Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Noah
The way Nellie was checking me out made the blood rush down south. I shut the book after trying to read the synopsis twice and not registering a damn thing about it. I could practically taste her arousal in the air, and it was distracting.
“I’m no longer a playboy, or a bachelor. I have a girlfriend, now. I asked her out and she said yes.” I smiled, reminding her of my intentions.
Nellie’s lips twitched with amusement, and she rolled her eyes. “Are you going to get the book?”
“Sure. Did anything catch your eye?” I asked.
“Yes,” Nellie answered, her gaze slowly taking me in again, her tongue darting out to slowly lick her bottom lip. “A few things, actually.”
I had a feeling she wasn’t referring to the book she held in her hand.
I used the book I was holding to shield my growing arousal and cleared my throat. “After you,” I said, gesturing with my chin toward the cash register.
Nellie cast a knowing glance downward as she walked to the cash register. She put the book she was holding down on the counter, smiling at Corin Love.
“Did you find everything you needed today?” Corin asked us both, scanning the books we set on the counter. Nellie had chosen a romance book, while I’d grabbed one of the random new releases. I had no clue what the damn book was about, but that didn’t matter.
“Sure did, thank you,” she answered, pulling out her debit card before I could wrestle my wallet out of my coat pocket. “My treat,” she insisted when I went to stop her.
“Thanks,” I let her have this, knowing I’d irritated her by covering lunch and her purchases at Enchanted Echoes.
“If you’re interested, Noah, the author of this book, Atticus Connelly, is doing a signing here next Tuesday night,” Corin informed me, slipping a pamphlet into my book. “He’s from Springwood. His family lived in Hartwood Creek, back in the day.”
Nellie’s face lit up. “That’s so cool!”
Corin seemed delighted by Nellie’s enthusiasm.
“I think so, too. We love hosting local authors at our bookstore, and I’ve been trying to get Atticus Connelly to do one for a while now.
He’s a recluse, from what I understand. Doesn’t do the whole social media thing and doesn’t often do appearances, either. I had to pull some strings.”
“We’ll try to make it out,” I replied, putting my hand on the small of Nellie’s back while Corin put our new books into a reusable tote with the bookstore’s name on it.
I took the tote, sliding the body butter jars and the little gift bag from Delia in it and pulling the straps over my shoulder. “Thanks again, Corin.”
“Thank you! Have a great day,” Corin said, his eyes twinkling.
“There are a lot of local events happening in this town,” Nellie said, as we stepped back out onto the street.
It wasn’t as busy as it was in the summer with all the tourists, but the downtown core of Hartwood Creek still saw a lot of traffic on the weekends.
“I’m a little surprised. I mean, I knew they did a lot of cool events around Halloween and Christmas, but it seems like there’s always something going on. ”
I took her hand as we walked. “Yeah, there really is. It’s a small town, but it’s never lacking in things to do. And everyone tries to support each other by attending the various events, so you’ll probably see a lot of townies at the signing and the art show.”
“That’s so nice,” Nellie said, her voice heavy with emotion. She blinked a few times, her eyes misting with emotion. “I can’t get over how closeknit this town is. Like, everyone is so supportive and involved.”
“It’s a great place to raise a family, for sure,” I said, casting a look in Nellie’s direction when I heard her sniffle. She was wiping a few tears away with her free hand, and she drew in a shaky breath.
“God, I’m an emotional mess today. I’m sorry,” Nellie apologized, her voice a little wobbly.
“Don’t apologize, it’s okay,” I dropped her hand so I could pull her closer to my side, bending so I could plant a kiss on her cheek. “Real men don’t fear emotions. Real men take their women out for hot chocolate when they’re feeling emotional.”
“Do they now?”
The smile was back on Nellie’s face, and that was all I’d aimed for.
“Sure do, let’s stop in at Tout de Sweets before we head to the truck.” I gestured to the café beside the bookstore, and Nellie nodded.
“I could go for a hot chocolate, especially if it comes with a shot of caramel and whipping cream.”
“It will,” I promised her.
It was busy inside the café. Tout de Sweets was a popular spot in town any day or time of the week. We made our way to the front counter, waiting in line for our turn.
Nellie had stepped out of my embrace when we entered the café, but I didn’t take it personally. I knew she wasn’t comfortable with the attention we’d been garnering, and there were more people in the café than there had been on the street.
“Hey, Noah! Good to see you. How’s the fam?” Evelyn, another distant cousin and the manager of Tout de Sweets asked. Evelyn’s facial structure was similar to Delia’s, although where Delia had auburn hair with reddish undertones, Evelyn had dark hair and tawny eyes.
“Everyone’s good, Evelyn,” Noah answered. “How’s things around here?”
“Busy as always,” Evelyn answered with a laugh. “Ma and the aunties are holding court in their usual spot.”
“Ah,” I glanced over my shoulder, spotting the Hartley triplets in their favourite spot near the gas fireplace. It did appear as if they were holding court. The sight of it made me shake my head with amusement.
Nellie didn’t look so entertained, though. She sent me an anxious look and tried to position herself so that I was blocking her from view if the Hartley triplets should look this way.
Betty was Evelyn’s mom, and she—along with Dorothy and Alice—still owned Tout de Sweets, although only in name. They left the day-to-day management to Evelyn, and allowed her to make any decisions regarding the menu.
