Chapter 4
“Iwish they served liquor at these things,” Hendrix lamented as they watched another waiter carrying a platter of wine walk by.
Noah barely heard his friend’s complaints. At the moment, he was keenly aware of the magic Leah was weaving throughout the room. She was currently showing pictures of her and her sister at an art exhibit in New York. From what he gathered hearing her excited snippets, the display was a limited engagement. It was an exhibit created entirely of sugar and depicted a giant sphinx with the head of an African woman.
“I don’t think Sidney cares for your lady stealing center stage.”
“Sidney should be glad to have such an enthusiastic crowd. They’re talking art.”
“I think Sidney is upset because people are actually enjoying art as opposed to cosplaying it. Pretending to be an expert and running into someone who truly appreciates it is getting under her skin. I’ll be glad when this little escapade of hers is over.”
“If her dad would stop funding her flights of fancy, you wouldn’t have these issues.”
“Fat chance of that,” Hendrix grumbled. “Anything his baby wants, his baby gets.”
Noah glance bounced from Leah’s animated face to Sidney’s pinched expression as she watched her from across the room. “Well, it is your fault that Leah’s here. You were the one that forced me into buying two tickets for this thing and I wasn’t gonna just let a ticket go to waste.”
“Yeah, you always were an overachiever,” Hendrix laughed. The friends met over a decade ago after Noah decided to finally seek treatment for a sore shoulder. Hendrix ended up being his physical therapist and the two men hit it off. Hendrix had been in love with the pretty but flighty Sidney back then. The indulged nepo baby made a career out of whatever “passion” was hot. Last year, she was passionate about baking and convinced her father to fund a small boutique bakery for her and before that it was a dance studio.
“I’ll personally be glad when she moves on to her next obsession,” Hendrix said. “Maybe I can guide her towards microbrewing.”
“At least you don’t have to foot the bill.” Noah didn’t bother to announce his departure. Walking away without a word, he was set on reclaiming Leah. She’d somehow enthralled Silas McAllister, Sidney’s father, and Noah didn’t care for the look of appreciation in the older man’s eyes. “Foxy, you’re making magic, I see,” he said, coming to her side and securing her against his body. He was well aware that he was coming off as possessive, but he was beyond caring.
“Your lady and I were talking about the Pippin painting.”
“I can’t claim to understand any of it,” Noah said. “I just know it makes her happy.” He gave her a little squeeze, grinning at her. “And her being happy is all that matters.”
“Aren’t you full of sugar?”
Noah placed a peck on her lips. “I really wish we could stay, Foxy but we need to get to dinner.”
“I am hungry.” She turned to Silas, offering her hand. “It was so nice to have met you, Mr. McAllister. Thank you for indulging me.”
“It was a pleasure,” the older gentleman said before placing a kiss on the back of her hand. The flush he saw color her cocoa cheeks didn’t sit right with him. The softness he saw in her eyes as she smiled, the way she glowed, he wanted that warmth bathing him.
“Aren’t you a possessive boy.” Leah rubbed her arms as they made their way out into the cool night air.
“I don’t know what you mean.” Noah shrugged out of his jacket, placing the lightweight garment over her shoulders. “Better?”
Her head bobbed and the soft sigh she released as she snuggled into the fabric was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Noah grabbed the lapels of the jacket, guiding her to his body and she put up no resistance. The first taste of her was like heaven. The pecks throughout the night had been nothing in comparison to the sweetness that was Leah Vines unfiltered. Add in the feeling of her gripping handfuls of his crisp white shirt front and it took all the discipline he could muster not to press her against the cement wall behind her.
When they parted, Leah wiped the dark red smudge of her lip color staining his mouth. “I should leave it there,” she said as she completed the task. “Men aren’t the only ones who like to leave their mark.”
“The only ones I like to leave would be for you to remember me by when we’re apart.”
Her brows kicked up nearly to her hairline. “I’m not a chew toy, Texas.”
“Don’t knock it,” he said, placing a kiss on her nose. “You might like it.” On the ride to the restaurant, Noah lamented the fact they had driven their own vehicles. The tension between them as they’d waited for the valet had been thick enough to cut with a knife. Odds were high they wouldn’t have made it to the restaurant if they had been traveling in the same car.
The walls of the small restaurant echoed with laughter. “I absolutely am that aunt that gives squeaking toys and musical instruments for Christmas,” Leah admitted. “When I tell you my older brother wanted to fist fight me last Christmas when I gave his son a kid size drum kit, complete with cymbal. He told me he couldn’t wait until it was my turn.”
“What is the point of having favorite Aunt status if you can’t give the kids gifts you know they will absolutely love all while driving your siblings batshit?”
“Right!?! It’s so much fun!”
“You would fit right in at our Christmas gift exchange. It is my goal to annoy the parents. I’m the only one that doesn’t fall victim.”
