26. Dani
“Do you think I look like Edward when he stepped out into the sun in New Moon?”
Noah’s looking at me like he doesn’t understand what I just asked him.
“Have you watched Twilight before?”
He flattens his lips, raising an eyebrow. “Of course I have. Lizzie watched it all the time when we were younger. I couldn’t help but sit down and watch them because I’d get immediately sucked in.”
I smile. “Yeah, those movies will do that to you.”
“For the record, I said you’re glowing. Not sparkling. There’s a difference,” he says.
“Whatever.”
I’m standing in front of one of the bookshelves closest to the register.
I can feel Noah’s presence behind me, lingering there like a shadow which has always been there metaphorically, but is physically here now.
“You’re much prettier than him by the way,” he whispers in my ear while his hands settle on the tops of my shoulders.
Goosebumps are popping up all over my skin.
I smile at the bookshelf I’m standing in front of, turning around to face him. “Am I really?”
He laughs. “Uh-huh.”
“Thanks, I’ve always wanted to know if I’m prettier than a vampire who sparkles in the sunlight.” Sarcasm is present all throughout my voice.
He rolls his eyes, lips twitching to stop himself from smiling. “Are you getting inspired at all?”
I shake my head, frowning. “Nope.” I take a deep breath. “It sucks. This place used to be where I found all my inspiration and now I’m getting nothing.”
“This is a bad case of writer’s block you got there.”
“Thank you for stating the obvious, smart ass.”
He gently nudges me in the arm and I return the favor.
Taking out my phone, I turn it on to check the time. It’s almost 3 p.m.
How the hell have we been here for this long and I didn’t get any inspiration to write?
“Can we go eat now?” I ask.
“Yeah, we can.”
Noah walks out of the shop first while I stand in front of the doorway for a bit, taking in all the memories running through my head like an old videotape.
When I walk out, the bell rings as the door closes.
He’s leaning against my car, staring at me.
I suck in my lips, swiping my tongue across the top row of my teeth.
Why are guys so attractive when they lean on shit?
“Do I have something on my face?”
He looks around, a confused expression writing itself all over his face. “No, why?”
“You stare at me a lot.”
“It’s hard not to,” he says as I walk closer to him.
“Why?” I squint my eyes, grinning like crazy.
“Do you want to see what a beautiful woman looks like?”
I cock an eyebrow. “Huh?”
He takes out his phone, opening his camera and shoving into my face. “Who’s that?”
“Me.”
“Exactly.”
Maybe he does have feelings for me. No, this has to be all in my head. This isn’t real. Can I make it a day without overthinking about something? No, that’s never going to happen.
I giggle, feeling my cheeks overheating. “You don’t have to compliment me all the time.”
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You deserve to hear every goddamn compliment that exists.”
My heart just feels like it just sunk down to my stomach. I can’t move or breathe.
When I finally unfreeze myself, I make my way to the edge of the sidewalk.
Walking over the protruded edge, I stumble backwards into Noah. His arms wrap around my waist to catch me from falling on the searing hot ground.
His broad and muscular chest is pressing into my back.
“Thanks for not letting me fall on my ass,” I say.
“Anytime, Princess. I’ll always be here to catch you when you fall.”
He winks his left eye while both corners of his lips curve up to produce a smile.
“You know this is what a prince does for his princess in romance movies and books. He comes to her rescue.”
“I don’t call you Princess for the hell of it you know.”
A small chuckle escapes my mouth as my lips curve up. “Would that make you my prince then?”
“I would say that’s pretty accurate.” Noah breaks out into this laugh, one I bet the entire shopping center can hear.
Oh, he definitely has feelings for me. I think.
“Good to know,” I say.
We both get into the car and he backs out of the parking space we were parked in. Coastal Shores is on the other side of the Promenade. It’s not too far away.
Closing my eyes, I wrap my arms around my stomach and waist. I need to feel what it’s like having Noah’s arms around me again. It’s not the same because my arms are much smaller than his.
We pull into another parking space that’s closer to Coastal Shores and he turns the engine off.
I lean my head back up, opening my eyes and feeling a hole burning through the side of my head from him staring at me.
My lips twitch. “What are you staring at?”
“Someone’s hungry, huh?”
“Maybe.”
He turns to me. “You know how I know? You get all cranky. Your face scrunches up and you look like you want to murder someone.”
“That can be arranged.”
“What?”
