Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Noah finished shaving, having lingered over scrambled eggs with Charlotte.
Miss Wright had hurried through her meal as if she were late for a flight. Even in their short time together at breakfast, tension had stretched like a rubber band.
Two weeks had passed since that world-altering kiss, and he couldn’t get it out of his mind.
He’d spent more time away than usual, thanks to the mess the vandals had made of the office.
The intruders had opened client files and strewn their contents across the floor.
Cubicle walls had been knocked down, desks flipped.
Fortunately, most of his staff had taken their laptops home for the night, but the server had been bashed with a hammer.
The vandals had had a handful of minutes before the police arrived. They must’ve had a plan to inflict the maximum damage in the least amount of time.
Insurance would cover the cost of replacing the equipment, and the data was stored on an external server. He would never again tease his programmers for their obsession with backups.
The police had no solid leads. Four figures, probably men, wearing coats and sweatshirts with the hoods up, had been caught on the security camera mounted over the door.
He hadn’t had cameras installed inside. Noah had felt that would be an invasion of his employees’ privacy, but he regretted the decision now.
This wasn’t the city. There’d be no CCTV footage of cars passing by or parked in front of or behind the row of businesses.
At this point, there were no leads beyond the words spray-painted across one wall: Back out.
Obviously, Hayes and his people were behind the break-in and vandalism. But Noah couldn’t prove it.
And he wasn’t going to be intimidated.
He finished shaving and chose clothes for the day, thinking of Charlotte.
Which inevitably brought him back to Delaney…
The sweet, innocent, alluring woman he couldn’t get out of his head.
Not Delaney. Miss Wright!
His employee.
Somehow, though they lived under the same roof, they’d hardly interacted since their kiss, operating like the clockwork figurines in the antique clock in the foyer, moving through the same house without truly inhabiting the same space.
When they ate breakfast every morning, she was thankful that he’d cooked and was always kind to Charlotte but hardly spoke to him.
When he returned home in the evening, she gave a succinct report of Charlotte’s day before retreating to her room.
She’d even quit eating dinner with them.
It was all very proper, very professional.
And it was driving him insane.
If anything, her careful distance had only intensified his attraction, sharpening every brief interaction into something almost painfully acute.
He caught himself watching the way her hair fell across her shoulders as she bent to help Charlotte with her shoes, or how her eyes lit up when his niece made her laugh.
Noah finished dressing and checked his reflection in the bathroom mirror. The man looking back at him appeared casual and composed in his navy sweater and jeans. No one would guess his insides were tangled in knots.
“Uncle Noah!” Charlotte’s voice carried up the stairs. “Miss Laney says it’s time to go!”
He caught his smile in the mirror. It was Saturday, Miss Wright’s day off, but he’d asked her to join him and Charlotte at the Founder’s Day Festival.
As the only person representing the Ayletts in town, Noah needed to be there.
He had a few responsibilities today, and he didn’t want to risk losing sight of Charlotte when he was distracted.
Plus, he craved Miss Wright’s company, a fact he wasn’t planning to examine right now. He’d use any excuse to spend time with her.
He grabbed his wallet and headed downstairs, where he found Charlotte bouncing on her toes by the front door. She wore her favorite purple dress with matching tights, her blond curls tied back with a matching ribbon.
Not only had her rash healed, she seemed to have filled out overnight. Unlike the too-small, too-thin waif who’d come to live with him, she looked like a healthy, happy four-year-old should.
Miss Wright had done that. Noah had played a part, but it was the nanny’s careful attention that had helped Charlotte blossom into the vibrant, joyful child she was becoming.
“You look beautiful, Charlie-Bear.”
“See my new boots?” She stuck one out, as if he might miss the pink cowboy boots.
“They’re so pretty.” His comment earned him a bright smile.
Miss Wright emerged a moment later, a small purse slung across her body, her dark-blond hair swept back in a low ponytail. She’d chosen a cream sweater and dark jeans and looked nothing like the slightly disheveled, smoke-scented woman who’d shown up on his doorstep a few months before.
This woman was effortlessly elegant, and Noah’s traitorous heart swelled at the sight of her.
“Ready?” Her tone was pleasant but distant, the same careful politeness she’d maintained for two weeks.
“Let’s go.” He opened the door, gesturing for the ladies to precede him outside.
