Twenty-One
Noa
You write books with explicit sex scenes in them, Noa. You can bring up a freaking kiss.
One of us had to broach the subject. I planned on leaving tomorrow and going back to my apartment in Manhattan.
I had a manuscript to finish. My new editor had loved what I’d sent her.
She’d raved about it on the phone, anxious for more.
But how was I going to leave with this … weirdness between us?
Sure, I was going to relive that kiss forever—and maybe even in death. But this thing with us, I wanted to hold on to. Ransom. He was what I wanted to hold on to. Not a thing or feeling. A person. A man. One I feared who owned me. All the parts. He had them. Even if he didn’t want them.
I stared down at the tea steeping in my cup while he placed our food order. When he was done, I would just blurt it out. That it hadn’t changed anything. I was still the same. We didn’t have to act so tense—or maybe that was just him. He was definitely acting different. Maybe I was too.
When he ended the call, I looked up from the cup, and his eyes met mine. A tight smile that didn’t meet his eyes made my stomach knot up. Yep, I had to do a quick save here.
Just say it, Noa.
I took a deep breath and blurted out, “So, about that kiss. Can we pretend it didn’t happen?
I mean, it was a vulnerable moment, and you were there with me.
It happened when you knew I needed comfort.
Like a friend. There is this”—I paused and waved a hand between us—“awkwardness now. Let’s not do that. ” Because I can’t lose you.
He bit his bottom lip, then released it, then nodded. “Yeah, that’s my fault. I’m, uh … I wasn’t sure how to navigate after that or what you were thinking.”
Be yourself. Keep it light. Make him relax.
I shrugged and picked up my cup. “Oh, me? I was trying to decide on our wedding colors,” I said, then took a sip as I stared at him over the rim with an amused grin.
He narrowed his eyes at me, then chuckled. “Okay, fine. You made your point.”
I set the cup down. “So, spring or summer then? For the wedding. That does impact the colors, you know.”
The smirk on his lips eased me, and I took my first deep breath as the tightness began to let go.
“You’re a smart-ass,” he told me.
I gave him a mock horrific expression. “Who, me? Surely, you don’t mean that. I’m a delightful companion.”
Ransom crossed his arms over his chest and watched me with amusement. “All right, Shakespeare, you got your point across.”
I pretended to wipe the nonexistent sweat from my forehead. “Whew. I was worried you weren’t catching on.”
He laughed a deep, husky sound that gave me goose bumps. “In my defense, your lips are hard for a man to see past, and I’m not always good with words. I went with what I knew to … help.”
I nodded. “If by help, you mean to distract, bravo, you did an excellent job.”
His lips curled into a smirk. “I’m used to my kissing having a bigger impact on women. They tend to get clingy … and naked.”
Oh, I would have gotten naked if he’d asked.
I frowned. “Huh? Didn’t have that effect on me. Lucky you.”
His eyes darkened, and my heart rate sped up. Forgetting this was an attempt to fix things. Get them back to our normal platonic interactions.
“Don’t toss out challenges like that, Shakespeare. I’m too competitive.”
A laugh bubbled out of me. As if he had someone to compete with. He had won before he ever kissed me.
“I see. Well then, we shall pretend that I struggled to keep from ripping my shirt off and begging you to take me,” I replied. “Better?”
He groaned and dropped his hands back to his sides and walked toward the fridge. “Let’s change the subject,” he said. “I need a beer. You want one?”
The kiss had affected him. He wasn’t hiding that well.
“Oh, wait, you don’t drink beer. What about wine?”
“The tea is fine,” I replied.
He opened the door to the fridge and pulled out a bottle, then snapped off the top with his bare hand before taking a long pull from it. I watched him as if he were doing it all for my personal entertainment. Which he was not. I jerked my hungry eyes off him and focused on my tea again.
Get yourself under control, Noa.
“I booked my return flight for tomorrow. I’ll need to head to the airport at eight.” I decided to go in that direction of a subject change. Since I’d found out that he’d returned my rental car early without telling me, I was going to need a ride. Unless Madison had Uber, and I doubted it very much.
He lowered the bottle from his mouth. “All right,” he replied.
“Do you know if Uber has made its way to Madison?” I asked when he said nothing more but took another long drink.
He frowned then. “Yeah, but you don’t need it. I’m taking you.”
Oh … well, he could have said so.
“Thanks.”
I watched him drink the rest of the bottle down and found myself mesmerized by the way his neck flexed as he swallowed. When he finished, I grabbed my cup and drank the tea like I hadn’t been ogling him.