“We can run back to the house and I can get the flashlight. I might need it in case you really annoy the shit out of me.” I wink at him.
He chuckles. “It’s my life’s mission to annoy the shit out of you, Solomon.”
“Glad we’re on the same page,” I say, getting out of the car and walking up to the front door to Coastal Shores.
Noah holds the door open for me and I look up at him.
“This is another thing a prince does for their princess. He holds the door open for her.”
“I know,” he says before he breaks out into this laugh that mesmerizes the crap out of me.
Once we make it inside, I make a beeline to two empty seats at the bar. Putting my purse by my feet, I slouch down on the seat.
“Why are you putting your purse under your feet? You could trip over it and fall again.”
“Well, you’re always here to catch me if I fall. Isn’t that right, Prince Charming?” The corner of my lips rises up as my eyebrow furrows.
“Alright, you got me.”
“Is that who I think it is?” A female voice says as she walks towards us.
Tan skin glistens from the reflection of the sunlight peeking through the windows. Dark brunette hair that’s perfectly straightened. Familiar hazel eyes meet my gaze.
Valerie Castillo-Ryder.
“Dude, what the hell are you doing here?” I ask her.
“Ronnie was looking for new part-time employees and I needed to make some extra cash so it worked out quite perfectly.”
Ronnie is the manager at Coastal Shores and he’s been running the place for decades. Most likely since before Noah and I were born.
“Bella didn’t tell me you work here.”
“My sister doesn’t tell you a lot of things, but she did tell me about Ben. I’m so sorry about your dad, Noah.”
A sliver of a smile appears on his face. “Thanks.”
Valerie’s eyes grow wide. “Life hasn’t been fair to you guys, has it?”
“Life hasn’t been fair to your family either,” I say to her.
She nods. “True, but I’m past all that shit. Bella, not so much. Let’s move on, shall we? What are we drinking?”
Noah gestures to me to order first. I glance at the drinks section of the menu and my eyes land on the peach sangria. “I’ll have a glass of the peach sangria.”
She doesn’t make any remarks such as ‘ah, it’s one of those days, isn’t it’ or ‘isn’t it a bit early to be drinking even if it’s the early afternoon?’ Instead, she winks at me. Her eyes land on Noah. “What about you?”
He glances over at the beers that are available on tap. His eyes meet Valerie’s. “Sam Adams Summer Ale.”
“Do you guys know what you want to eat?” Valerie’s eyes move from me to Noah.
We both look at each other and shake our heads.
“Take all the time you need.” She walks away from us to grab our drinks.
He gets off the bar stool. “I’ll be right back. Going to the bathroom.”
Valerie returns, placing my sangria in front of me and Noah’s beer on the counter.
She stares at me, studying my face.
“What?” I ask her.
“I didn’t want to say anything when Noah was here, but my sister told me about your feelings.”
“My feelings?”
“For Noah.”
God, she has such a big mouth.
I roll my eyes, throwing my head back.
“Do you want some advice?”
“I think Bella covered that for me, but sure. Why the hell not?”
She bends down slightly, resting her arms on the bar counter. “Sunset Cove is a small town. It’s rare to find someone, especially someone you’ve known your entire life, that you immediately connect with. I know you and Noah didn’t get along, but there’s something’s different between you two now. He looks at you in the way I want my future boyfriend to look at me.”
“And in what way does he look at me?”
She leans in closer to me. “Like he never wants to look away.”
“God, you sound just like Bella.”
“I mean we’re cut from the same cloth, so it’s hard not to sound like her.” She pauses, tucking a loose tendril of hair behind her ear. “The fact that the man you’ve known all your life is the first man you’ve fallen for says a lot about you and a lot about him. Bella and I have always known there was something between you two and it was never hatred. It’s always been something more than that. Don’t be afraid to let him in, even into the parts you don’t want him to see.”
Don’t be afraid to let him in, even into the parts you don’t want him to see.
I’ve been afraid of many things in my twenty-two years of living on this planet. Falling in love with Noah is the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me, but it’s also the most exciting.
I have nothing to say to Valerie, so I just sit there, leaning back and digesting everything she just told me.
Noah comes back, looking at us. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing important,” Valerie says. “I know I distracted you from figuring out what you want to order, so I can come back…”
Noah shakes his head, grunting.
“Guess I’m not the only one who’s hungry.” My lips quiver. “I know what he’s having.”