3. Lizzy
Chapter 3
Lizzy
I step into the early evening air, pulling my cardigan around me. Without hair, it’s harder for me to stay warm. I resist the urge to pat my wig and instead pat my bag which has all of my supplies inside to fix any wig emergency that might happen.
“Why are you here?” I ask Noah. My heart skipped a beat when I saw him on the front porch holding my favorite flowers. I remind myself that’s a crazy reaction to a crazy man.
He holds up a rectangle of brown paper packaging in his other hand. I don’t have a clue what could be inside. His next words surprise me. “I have a gift for you.”
I blink at him. I’m not touched by this gesture. I’m not even a little bit curious about what it could be. “Showing up where I live is stalking.”
He doesn’t look bothered by the accusation at all. He gestures over his shoulder with his thumb toward the house where Walt is peeking out through the blinds in the living room window. “I was invited.”
I didn’t tell my grandfather what happened yesterday when I met Noah at the bookstore. I’m not sure how he would react. He seems protective of me, but I’m still feeling my way through our relationship.
I put my hands on my hips and do my best to scowl at the handsome cowboy. “You’re a weirdo, you know that, right?”
He’s still holding out the package to me wordlessly. Whatever is inside, he wants me to see it. I finally relent and take the package from him.
I’ve rarely gotten gifts. I don’t know what Noah could be giving me. We barely know each other.
A little gasp comes from my mouth when I see the leather-bound set. With trembling fingers, I flick open the cover and scan the first page. As I suspected, this is a three-volume collection of Pride and Prejudice .
My gaze fills with tears as I think of years of birthdays uncelebrated. Of a little girl trying to convince herself that her mom was lying. She was special enough for a birthday. One day, she’d have one. She’d have a big party to celebrate with a hundred friends who liked her and thought she was pretty. Stupid, foolish kid.
“I can’t accept this,” I say, swallowing the lump in my throat. I try to hand the books back to him, but Noah won’t accept them.
“Take the books. You’ll be getting lots of gifts from me.”
I shouldn’t accept it. I know the man is nuts with a capital N. But I still find myself clutching the musty volumes close to my chest.
Something lights in his gaze when I accept the books, like it makes him happy to see me with them.
“That’s only part of the gift,” he says and offers me the bouquet of red Gerbera daisies.
I shake my head, unable to fathom that there could be more. I’m nobody. Why does he even care about making me happy? “It’s OK. I have to go anyway.”
As if the universe is confirming my good sense to get out of here, a car horn honks. I turn to see Dotty’s little red car, the one she affectionately calls “rust bucket”, at the end of the driveway. She sticks her arm out of the driver’s side window and waves me forward. Her car doesn’t have a reverse or…like to start, so she’s idling as she waits for me.
I tuck the books carefully into the bag, trying not to let him see how much this means to me. I learned a long time ago not to get attached to things or people. I never get to have either for very long. “I’ll see you around.”
“Wait, Lizzy.” He reaches out and puts a hand on my cardigan-clad arm. Even through the soft, worn fabric, I still feel his touch. I feel it everywhere. “Where are you going?”
I frown. I’m not used to having anyone ask where I am. As it is, I’m barely getting used to checking in with Walt. “Just out with the girls.”
His features darken. “Will men be there?”
I bark out a laugh. Even if there would be, I’ve never been the type of woman that turns a man’s head. I mean, I’m pretty. But I lack the natural confidence to attract a guy. Still, I think of all the book boyfriends that we’ll inevitably discuss when I’m with my friends. “Yeah, there will be loads of men.”
He nods. “Alright then, I’m coming too.”
“No, you’re not,” I sputter out. I can only imagine what the girls will think if I show up at Sadie’s bakery with Noah on my arm. Yeah, that’s the reason he can’t tag along. It has nothing to do with the way he makes me feel warm all over or the way he looks at me like he sees me. For a girl who’s been overlooked her whole life, that feeling is dangerous.
“You’re not parading around town in front of a bunch of other men until you’re wearing my ring on your finger,” he growls.
I’m pretty sure this ridiculous man is serious. “Stop being a weirdo! We’re going to taste-test Sadie’s desserts and discuss book boyfriends. There won’t be any actual men there.”
Dotty beeps her horn again. Her rust bucket burns through gas. I’ll make sure to pass her a few dollars to make up for keeping her waiting.
Noah is still holding onto my arm, and he doesn’t look convinced. “Give me your phone.”
I hesitate. It’s not that I don’t trust Noah. For some strange reason, I do. It’s that I never know what to expect from him next. “Why?”
He holds out his hand. “Now, Lizzy.”
For the second time tonight, curiosity gets the best of me. I pass him my phone with the cracked screen. I’ve been meaning to replace it since Mr. Darcy batted it off the counter a few weeks ago.
He takes my phone and taps it a few times before passing it back to me. “My number is in your contacts. Call me if you need me.”
His words freeze me to the spot. I don’t think I’ve ever had someone I could call. I don’t like the way it makes me feel like he cares. “I’m a big girl. I can look out for myself.”
He leans forward and kisses my forehead. “No, you’re my girl, and it’s my job now to look out for you.”