They’d been in the family-owned restaurant for hours, the place now closing around them. He knew the owners and was surprised that Leah knew Anita and Mack Kay as well. After the entrees were long finished, they were allowed to dawdle over dessert and good conversation as the two owners prepared the place for closing, the pair sitting on the same side of a small booth.
Noah was not only attracted to Leah physically, but he also liked her as a person. They were similar in that both loved their statuses as single siblings, allowing them to spoil the kids in their families. “I can’t believe we’ve been talking for four hours. I guess time does fly when you’re having fun.”
“Seeing that I showed you a good time, when can I see you again?”
“I’ll have my little brother with me until Wednesday so it will have to be some time after that.”
“Far be it from me to ruin family time. How about Thursday?” He’d have to work out before going in that morning but getting out of bed at the ass crack of dawn would be worth it to spend time with her.
“Okay. What do you have in mind?”
“Let me surprise you.”
“I’m trusting you, Texas.”
“Will you let me pick you up this time?”
“Sure.” Leah took the last sip of her wine. “If Ms. Anita liked you, that’s stamp of approval enough for me.”
“And you better not make me a liar, Noah,” the older lady said as she walked by pushing her mop.
“I won’t.” He leaned in, placing a kiss on her lips. “I need to pay the check. I’m sure the Kays have had quite enough of us.” Slinking out of the booth, he made his way over to Mack, who looked to be preparing the receipts. “Thanks for letting us stay. I’ll be sure to leave our server a good tip.”
The credit card machine whirred, spitting out the check. “Here you are. And Anita and I didn’t mind. We were glad to witness the beginning.”
“The beginning?” Noah asked, scribbling his signature on the piece of paper.
“Yep. All we ask is that you let us cater the wedding.”
Noah took a look over his shoulder, leaning against the counter and studying the woman that was wrapped in his jacket, chatting with Anita. “If you’re right, you definitely have the job.”
Mack patted his shoulder. “I look forward to it.”
“Baby, give them the rest of that red velvet cake,” Anita called from across the restaurant.
“Oh, that’s gonna be amazing with coffee in the morning,” he heard Leah say.
He watched as Mack placed the baked treat into a large takeout container, secured it into a plastic bag then slid it across the counter. “Here you go. And tell your dad I’ll be by in a few weeks. I’m looking to get a new car.”
“No, he’s not! You barely got ten thousand miles on that car in the parking lot!”
“Don’t listen at her,” Mack laughed dismissing his wife with a wave of his hand. “I’mma give you that car, honey. You drive it more than I do anyway.”
“You just want a new car. The man changes vehicles like most folk change clothes.”
They walked out of the restaurant and into the empty parking lot, Noah’s arm slung around her shoulders and the bag hanging from the fingers of his other hand. The weight of her arm resting on his back felt natural. “I’m sorry about keeping you out so late.” She mentioned that she would be attending church in the morning.
“It’s no biggie. I don’t plan to be on time anyway,” she laughed. “I have better things to do than spend half my Sunday listening to my father lie, I mean preach.”
Noah couldn’t stop the chuckle that escaped him. “So much for the church girl.”
“You know what they say about preachers’ kids. It just took me a little longer to fit the stereotype.”
The locks on her car clicked after she pressed the fob and he pulled open the driver’s side door. Leah started to wiggle out of his jacket and he reversed the action, leaving her wrapped in the garment. Noah crowded her, pinning her between the side of her car and his body. “Give it back to me when I see you Thursday.”
“Okay,” she said, stroking his shirt front.
“What’s going through that pretty little head of yours?” Noah studied her in the glow of the street lighting. “I can practically hear the wheels turning.”
“I’m lamenting the fact that we took separate cars.”
“And why is that?” Her tongue darted out of her mouth, the tip wetting her cupid’s bow. Noah tracked the movement, wrestling with himself, fighting the urge to taste her again.
“That way the night wouldn’t have to end.”
“If that’s what you want, I can make that happen, Foxy.”
“It’s definitely what I want but…let’s just say I don’t want there to be a need for a rushed performance. Thursday we’ll have all the time we need. If we decided to walk down that road.”
When she stroked his cheek, Noah took that as an invitation, pressing his lips to hers. His tongue stroked the seam of her lips, and she quickly acquiesced, allowing him to delve in to taste her. The soft sighs that reached his ears and the feeling of her curling into him tested his resolve to be a gentleman. The kiss ended slowly, Noah resting his forehead against hers. “Foxy, you are making it hard to behave the way my Daddy taught me to.”
“Good,” she murmured. “I like being a problem.”
“Get in your car,” he said, tipping his head towards the open door. “I’ll call you later this week to solidify plans.”
Leah placed a kiss on his lips before making her way into her vehicle. “I can’t wait.”
As he watched her taillights fade into the night, Noah felt his mouth curve into a smile. “Serenading outside your window don’t sound too farfetched now, Foxy.”