23. Lilly
Chapter 23
Lilly
C onsciousness slowly begins to creep in as I wake up. The smell of Noah surrounds me, and something about his scent being everywhere makes me melt deeper into the bed. For the first time in a long time, I don’t feel like a piece of me is missing. A small part of me wishes Nellie was here with us, but I’m also grateful to have this time alone with Noah.
It took more self-control than I can describe to keep from telling him those three words last night. After we cleaned up, he snuggled me into his chest and restarted the movie. We laughed and ate our snacks until I started falling asleep in his arms. Then he brought me back to the house he shares with Cody and Rachel. I was grateful they weren’t awake when we got here because I don’t think I could’ve made it through talking to them when I smelled like Noah and sex.
I snuggle deeper into Noah. His arm is wrapped around my waist, and my head is tucked under his chin. God, this is nice. I don’t want to move. What would it be like to have this every day?
“Good morning.” Noah’s voice is raspy with sleep. He presses a kiss on the top of my head.
“Good morning.”
“Did you sleep okay?”
“Better than I have in years,” I murmur. “You’re so warm.” I cuddle into Noah as far as I can. His rumbling chuckle vibrates against my face.
He presses another kiss into my hair and starts to move away. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”
Pulling the covers over my head, I pretend like I don’t have a single responsibility waiting for me. I don’t want to get out of bed or go anywhere.
Noah climbs back into bed a few minutes later. “Am I allowed into your cocoon?”
I can hear the humor in his voice. I fake a resigned sigh. “I guess I can allow you in. As long as you promise to keep me warm.”
“My body heat is yours,” he teases.
I grab him around the waist and pull him into me. “This is like a dream. I’m having a hard time believing it’s real.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” Noah says. “I brought you coffee when you’re ready to get up.”
“You’re spoiling me. I won’t want you to leave if you keep this up.”
Noah fakes an evil laugh. “Then my plan is working.” I pinch his side, making him jolt.
“Hey! What was that for?” he says through a laugh.
“For plotting against me. I’m trying to be rational over here.”
“Being rational is overrated.” Noah tilts my chin up to make me look at him. His expression grows serious. “I’m not going to promise you that I’ll be perfect. I’m going to mess up. That’s a given, really. What I can promise you is that I’m not going anywhere. You and Nellie are mine. You’re my family. I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep you.”
He kisses me instead of letting me respond. It’s probably for the best. I’m not sure what I would’ve said in response to that. Any of the lingering doubt and hesitance I had before today is gone.
Now, we have to find a way to blend our lives together.
That will be easier said than done.
“Tell me you didn’t,” I implore Noah.
He grimaces while Cody laughs at him. “I thought it would be a small explosion.”
“Instead, it exploded all over my parents’ kitchen,” Cody says through his laughter.
Rachel comes over to their dining room table with a full coffee pot. “I can’t believe you never got hurt with all your antics.”
“Came close a few times.” Noah grins. After Noah and I drank our cups of coffee in bed, we decided breakfast was a must. When we got out to the kitchen, Cody and Rachel were already there, getting a head start. I felt a little awkward at first, but the two of them made me feel right at home. Since then, we’ve been swapping stories with each other. Some for Rachel’s benefit and some for mine.
“Mom and Dad didn’t know what to do with us,” Cody adds.
Noah pours us both a fresh cup of coffee. “They didn’t want to punish us for being curious, but we also destroyed a lot of walls.”
“We got really good at cleaning and repainting them, too,” Cody says.
I tilt my head in acknowledgment. “I’d imagine that was punishment enough for you two. And if you were cleaning up your messes, then I can’t see them being too mad about it.”
“You homeschool Nellie, right?” Rachel asks. She and Cody both teach at the school here in Sonoma.
“I do. I went through entirely too many battles just to get the little bit of help she received. She attended a private school for a while. Unfortunately, she got bullied, and the school refused to do anything about it. They labeled her as a problem child to justify the bullying. I tried the public school in our area afterward, and they did the best they could, but it wasn’t enough. Ultimately, I decided it would be better to teach her myself in an environment I knew she’d be able to learn in. Since then, she’s thrived with her education. She looks forward to learning and reading new things every day instead of dreading and worrying about going to school. I’m lucky to have a job that gives me the freedom to earn an income and teach her simultaneously.”
“That’s incredible. I hate that public schools don’t always have the best resources to support the students who need extra help.” Rachel frowns.
“So do I. I know it wasn’t the public school’s fault. They were doing what they could with what they had, but my only other option was to try a different religious private school. My parents would’ve loved that, but I was not about to put her through that again.”
“Nellie is brilliant. I love how her mind works,” Noah gushes. His pride in our daughter is evident and fills me with my own sense of pride.
My buzzing phone interrupts the conversation. “It’s Aunt Christine,” I tell Noah. I stand from the table and walk to the living room as I answer. “Hey, everything okay?”
“Oh, yeah, it’s fine. A police officer is here to talk to you.”
“A what?” Her words take a second to make sense. “Why would a police officer need to talk to me.”
“I’m not sure, honey, but he asked me to call you.”
“Uh, okay. Let me get my stuff together, and I’ll be there soon.” I hang up the phone and turn to Noah, who must’ve come over when he heard the conversation. “I need to head back. Christine said there’s a police officer there, asking to talk to me.”
“That’s weird,” Noah says. “Let’s get your bag, and I’ll drive you home.”