23. Back to England
Back to England
Noah snuck a peek at his silent companion. Claire sat against the car door, staring out the window, watching the miles go by. She'd been quiet the entire ride and he wondered if her thoughts were as chaotic as his. Did she have regrets? Was she second-guessing herself?
Their morning— was it really still Wednesday?
—had started with a rush to reach the Air Force base, a short flight to Birmingham, and a quick handoff to the hire car.
Between the crowd on the plane and the driver's presence in the car, they'd had no chance to talk about what had happened.
Not that he was sure what he would've said.
Thank goodness he'd had the foresight to arrange the car yesterday afternoon, because last night, he'd been spectacularly distracted.
He never thought he'd accuse modern conveniences of cock-blocking, but the timing of the power coming back on was almost comical.
He'd been this close to sweet-talking Claire into his bed.
And while he understood her reasons for declining, his body had filed a formal protest. Still, that she'd even considered it? That had floored him.
Until this trip, her lack of reaction to their obvious physical attraction had left him guessing. But last night? And this morning? Yeah, they'd made the right call. Their reputations were too important to risk on something that might've been a short-lived thrill.
And yet, he couldn't stop thinking about it.
Relief loosened something in his chest as the car finally pulled to a stop in front of his house. His cobalt-blue door stood out among the row of neutral facades, and the sight of it grounded him. He'd loved that color from the moment he saw it—bold, unapologetic, and his.
"Thanks, Ferris," Noah said, grabbing his bag as the driver helped Claire with hers. They'd all shared a laugh at the airport over the novelty of seeing him again so soon.
"You're sure you don't need a ride to the office?" Ferris asked.
"No, mate, we're good. Appreciate you being available at such short notice."
While Noah said their goodbyes to Ferris, Claire yawned and studied his neighborhood.
She'd gotten no sleep last night, her mind replaying Noah's invitation over and over and wondering if she'd made the right call.
Or if she'd ruined everything by saying no.
With the rush to get back to England, they'd had no time to check in with each other.
"No one would know." She shivered as Noah's words whispered through her head again. How strange to feel desire and fear at the same time. He couldn't have known that Stephan had said something eerily similar—only far more menacing.
She'd been able to push aside the shock of those words quickly, which made her happy.
Every day, she felt more like the person she used to be.
But the temptation to follow him to his bedroom and ignore that they worked together?
Brinnie's cackle sounded in her head along with a hearty, "Oh, Lordy!
" Just thinking about what might have happened made her all tingly and fluttery.
But common sense had reared its head. She sighed.
But man, those kisses… Yum .
"This one's mine," Noah said, interrupting her wicked thoughts.
She smiled. He often talked with Larry about the remodeling work he'd done, and she was eager to see it for herself.
Noah glanced back at Claire trudging up the walk behind him. "You good?"
"Yep. Hey, is this awkward for you?" Claire asked.
Noah slowed, wondering to which "this" she referred. He wasn't uncomfortable after almost spending the night together, but perhaps she felt weird about it. When she didn't elaborate, he braced himself and prodded, "This?"
She nodded at the blue door they were approaching. "Letting a colleague into your personal space."
Noah let out a breath and relaxed, pulling his house keys out of his pocket.
Yesterday, when they'd decided to go straight to work from the airport, he'd realized they'd need to stop at his place for his car or he and Claire would wind up stranded at the office when the workday ended.
At the time, he hadn't thought much about bringing her here, but now that she brought it up, nerves struck.
He was curious to see what she thought of his home, and also nervous about inviting her in.
He was proud of his home, and for some odd reason, wanted her to like it.
"I've had workmates over before. Some of my best mates are guys from work."
"And women?" she asked. Was she wondering about his love life? The question had a saucy tone to it, but the slight tremble at the end gave her away. She was probing into his love life.
He sent a jaunty look over his shoulder as he inserted his house key. "Yes, there've been women from work over too." He gave her a wink and pushed open the door for her to enter.
"We don't have much time or I'd give you the full tour.
Right now, Simon expects us to join the one o'clock virtual call, so we need to pick up lunch on the way and hope we have time to eat beforehand.
The toilet's through there if you need to use it.
My car's out back, through there when you're done.
" He nodded with his head toward the kitchen at the back of the ground floor. "Okay?"
"I don't need a pit stop. Lead the way to the car." She rolled her bag down the hall he'd indicated.
Noah stashed his suitcase around the corner, then followed her.
He almost ran over her when she stopped and gawked at his kitchen.
It was the first thing he'd modernized when he moved in, and he was pretty proud of it.
He'd restored the wooden beams to their original state, installed a farmhouse sink, replaced the countertops, and upgraded all the appliances.
The room was a mix of rustic old and shiny new, which made cooking easy.
He'd called it "grandma gets an upgrade" and laughed at how often his mum talked about stealing his kitchen for her own.
"This is beautiful, Noah," Claire said as she took in the room. He slipped past her and grabbed his car fob from the key rack next to the back door.
"You like it?"
"Yes, very much so. It looks so functional. I'd love to cook in here." She ran her fingers along the granite countertop.
He opened the door and motioned for her to come. "I tell you what, I'll take you up on that offer this week. I'll bring you over, give you the full tour, and let you cook with me. But right now, we have to go. Please. We're going to be late."
She shook her head, laughter dancing in her eyes. "I never realized you were so fussy. Okay, I'm coming."
"Fussy?" He scoffed. "I'm not fussy. I just don't like being late. Now, after you, madam, if you please." He held the door for her. As she walked by, he slid his hand under hers on her suitcase handle, liberating it from her so he could load it into the boot of his car.