks.
I had weeks, and only a few of them, to show this girl what her life could be if she’d only open her eyes.
Ruby Grace went back to scanning, running her fingertips along some tablecloth fabric before checking the price tag and giving it a scan.
Beep.
The farther she walked away from me, the more urgency I felt. And before I could think better of it, I rounded the other side of the table she was circling, meeting her in the middle.
“Let me take you on a date.”
She nearly ran into me, and when my words spilled into the atmosphere, they might as well have been hands shoving her backward. She stumbled a bit, and I reached out, my hand finding the small of her back and steadying her before she crashed into a rack of crystalware.
Her eyes were big, golden suns as they flicked between mine, her plump ruby lips popping open, closing again, popping open, closing.
“Uh…” she finally managed.
My brain snapped into damage-control mode. “A friend date.”
At that, one of her manicured eyebrows rose, the corner of her lips curving into an amused smile. “A friend date,” she repeated.
“Look at you,” I said, stepping back as if to hammer home the fact that I had completely innocent intentions.
Even if that was a lie.
“You’re so stressed out with all the wedding planning. It’s been consuming your every waking minute of every single day. Hell, I’ve only been helping for a few days and even I am overwhelmed.”
“I’m okay,” she insisted. “A little tired, I admit. But, this is all part of the process.”
“Ruby Grace, you can’t even make a decision on which stupid plates you want.” I held up the gun, clicking through a few screens until I could see everything we’d scanned. “As of now, if everything on this registry is purchased, you’ll have two-hundred-and-seventy-three of them. And I’m pretty sure you don’t plan on hosting any parties that big.”
Her face screwed up like she was certain I couldn’t possibly be right. She snagged the gun out of my hand, studying the screen before she let out a long sigh, pressing one of her delicate hands to her forehead. She held it there for a moment before dragging it over her face on a groan.
“Okay. You win.”
I smiled. “My favorite words to hear.”
Ruby Grace shoved my gun back into my chest. “The problem is when are we going to go anywhere or do anything when I have so much to get done?”
“That’s easy. We go now.”
“Now?!” She gaped. “We still have so much to register. We have two more floors to cover.”
“So?” I shrugged. “We’ll get it done. We have time.”
“My bridal shower is next Saturday. And the wedding is in less than four weeks.”
I huffed, dropping my gun on an empty part of the table next to us before I grabbed her upper arms in my hands. “Ruby Grace, there is nothing that needs to be done in this moment. Everything will be okay. Everything will get done — and in time. I promise.”
“But I can’t go anywhere right now. I’m not dressed for anything, unless we’re registering for wedding gifts at a department store or going to church,” she pointed out, gesturing to her knee-length sun dress and wedges.
“That’s half the fun. We’ll figure out what we want to do and then buy the clothes we need to do it.”
“But—”
“You are spreading yourself so thin, you’re going to disappear completely by the time your wedding day gets here if you don’t take a moment to just live a little.”
Her little bottom lip poked out at that, and I had to fight against the urge to pull her into me, frame that beautiful face, suck that lip between my teeth…
“You’re tired. You need a break. We both do.” I paused, searching her worried gaze. “Trust me?”
“No.”
I laughed. “Liar.”
She smiled a little at that, and then let out another long breath, her little shoulders giving way with it. “Okay. I trust you.”
My heart did a little flip at that victory. “Good.”
“But… Noah?”
“Yeah?”
“Before we go, we have to at least eliminate these plates down to less than one hundred.”
She held up her gun, cringing at the screen.
I chuckled, swiping my gun off the table and spinning it in my hand a few times before tucking it in the band of my jeans like a cowboy. “Lead the way, Bonnie.”
“Does that make you Clyde?”
“Of course.”
“You know that story didn’t end very well, right?”
I smirked, stepping into her space and lowering my voice so only she could hear. “I guess we’ll have to re-write an ending of our own.”
I stood there a little too close, a little too long, eyes falling to her lips for the tiniest second before I caught her gaze again. And she didn’t say a word, didn’t swallow or step back. She just stood there, staring back at me, letting those words linger in the space between.
She still hadn’t taken a breath when I finally walked away.
* * *
Ruby Grace
“No.”
I crossed my arms, covering the new bathing suit top Noah had purchased me at the lake
shop for our spontaneous “friend date.” It was all I wore — that new swim suit — but Noah was sitting on a beast of a machine, holding up a lifejacket he wanted me to put on over it.
“Come on,” he said on a laugh, holding up the bright pink jacket again. “You’re wasting daylight, and I have more planned for this friend date.”
“I’m not getting on that thing.”
“It’s a jet ski,” he reminded me.
“I know what it is, and I’m not getting on it.” I crossed my arms harder.
“It’s just like riding a horse.”
“No,” I argued, eyeing the beast. “On Tank, I knew you wouldn’t purposefully throw me off or do donuts or go sixty miles per hour.”
“It tops out at forty-five.”
I gave him a flat stare.
“Fine,” he said on another laugh. “I’ll keep it under twenty until you’re comfortable. And trust me, by the end of the day, you’ll be begging me to let you drive. It’s fun. And it’s safe. Wear the life jacket and pay attention to other vessels on the water. It’s that simple.”
I blew out a breath through my flat lips, making the same noise Tank made the night I met him as I stared at Noah, debating. It was a beautiful summer day, the sun high in the sky and beating down on my shoulders as a cool breeze drifted lazily over the blue water of Lake Stratford. It was only a half hour outside of town, and a resident favorite getaway — especially in the summer. Other boaters and jet skiers were already out enjoying the water, sunbathers lining the beach, fishermen dotting the rocky shores.
When I finally uncrossed my arms and swiped the life jacket out of Noah’s hands, a victorious grin spread on his face.
“You better not try to throw me off this thing, Noah Becker, or so help me.”
He laughed, scooting up on the jet ski as I fastened the belts of the jacket around my waist. When I was all buckled in, I hopped on behind him, the tops of my thighs lining up with the backs of his, my chest to his back — which was bare, since he elected not to wear a lifejacket.
Fall in Love Book Bundle: Small Town Romance Box Set Page 293