I blink up at him, stunned and confused. The kiss was so quick that I don’t think he had time to realize my hair is a wig.
“Now have fun with your friends. I’ll check in later.” He pats my ass when I turn to go like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
In a daze, I walk to the car where Dotty is waiting. This cowboy is better than any book boyfriend.
“I think it’s kind of tart,” I admit to Sadie later that evening in her bakery. She moved to town around the same time I did. She started a donut shop called Sprinkles, and she’s having some of the girls over for a taste test of new flavors she wants to debut.
Sadie nods and jots a note on a clipboard that’s smeared with jelly. In between taste-testing donuts, we’ve been dishing about book boyfriends and sipping wine.
I’ve never really had friends but when I moved to Courage County, I found Evie, Sadie, and Dotty.
Evie nods. “It doesn’t taste as sweet to me as some of the other donuts.”
She moved to town with her two brothers. The three of them moved in with Greer Maple, who I managed to gather from tonight’s conversation is Noah’s older brother.
Dotty asked me a bunch of questions about Noah as she drove me to the bakery. She’s working as an intern at The Courage Chronicle . She wants to crack a big story, but she complains that the most interesting things to ever happen here involve a runaway cow.
Sadie turns to Dotty for feedback. The writer shrugs. “It’s a donut with filling. What’s not to love?”
Sadie smiles at her but taps her pen against the clipboard. I know from her expression that she’s rethinking the ratio of ingredients in her filling. Unlike other bakeries that buy pre-made filling, Sadie makes all of her own fresh. It’s part of why her donuts are so delicious.
“Enough work.” Evie leans over and plucks the clipboard from Sadie. “You work crazy hours. You deserve to turn off that big brain for a little while.”
“And what better way than talking about those alien brothers?” Dotty says with a waggle of her eyebrows.
I reach for another sip of my wine. I was behind on our book for the week, so I caught up last night. When I read about the gruff purple alien doing filthy, filthy things to the heroine, I may have pictured a certain cowboy.
Live with me in wedded bliss and carry my heirs.
Who even says things like that? Cowboys who are crazy, that’s who. I remind myself of this as I drain my glass and refill it.
The next few hours pass enjoyably as the girls and I chat about book boyfriends. When Dotty laments men like that don’t exist in real life, Evie insists she’s living with a man who reminds her of a real-life hero. The more she talks about Greer and the way he loves her, the more my heart aches. Maybe that’s why I lost count of how many sips of wine I had.
All I know is that eventually Sadie and I are alone. Only the floor of the bakery tilts a teeny bit whenever I take a step.
“Why don’t you crash here tonight?” Sadie asks, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.
She’s so sweet. So sweet and good. But she has dark circles under her eyes. I don’t think my friend sleeps well. I hiccup. “Walsh—Walsh. Walt! That’s his name! He worries. I should go.”
“You’re in no shape to drive,” Sadie says.
I snap my fingers at her. “You don’t have to be a shape to drive.”
She blinks. “Yeah, let me look at your phone. I’ll call Walt for you. How does that sound?”
I wave her away and lean back against the kitchen counter. The kitchen portion of the bakery is pretty and clean, painted a cheerful yellow. “Do you have any more of your donuts? I think I need more donuts.”
She pauses. “Yeah, we’ll have a donut while we wait for Walt. Where’s your purse?”
“In the lobby,” I tell her as I hop up on the counter and sit. My legs dangle off the edge and I swing them, watching the way the floor likes to tilt. “You have a very wobbly building. You should get that checked.”
“Oh, I will,” she calls over her shoulder as she picks up my phone. I can see her in the dining area. It has red, round tables with chairs. Everything Sadie puts together is cute and perfect, like a little dollhouse.
She says a few words into my phone before she hangs up. Then she comes back to the kitchen where I’ve been waiting. She passes me another donut just like she said.
I beam at her. “Your donuts are almost as good as cowboys!”
She pushes a cup of coffee toward me. “Glad to hear it. Try sipping this.”
I take a sip of the black liquid. It’s bitter on my tongue, but I like the way it makes the donut taste sweeter. “He kissed me. On my forehead. Right here.” I point to the spot. If I close my eyes, I can almost feel his soft lips there again. It was the nicest feeling.
“Yeah?” Sadie says.
I eat my snack quietly, thinking about Noah. Minutes pass. Maybe hours. It’s hard to know since the numbers on the clock keep shimmering. “I have a deep, dark secret I can’t tell anyone.”
Something chimes. Maybe a phone. Doesn’t matter. I have secrets now. Secrets no one can know.
“You don’t have to tell me your secrets, sweetie,” Sadie says softly. Footsteps sound, but she isn’t walking. Weird.
“Are you ready for it?” I ask, taking a deep breath. This is the scariest thing I’ve ever done.
“Why don’t you take a night to think about it? Then you can say it in the morning,” Sadie tells me.
I open my mouth and blab anyway. “Noah Maple is the prettiest cowboy I’ve ever seen.”
“Aww, darling, that’s about the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me,” Noah says from his place in the kitchen doorway.
“Oops,” I murmur. “I think I just spilled the beans.”