“What can I get you two?” Evelyn asked, pulling my attention back to her.
“Two hot chocolates, both with a shot of caramel, whip cream, and some chocolate shavings on top, please.” I noticed Nellie eyeing up the desserts in the display case. “Oh, and maybe an assortment of baked goods.”
“Coming right up,” Evelyn said with a smile, as Jayden, the other full-time employee, set to making our hot chocolates. “What kind of baked goods do you want?”
“Pick out whatever you want,” I told Nellie.
She worried her lip for a moment, considering all her options, finally deciding on a couple brownies, butter tarts, and cinnamon roll bites.
I paid for our drinks and goodies before we moved over to the side to wait for Jayden to make our drinks. “Do you want to sit inside for a bit, or head to the truck?” I asked, leaving it up to Nellie.
“If you don’t mind, maybe we could go back to the truck? I mean, we still have some stuff to discuss, and I’d rather not get pulled into the Hartley triplets’ orbit until we’ve clarified things a little more.”
“Sounds good.” I nodded in agreement. It wasn’t easy sneaking out without capturing their attention, but the Saturday afternoon rush made it possible, although we’d both probably get an earful next time we ran into the Hartley sisters.
It was only a matter of time before whispers got back to them that we’d been in the café and hadn’t stopped to say hi.
We sipped at our hot chocolates as we walked back to my truck. The silence between us wasn’t strained or uncomfortable, but I could tell Nellie was in her head about things. I wanted to ask her what was on her mind, but I knew I needed to wait until we were alone for that.
I unlocked my truck and opened the passenger door, reaching inside to place the box of baked goods and my hot chocolate in and taking Nellie’s from her and holding it so she could climb inside.
We sat in the cab for a few minutes, continuing to sip our hot chocolates as we waited for it to warm up.
“Did you have fun with me today?”
“Of course I did.” Nellie seemed surprised by my question. “Did you have fun with me?”
“Obviously. I always have fun with you. It’s kind of why I asked you to be my girlfriend.”
“Well, that’s good, I guess. It’s good to have fun with the person you’re dating.” She said, her tone not giving away much.
“You don’t seem so enthusiastic about the labels,” I pointed out.
Nellie glanced at me, her eyes guarded. “It’s not that. Okay, well, maybe it’s a little that. I’m not used to labels and serious relationships, and I’m hormonal and horny and it’s all a recipe for disaster.”
“Sounds like a recipe for a good time for me. Especially that horny part.”
Nellie shot me an unamused look. “I just…I’m worried, Noah.
I like you, I do. I feel like we have a connection, I guess.
But it’s all so confusing with me being pregnant.
Like, do we have a connection, or is that pregnancy hormones?
Are we good for each other, or are you feeling responsible for my,” she paused, her nose wrinkling, “situation?”
“I mean, I hope I’m responsible, but even if I’m not, I told you, Nell. I’m all in here. And I don’t care how long it takes you to realize it.” I gently cupped her chin, looking into her eyes. “I’m all in.” I emphasized, holding her gaze.
Nellie drew in a deep breath to centre herself. “I don’t know. I think I’d feel better if we maybe did the DNA test? Then you’ll know for sure, and if you’re not, and if you change your mind about being here for me, I’ll understand.”
It was my turn to take a deep breath. “Nellie, I promise you that I will do whatever you want to feel more comfortable and secure. If you want me to take a DNA test, I will. But I mean it when I say it doesn’t matter to me.”
“I think it matters to me,” Nellie whispered, looking at me with watery eyes. The golden flecks in her irises seemed brighter.
I swallowed hard. “Okay, that’s fine. We’ll get the DNA test. But I’m telling you, it won’t change anything.”
“How can you say that? You don’t even know me.” Tears were now sliding down Nellie’s cheek, and I wiped them away with my thumb.
“I may not know every detail about you yet, but I know I want to be with you. I know I’ve felt this way since that night we spent together.
Sure, maybe I didn’t recognize it for what it was until you came back to town, but I know what I feel, Nell.
I haven’t been with anyone since that night with you. ”
She watched me while I spoke, realization dawning in her eyes, and before she could open her mouth to question my intentions again, I silenced her with a kiss. She tasted like hot chocolate and caramel, and she melted against my mouth like whipped cream on a hot drink.
Like the greedy bastard I was, I deepened the kiss, hungering for the taste of her. Nellie matched me, meeting each stroke of my tongue with her own. She consumed me as much as I consumed her; her hand going up to wrap around my coat sleeve, like she had to hold herself steady.
Breathless, I pulled back a little, taking in her heated cheeks and the dreamy look in her eyes. “Believe me yet?”
She smiled, shaking her head as she licked her lips, like she was trying to taste the kiss again. “I’m going to reserve judgment for a bit.”
“So long as you promise to stop questioning everything and let it happen,” I challenged, casually adjusting myself. That kiss had gotten me all worked up.
“I thought you didn’t do relationships, so how come you’re falling so easily into this?” I could hear a hint of insecurity in Nellie’s voice, but she was working to mask it with a teasing smile.
“I’m a guy that knows what I want, that’s all,” I shrugged, putting the truck in drive and pulling out of the parking spot.