21. Lilly
Chapter 21
Lilly
“ A unt Christine said you’re going to have a sleepover with Dad.”
My eyebrows raise at Nellie’s statement. “She did, did she? That’s news to me.”
“Yeah, I asked if I could have one with you guys, too, and she said no.” Nellie’s eyes brighten, her fingers freezing around the Pop-It in her lap. “Does that mean I can?”
A laugh tumbles from my mouth. “Not this time, sweetheart.” I inwardly shake my head at my meddling aunt. I can’t say I’m mad about her making a secret plan for me to spend alone time with Noah, though. Images from our night together after Donna’s have been burned into my brain. To say I’d like to have a repeat would be an understatement.
Nellie’s shoulders slump, her body melting into the center of my bed. “Okay. Aunt Christine says we’re gonna have a sleepover in the living room tonight anyway.”
I slip on my sandals and adjust the sundress I bought at Blossoms and Bows. The delicate floral pattern caught my eye, and the high neckline and sleeveless cut sold me on it.
“Are you sure you’re okay with me being gone tonight?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. You’ll still call me before bed, though, right?”
I run my fingers through Nellie’s silky blonde hair. “Of course, I will.”
“And I’ll get to say good night to Dad, too?”
“Definitely.”
“Okay, then. I’m gonna go see if he’s here yet.” Nellie jumps off my bed and races out of the room.
Since I’ll be spending the night with Noah, I grab out some extra clothes and stuff them into a small overnight bag. I take a final look in the mirror, twisting my hips to check my outfit. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, I guess. I still haven’t decided if this is a good idea or not. Noah made a lot of sense at the library, but with distance comes doubt. I’m not the same hopeful girl I used to be. What if that’s not enough for Noah? What if I’m not enough for Noah?
I can’t deny my longing for him. I never stopped missing him. Even when I thought I hated Noah, my heart still belonged to him. It always has. I’m trying to remind myself that it wasn’t him who broke my heart, but it’s not that easy to erase years of pain.
“He’s here, he’s here!” Nellie calls from the living room.
One more mirror check and a deep breath later, I walk outside to see Nellie with her arms around Noah’s waist. My insides melt at the sight. They both have huge smiles on their faces.
“Look, Mom! Dad brought me flowers.” She pulls away from Noah to grab her little bouquet from the ground. It’s a gorgeous arrangement that matches a much bigger one in Noah’s hand.
I step up next to them to look closer. “Those are gorgeous.”
“Dad got some for you, too.”
Noah holds out the second bouquet filled with a multitude of flowers. “Thank you.” A blush tinges my cheeks, and I have no idea why I’m suddenly feeling shy.
“I wish I could have a sleepover with you and Mom,” Nellie complains, successfully distracting me.
Noah chuckles and runs his hand over her head. “How about after my next shift, I take you out to dinner, just the two of us, and then we can come back here and have a sleepover with Mom?”
Nellie bounces up and down. “Yes, yes, yes! I want to do that. Mom! Can we do that?”
I try to hold back my laugh, my lips tilting in a half smile. “Sure. Although, I’m not sure if we’ll all fit in my room.”
“That’s okay. You and Dad can snuggle in your bed, and I’ll sleep in the trundle.”
Noah catches my gaze and winks. “I love that idea, kiddo.”
“See, Mom? It’s perfect.”
My laughter finally breaks. “Okay, troublemaker. Go back inside. It’s almost time for dinner. And give our flowers to Aunt Christine. She’ll get them into a vase.”
Nellie gives me a quick hug before racing back into the house with our bouquets tucked in her elbows.
Noah saunters up to me with a smirk on his handsome face. “We have the best kid.”
I roll my eyes. “She’s a menace.”
His hands cup my cheeks. “You look beautiful tonight, Bumblebee.”
“Thank you. You look pretty great yourself.” And he does. His navy slacks and white button-down shirt are molded to his body, showing off the sculpted muscles he’s honed as a firefighter.
He leans in to press a quick kiss to my lips before he pulls away much too fast for my liking.
“Don’t make that noise with me. I’m hanging on to my control by a thread, and we have an audience.” Noah groans.
I hadn’t realized I’d made a noise. Looking over at the window, I see Nellie’s eyes and nose peeking through the blinds. Right next to her is Aunt Christine, unabashedly watching us. “Nosy Nancys,” I tease.
Noah laughs as he grabs my bag from my hand and tugs me toward his truck. He opens my door for me and helps me into my seat, stashing my clothes in the back. I shamelessly check him out as he walks back around to his side. His butt in those pants is giving me feelings.
He squints his eyes at me as he settles behind the wheel. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
I shrug, a smirk teasing at my mouth. “No reason. I like those pants. They make your ass look great.”
Noah throws his head back with a laugh. His eyes are sparkling when he smiles over at me. He reaches over and palms my neck, giving me no choice but to lean closer to him.