“What’s that kids movie with Johnny Depp that you said I needed to watch?” he asked.
“ Pirates of the Caribbean isn’t a kids movie. Adults enjoy it too,” I told him.
It had been at least a year since he’d texted me and I was watching it. He said he’d never seen it, and I had told him he was missing out on life.
“It’s fucking Disney. It’s a kids movie,” he replied. “Let’s go watch it.”
I laughed and stood up. “You’ll see that it isn’t just for kids.”
He cut his eyes at me. “Are there naked tits or fucking?”
I sighed. “It’s a Disney movie. Of course not.”
“Like I said, it’s for kids.”
I had counted four times that Ransom laughed. Okay, fine, three were more of a grin, but still. He’d enjoyed the movie, sans tits and sex. And I’d enjoyed watching him. More so than Johnny Depp, and that was saying something.
Yawning, I stood up and then smiled down at him. “Not so bad for a kids movie, was it?” I asked, feeling smug.
“Eh, it wasn’t so bad,” he replied.
I knew that was the best I would get out of him, so I didn’t push.
“It’s late, and I need to get some sleep,” I told him, but left out how much I hadn’t gotten the night before.
He nodded, but didn’t move as he stared up at me.
We hadn’t sat close enough to touch during the movie.
His doing since he sat down after me. There had been enough room for two men to sit between us.
I pulled my feet up and covered up with a throw blanket he’d tossed at me.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed that he hadn’t sat closer, but this wasn’t a romance story, and I was not the heroine. Unfortunately.
This was reality. Mine.
“All right. Good night,” he said after a moment, but he didn’t get up.
He was probably staying up to watch something with naked women. I wanted to roll my eyes at myself for being jealous.
“Good night,” I replied. “And thanks for today. What you did for me with Mom’s things … it meant a lot.”
He nodded his head once. “You’re welcome, Shakespeare.”
Turning, I headed for the exit, and an ache crept in the farther I got. I didn’t know if we’d ever watch a movie together again. Or stay in the same house. We could just go back to texting and a few calls. Move on with our lives like these past two days hadn’t happened.
By the time I got to the door of the room I was staying in, my mood had plummeted. Stepping inside, I closed it behind me, then went to get my phone from the charger beside the bed. I had a missed call from Jellie and three texts.
Jellie: Uh, since when do you not answer my calls?
Jellie: And my texts?
Jellie: You’d better be asleep. There is no other excuse that will save you from my wrath.
A smile tugged at my lips, and I decided to text her. She would hear my voice and know something was wrong.
Me: I was letting my phone charge by the bed while I watched a movie.
That was the truth.
Jellie: Hmm. I am assuming your phone was silenced.
Me: Yes. I’m going to bed now, but I will call you tomorrow.
I needed to tell her about my mother, and she would rant that I hadn’t called her so she could come with me. I wasn’t in the mood for that right now.
Jellie: You’d better. Because otherwise, I might have to kick your ass when I see you next, and you know my kung fu is strong.
I laughed. She had never taken any martial arts class in her life.
Me: I will. Night. Love you.
Jellie: Love you!
Setting my phone back down, I turned to go get changed into my nightgown and brush my teeth.
I’d showered earlier and not left the house to get dirty again, so I saw no need to take another one.
All my things were still neatly packed in my suitcase, and all I had to do was take out something to wear for tomorrow.
Once it was all done, I turned off the bathroom light before making my way to the bed and pulling back the covers.
The fresh scent from whatever the sheets had been washed in was welcoming.
I wondered if I would finally meet the elusive Wilma tomorrow before I left.
I wanted to know what laundry detergent she used.
A knock on my door stopped me, and my head snapped up, and then my gaze swung in that direction.
There was only one person here other than me.
What did Ransom want? He could have texted me.
My heart fluttered in my chest as I walked over to the door.
He probably just needed to tell me something, or maybe he couldn’t take me in the morning.
What if he was leaving … to go see some woman?
Okay, that killed the flutters.
Opening the door, I prepared myself for whatever it was he’d come to say. I wouldn’t show any reaction. I’d smile and say, All right , then possibly cry in my pillow.
Ransom’s eyes met mine, and then they dropped to my body, and it was then I remembered that I was in a short aqua-blue satin nightie.
Oops.
He cleared his throat.
I should grab a blanket or something. Cover up. Shouldn’t I?
“I, uh …” he started and stopped. His eyes were on my legs.
Maybe I wouldn’t cover up.