Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25
GEMMA
O ur time in Gatlinburg had come to a close and I was headed back to Nashville with the girls. Mariam was catching a flight back to Idaho this evening, and per her five-hour early rule, we didn’t even stop for lunch.
Neither Laurel nor I were complaining, though. I was crawling out of my skin over the anticipation of finally seeing Noah again and I knew Laurel was in a rush to get back to Franklin. Mariam and I had convinced her to book a flight to go surprise Leif in Denver, but as a business owner and dog mom, she had to go make the necessary arrangements before she could be spontaneous.
“This is you, right?” she said, glancing up at the hotel where I would be staying with Noah again now that I was back in Nashville. “Jeez. It’s fancy.”
I chuckled. “Tell me about it. Noah keeps a suite here. It’s like a whole condo in a hotel. It’s pretty unbelievable.”
She grinned. “Perks of dating a superstar. Enjoy your meeting and your reunion with your boybander. I’ll see you.”
“See you.” I leaned over to give her a big hug, squeezing her tight. I let go and climbed out of the car. We’d already dropped Mariam at the airport, and even as I waved goodbye to Laurel, I already missed my friends.
But I missed Noah more. I couldn’t wait to get in there and see him—even if I would have to wait to have any time alone with the guy.
We were going straight into a meeting with his band mates about the Management and Production team Christmas party. I happily gave my bags to a porter and let him know which room number to take them to.
He smiled after I’d given him the number for Noah’s suite. “Ah, Ms. Longstrum. Welcome back. He’s excited to see you. He’s called the desk three times to make sure we were on the lookout for you.”
I chuckled, my chest squeezing with warmth and excitement. “It’s good to be back.”
Hurrying into the hotel, I found him waiting for me outside the business center where our meeting was supposed to be and tears welled in my eyes. My Superman. God, is it possible that he somehow became even more handsome while we were gone?
Or maybe that was just because I’d finally admitted to myself that I was falling for him so hard. Either way, the guy was gorgeous, with that dirty blond hair tousled and relaxed, his tall frame clad in simple, light blue jeans and a T-shirt.
Noah’s eyes lit up when he saw me, those blues positively sparkling as he grinned and opened his arms, striding toward me with deliberate purpose. I met him halfway. Biting back a sob of joy, I slid my arms around his neck.
“God, I missed you,” he murmured against my hair. He pulled back, catching my face in his big hands and lowering his head to lay a hard, meaningful kiss on my lips.
I kissed him back, feeling instantly right at home with him. All my worries that he’d forgotten about me while I’d been gone vanished like smoke from a chimney and I held on to him, feeling a little foolish for ever even thinking that it might happen.
It was crazy how fast we had become so close, but as I held him, I really felt like I belonged. Somehow, walking into his arms really had felt like coming home. In that moment, not even the age gap bothered me.
“I missed you too,” I murmured into his mouth as our passionate kisses finally came to an end. “So, so much. Do we have time, or do we need to go in?”
“They’re already waiting.” He grimaced. “Sorry. I figured it was better to get it over with so we’d have the rest of the day to ourselves. Can I take you to lunch after?”
“Absolutely,” I agreed immediately, sliding my palm into his and pulling in a deep breath. “Okay, I’m ready. Have you told them anything we’ve been discussing about the party?”
He shook his head and flashed me a grin that made me melt all over again. “I figured it was better to surprise them with it when you were there too. They’re pretty excited to find out, though.”
Nerves skittered through me, but I smiled up at him, trusting that he would have told me if I was totally on the wrong track. As we walked into the conference room where they were all waiting, the boys rose from their chairs and grinned. Passing me from one to the next, they gave me warm hugs hello.
“Thank God, you’re back,” Brandon said dramatically with a shit-eating grin aimed at his friend. “He was insufferable without you. Please don’t ever leave again.”
Lewis nodded his agreement even though Noah groaned and waved him off.
Jack took his seat when Noah pulled out a chair for me to do the same. “I feel like I keep saying this, but Brandon isn’t lying. Our boy was pretty darn miserable without you. It’d probably be for the best if you brought him with you wherever you go from now on.”
“Like a tampon,” Brandon joked, then cringed when all his friends glared him. He threw his arms out like he just couldn’t win and sent an apologetic smile my way. “Okay, fine. Lipstick. What else does a woman always have with her?”
“A wallet?” Noah suggested. “Keys.”
I giggled and took his hand under the table when he sat down beside me. “It’s okay. I actually don’t always have my wallet with me. As soon as I figured out how to pay for things with my phone, I started leaving it behind sometimes. Seems safer.”
Noah scooted over in his chair to be pressed against me.
Lewis laughed and glanced between Noah and me, his gaze sweeping across the contact between our arms and shoulders. “Okay, people. Let’s do this so these two lovebirds can have some alone time.”
To my surprise, Noah didn’t object to the L-word being used, simply nodding at me to begin. I blinked a few times in rapid succession but found Brandon and Jack also focusing on me.
Okay, then. They’re all just letting it go. Brushing right past it. Right.
I cleared my throat, desperately trying to remember what we were even doing here. It took me a second, but I hoped they thought I’d only needed a moment to settle in before I started.
I smiled nervously and turned my attention on them, deciding to ask Noah about the lovebirds thing later. “If there’s anything you don’t like about what Noah and I have come up with so far, please be honest about it. I know this party is important to all of you and I want you to love it. This might be our final planning meeting, but it’s also your first and it’s not too late to tweak the ideas if you’d like to.”