Then he’s pulling me into the dirtiest kiss I’ve ever had. His tongue licks at the seam of my mouth, demanding entry. I meet him stroke for stroke. My body is humming with tension and desire. Noah has always been able to sweep me into his orbit without needing to try. Eight years of distance, and it’s as if our separation never happened.
I moan into his mouth. I’m tempted to tell him to take us back to his house, to skip dinner and spend the little time we have exploring each other. I even start to say the words, but then Noah palms my cheek to tilt my head for better access, and I forget everything I wanted to say.
“Fuck,” he whispers against my lips. “We have to stop.”
I whine in protest, kissing him again. He obliges me, then starts kissing my jaw. “I missed you, Bumblebee.”
Catching my breath, I lean my forehead against his. “I missed you, too, Noah. More than I let myself acknowledge.”
With a final peck, Noah leans back into his seat. He adjusts his bulging cock, making pride bloom in my chest. I did that. I still have that kind of impact on him after all these years.
“We could?—”
“No,” Noah cuts me off. “I am taking you out tonight. I want to woo you and get to know who you are now. If I take you back to my place, we’ll spend all our time naked instead of talking.”
I sigh, not really seeing a problem with that, even though he’s right. “Fine. Let’s go to dinner, then.”
Noah twines his fingers through mine and pulls my hand to his mouth to nip at my knuckles. “Don’t be petulant. I promise to worship you thoroughly tonight.”
His words send a shiver down my spine. Then I realized what he said. “Did you set up the sleepover idea?”
“Of course, I did. Christine is headed back to Greensboro, and we aren’t going to get much time to ourselves while she’s gone.”
I tilt my head in acknowledgment. He’s right. Christine will be gone for a few weeks to get things settled. Noah and I will have very little time alone to reconnect. Even if Nellie goes to bed early, I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing anything scandalous while she’s in the house. Plus, she gets insomnia sometimes, and it would be our luck that she would wake up while we’re in the middle of having sex.
Noah drives us to a restaurant called Jimmy’s, telling me all about the place. “Uncle Nolan and Uncle Carter opened it together a few years ago. They’d been talking about opening an upscale Irish pub for years, but could never get all the pieces together. Then, this building went up for sale, and they pulled the trigger. It’s been super successful since there aren’t many other nice places to eat here.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t say anything when we were talking about the rest of the Ellis family with Aunt Christine. I’m so happy for them. I bet they love working together.”
“They like to give each other shit, but they seem to be having fun. Carter deals mostly with the food, since that’s his passion, while Nolan handles the business side.”
“Ah, I could see how that would make it easier for them to work together.”
Noah helps me out of the car after we park. He holds my hand all the way to the front doors, and the butterflies fluttering in my belly make me feel like a teenager again.
The hostess takes us to our table right away, despite the large crowd waiting in the lobby.
“Is Nolan or Carter here tonight?” Noah asks the hostess.
“No, they left a few hours ago.”
“Damn, thanks anyway.”
She nods her head and walks back to the hostess stand.
“I’m surprised they’re not trying to stick their noses into our date,” Noah jokes. “They reserved a table for me tonight, even though they don’t normally do reservations.”
“Maybe they’re respecting our privacy.”
Noah snorts. “I could see Carter doing that, but Nolan? Definitely not. I’m betting my mom put the fear of God into them.”
I giggle at the image. “Do you guys still have big family dinners?”
“Oh, yeah. They’re mandatory and still just as loud and overwhelming as they used to be.” Noah laughs.
I loved going to their family dinners. It always amazed me how much the Ellises loved each other and weren’t afraid to show it. The contrast between their family and mine was jarring sometimes.
The waiter comes over to get our drink orders while Noah tells me what the rest of the Ellis family has been up to over the last eight years. They seem to all be doing well. I hope I get a chance to see them again.
“What’s Carson been up to since he graduated?” I ask of Noah’s brother.
“Not much. He hasn’t decided what he wants to do. School has never been his favorite thing, but he has no idea what he would be interested in doing instead. He’s taking a gap year to give himself time to figure it out.”
“It’s overwhelming, trying to find what you’re interested in. It took me the whole first semester of college to figure out what I wanted. Being a lawyer was not in the cards since I had Noelle.”
“That’s what Mom says, too. She wants him to go to the community college in Westlake to explore his options.”
“Not a bad idea. The paths seem limitless at first until you can try things out.”
Our food comes a few minutes later, smelling deliciously mouth-watering. We stuff our faces, talking about everything and nothing while we eat. The last time we did this, it was fraught with tension and mostly focused on Noah learning everything he could about Nellie. This time is different. It’s two adults getting to know each other. We’re not the same people we were eight years ago. So much has changed since I left, but sitting across the table from Noah after all this time, I’m reminded that the core of who we are remains the same no matter how much time has passed.