Over the next week, every time she turned around she was running into Noah. Sometimes literally. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was doing it on purpose. Besides living next to each other, the town was small. They were bound to see each other.
First, she’d gone into town to do some grocery shopping. She came around the corner of an aisle, when her cart ran into Noah’s. She chuckled and gave him a hard time about not watching where he was going. In reality, she’d been lost, remembering the sight of him playing with Pepper on the beach shirtless. She’d closed her eyes remembering how his muscles moved when he threw the ball or played tug of war with the dog when the crash happened. She blushed ten different shades of red, worried he somehow knew what she’d been thinking.
She should have realized something was up then, but she’d been so flustered she didn’t put two and two together until later. Martha did the shopping. They’d gone up and down the aisles together, putting things they needed in their carts. He made her relax by joking about the different products that were out and making her laugh. He touched her casually every chance he got. He’d distracted her so much that she had ended up not getting everything on her list.
On Wednesday, she’d stopped at the local coffee shop to read the paper before the town council meeting like she did every month. It was best to find out what was going on in person and not rely on someone else’s take of the meeting. She’d just gotten her coffee, sat down and opened the paper when the door opened and Noah strode in. His eyes scanned the room, coming to rest on her. Her heart leapt in her chest watching a smile spread across his face and his dimples flash. Even with his beard coming in thicker and the baseball cap shading his eyes, he was just as hot as when they’d first met. She watched him order his coffee, flirting with the girls behind the counter. Their high-pitched giggles grated on her nerves.
She raised an eyebrow at him when he pulled out the chair next to hers and scooted in close. He just smiled and leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “You have to save me from the giggling twins.”
Trying to keep from shivering at the sexiness of his voice, she whispered in his ear, “Then you shouldn’t flirt so much.” She allowed herself a moment close to him before she pulled away and folded her newspaper. She stood to leave him with the consequences of his actions when he gave her a lost puppy dog look.
She’d ended up staying and he’d gone with her to the meeting. She watched him out of the corner of her eye. He was completely transfixed by what happened in a small town and full of questions about the people and the town’s politics. They’d talked and sat on a bench in the town square.
Then they went for ice cream at the same time one night. She gave him a hard time about his choice in flavor and loved it. She hadn’t expected him to be a plain vanilla kind of guy. She also enjoyed teasing him while licking her ice cream cone. Seeing his eyes darken with intensity, she knew she was getting to him. To her it was payback for every little touch and comment he made that made her long for more. After all, he was a master flirter and while she might be rusty, she still knew what she was doing.
Even though they’d spent time together almost every day, he wasn’t pressuring her for anything. He kept things light and flirty. She was pretty sure he had planned every meeting, but it didn’t worry her. She’d sat down with Martha after the grocery trip and had a long talk about Noah. She learned that Martha had been his mom’s best friend and she and Sam were actually Noah’s godparents. She knew the good, the bad and the ugly of him and didn’t hold anything back, filling Lexi in. In the end, Martha told her he was a good man and would never hurt a woman. After living next door and spending a lot of time with Martha, Lexi knew that she could trust what she’d been told.
She watched him stroll up the beach to her porch and sit on the rail next to where her feet were propped up. He just laughed as she raised an eyebrow at him.
“What’s on the agenda today, beautiful lady?” He smiled sweetly.
She shook her head. “What? Going for the direct approach today?”
His eyes grew wide in mock shock. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I just thought maybe we could spend some time together. Maybe take a drive somewhere.” He started tracing patterns on her ankle.
She wanted to close her eyes and live in his touch. “Sure you have no idea,” she said sarcastically. “Are you that bored that you have decided to fill your time plotting ways to see me?”
He moved his pattern to the top of her foot, then back down past her ankle and to the back of her calf. She wanted to moan at the sensation. She knew that he was aware of the effect it was having on her so Lexi decided to make him work for it. “I was actually thinking about building a fire pit.”