Lewis nodded, a serious expression on his face. Brandon just kept grinning at Noah and me. For his part, Jack seemed strangely happy about something, but he nodded as well.
“We were thinking about doing a black and white themed party with a bougie buffet,” I said. “We’ll also have classy Christmas décor and I know live music is important to you, so I reached out to a jazz band who will play carols throughout the night.”
“That sounds amazing,” Brandon said enthusiastically, still grinning but also seeming genuinely excited all of a sudden. “I’m loving it so far. What else have you got?”
“An elegant hot cocoa bar with all the favorites and high-dollar raffles,” I said. “It’ll be simple and familiar but also luxurious and upscale. Sound good?”
“I love it.” Lewis smiled at me. “Some of the people in the team have kids, though. Are we inviting them?”
I shook my head. “Noah thought it might be nice if we could have a babysitting service at the venue so the parents would have a break but not have to worry about making the arrangements themselves. The venue we’ve booked can accommodate that sort of thing and we’ll make sure there’s food and snacks and games available for the kids as well.”
“That works,” Jack said easily. “I love it. I think it’s going to be fun, just getting to hang with everyone who has to put up with our shit all year round.”
I laughed. “That’s the general idea. Does anyone have anything else?”
“Nope. We’ll leave you to it.” Brandon gave Noah an exaggerated wink. “Have fun having her back. Just remember we’ve got to be in the studio tomorrow and both of you have to attend this actual Christmas party the day after. So you’re going to have to surface by the morning.”
Noah looked him right in the eyes and smirked. “I’m not making any promises. You’ll be fine without me, right?”
Brandon laughed but shrugged and nodded. He waved goodbye and then he was gone. Noah kept hold of my hand as Lewis and Jack left as well—after a stern warning from Lewis that they could not, in fact, be in the studio without Noah tomorrow.
Once we were alone, he kissed me again, his mouth hungry on mine, his lips warm and soft. I threaded my fingers into his hair, holding him to me. Bubbles of relief filled me with joy. Noah still seemed as into me as he had been before we’d left and the guys were happy with the Christmas party just the way I’d planned it.
Both of those things were huge, and yet nothing seemed as important as the all-consuming way Noah was kissing me right then. His tongue stroked mine, his hands on my face and his upper body pressed against mine.
I looped my arms around his neck, putting everything I felt into the kiss and hoping that he got the message. When we finally broke apart, I was breathless and wanting, but also starving.
“Lunch?” he asked, his voice husky and low. “Or should we get room service from the suite?”
“If we get room service from the suite, we’re not actually going to eat until dinner time. Let’s go grab some lunch. I need carbs for what I want to do to you.”
He groaned but stood up, his fingers not releasing mine until we were sitting down in a private room in a rooftop restaurant upstairs. Staring at me from across the table, it was like he couldn’t stop looking at me. I smiled, finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than him myself.
“How was your girls’ weekend?” he asked. “Did you get my flowers?”
“I did. They were amazing. Thank you so much.” I drank in those warm blue eyes before I remembered he’d asked another question as well. “Oh, and the weekend was great. We did a lot of shopping and an equal amount of relaxing and catching up, but we also completed another task from my Naughty List.”
“You did? What was it?” he asked eagerly. “Please tell me there are pictures.”
“We had to get drunk at a wedding and act a fool. Thankfully, there was a place in town doing shotgun weddings, so we managed to find one and we had a ball. There are pictures, but I’m not sure I should show you.”
“No fair.” He pretended to pout. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”
“That’s right,” I said, remembering that I’d seen them all tagged on social media at some festival. “Apparently, you guys are amazing at singing Christmas songs. Is that true?”
He nodded. “There are videos, but I won’t let you see them if you don’t show me yours.”
I laughed. “The difference is that I can find yours online.”
“Yeah, but you want me to show you the best one.”
“Fair enough,” I agreed. “Alright, I’ll show you, but it was a fiasco, so be warned. How was the festival?”
“Outside of how much I missed you, it was amazing.”
I smiled, my heart beating fast. I held his gaze for another moment before I handed over my phone. Noah laughed at our shenanigans at the wedding and I was in awe of their performance onstage.
“That only leaves you with one more Naughty List item to go, right?” he asked once he’d handed my phone back to me.
“That’s right.” I sighed. “I’m looking forward to completing it, but I’m also kind of hating the fact that it’s going to end.”
“Would you let me help you with the last one?” he asked. “We’ll do it together and end it with a bang?”
“A literal bang or a metaphorical one?” I teased.
He grinned at me. “Probably both.”
I laughed. “How am I supposed to resist?”
“You’re not,” he said easily. “Do you want to draw it now?”
“Let’s,” I agreed, pulling my handbag into my lap and lifting the wooden box out of it for the last time. I glanced into Noah’s eyes from across the table, genuinely feeling like the list had always been meant to start something between us. “There’s no one I’d rather do this with.”
“Ditto.”
I took a big breath before I opened the lid to pull out my last item. Glancing down at it, I read it out loud to him. “Get on TV one way or another.”
“Ooooh, that’s a good one.” He laughed. “Lucky for you, I’ve got a red-carpet event the night after the Christmas party and it’s definitely going to be televised. Would you be my date, Gemma Longstrum? You could get on TV, experience the red carpet, and give me the opportunity to show off the woman of my dreams.”
My heart skipped about a dozen beats as I nodded, more tears pressing at the backs of my eyes. “Absolutely. I’d love that.”
In fact, I couldn’t think of a better way to end the list. Noah had been such a big part of it until now that it was only fitting that he’d be there for the end. And getting to walk a red carpet with him? What better end could there possibly be?