He and Miss Wright started down the sidewalk, Charlotte walking between them, holding each of their hands. She looked up at him. “Can I get face painting?”
“If Miss Wright doesn’t mind. Remember, I have to do some boring stuff for a little while.”
The November air carried the scent of wood smoke and fallen leaves. They turned the corner, heading for the park.
Downtown Driftwood had been transformed. White tents lined Main Street, and the sugary aroma of kettle corn drifted on the breeze. Families strolled between booths that displayed everything from handmade quilts to apple-cider donuts.
“Face painting sounds like fun.” Miss Wright’s words were overly bright, as if trying to speak over the tension.
Unlike the silence between him and the nanny, the noise of the festival increased as they closed the distance. Old friends calling out greetings, children laughing as they chased each other among booths. The local high school band was warming up near the bandstand.
This whole thing was about celebrating the heroism of Elijah Aylett, Noah’s great-great-grandfather, who had spotted a ship capsizing during a storm and single-handedly rescued everyone aboard.
Generations later, the event had evolved into an excuse for the town to gather before the holidays. It was one of the few Driftwood traditions Noah genuinely enjoyed—except for his own part in it.
“Noah Aylett!” Mayor Collins approached, hand extended, as they neared the bandstand on the edge of the park. “Right on time.”
Noah shook his hand. “Mayor. Nice turnout.”
“Best we’ve had in years.” The mayor’s gaze shifted to Miss Wright and Charlotte. “And who might these lovely ladies be?”
“This is my niece, Charlotte, and her nanny, Delaney Wright.” Noah had asked Jasper if he minded the town learning that Charlotte was his niece. He’d replied with his typical casual attitude. “Go ahead and tell. It’s not like they think I’m a saint.”
True enough, and Noah was glad to squelch at least one baseless rumor.
The mayor bent down to Charlotte’s level. “Well, hello there, Miss Charlotte. Are you enjoying the festival?”
Charlotte ducked behind Miss Wright’s legs, peering out with wide eyes.
“She’s a bit shy.” Noah fought the urge to shield her from the mayor’s overly enthusiastic greeting.
“No problem at all.” Mayor Collins straightened and offered his hand to Miss Wright. “A pleasure to meet you as well.”
“You too.” Her tone was much warmer than any she’d used with Noah in the last two weeks.
“We should get you to the stage.” The mayor checked his watch. “The ceremony starts in twenty.”
“I’ll be right there.” When he walked away, Noah turned to Miss Wright. “I’ll find you after the presentation. It shouldn’t take more than thirty minutes.”
“Take your time.” She looked down at Charlotte. “We’ll explore the festival, won’t we? And find that face painting.”
Charlotte was eyeing a booth selling cotton candy.
“No sugar until after lunch,” Noah said automatically, earning an eye roll from his niece that made him smile. She’d picked up that particular expression from one of her new playmates, and while he should probably discourage it, he couldn’t help finding it endearing.
“We’ll stick to the crafts,” Miss Wright assured him. “Good luck with your presentation.”
He watched them walk away, Charlotte skipping beside her nanny, and felt that now-familiar pull in his gut. They looked like they belonged together—his family.
No. Not his, not Miss Wright. But he wanted her to be.
He’d been so focused on his inappropriate attraction to her that he hadn’t fully processed the deeper truth. His desire for Miss Wright—Delaney—was more than physical. He wanted this—the three of them, together.
What was he supposed to do with that? Never mind that Miss Wright was from Maine and planned to go back there in a year. Never mind that she was too young for him—and far too innocent.
Even if both of those things weren’t true, she was his employee. It wasn’t…fittin’, as Granny Aylett used to say.
Miss Wright and Charlotte disappeared around a corner, and he shook off his crazy thoughts, then glanced around, hoping nobody had spied him staring at his niece’s nanny like some kind of lovesick teenager.
He headed for the bandstand. Rows of folding chairs faced it, most already filled.
He was just about to start up the bandstand steps when a woman stepped into his path. Long brown hair, large hazel eyes. She was attractive and somewhat familiar, though he couldn’t place her.
“Noah Aylett, the man of the hour.” Her words came out breathy as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, sending a waft of perfume his way. “You probably don’t remember me, but we met at a fundraising dinner last spring.”
Last spring felt like a decade ago.
“Elle Baker?” She phrased it like a question, as if she weren’t sure of her own name.