Chapter 15 RECIPE FOR ROMANCE #2
‘I’m doing it!’ I squealed, bobbing up and down in my seat as we inched out of the garage and down the driveway.
‘Just be gentle when we turn out onto the street,’ said Noah, whose knuckles were white against his seat. ‘These things have a pretty low centre of gravity, but they can topple if you’re not careful.’
I chewed on my lip in concentration as I swung the golf cart to the left. I took the turn so wide that I almost knocked over a trash can and then a mailbox, but the golf cart prevailed. So did a nearby hedge.
‘How am I doing?’ I asked as we chugged along the street, veering slightly to the left or right here and there, but on average moving in a straight line.
‘You’re doing a great job,’ said Noah, who looked as though he’d aged ten years in the past ten minutes.
‘You should sketch this,’ I said, grinning. ‘Mom will never believe it without evidence.’
Waiting for his response, I took my eye off the road.
Apparently, even when you were cruising at about five miles an hour, this was a bad idea, because a picket fence suddenly loomed before us.
It turned out that in a scary situation my default mode was flight, because I dropped my hands from the steering wheel and shrank backwards.
Noah leaned over me, grabbing the wheel and scooting my foot off the accelerator, letting the cart roll to a safe stop. A woman walking a chihuahua while simultaneously texting gave us a wide berth. I suspected she was reporting us for reckless driving on the local Facebook page.
‘Are you okay?’ said Noah, glancing down at me.
He was so close – close enough to kiss, and in that moment it took every ounce of strength I had not to give in to the urge. Because what would happen if I did kiss him? If I took his face in my hands and leaned in, consequences be damned?
I knew what would happen in the moment, and I ached to feel it. But what would happen after that moment was another question entirely. Decisions didn’t happen in a vacuum.
I thought of what Tiff had said about choosing neither. Then about what Lara had said about choosing both.
What were you supposed to do when your heart refused to make up its mind?
When we emerged from the general store, Lara was perched on the golf cart, positioning a cowboy hat on her head as she instructed poor Jack to take photos of her.
The shutter sound clicked rapidly as Jack obediently did so while multi-tasking with a crepe he’d picked up from one of the vendors along the boardwalk.
I had to admit that I quite liked what I’d seen of Jack so far.
Perhaps he had staying power beyond a fling.
‘Well, hello,’ purred Lara as Noah and I set our shopping bags down on the back seat. ‘Having a little outing, are we? With … Noah.’
Of course. The last time she’d seen me I’d been on Finn’s arm, and now I was with a different brother altogether.
‘I do leave the house on occasion,’ said Noah, amused.
‘We’re just getting some ingredients for dinner tonight,’ I said, hoping she wouldn’t press the whole we issue.
‘You’re cooking?’ Lara raised a perfect eyebrow. ‘Look at you go.’
‘She also drove here,’ said Noah, a tinge of pride in his voice. Or maybe it was disbelief.
‘Shut up. You did not.’ Lara gave me one of her patented whacks.
I beamed. ‘We only had two near misses. Would you like to join us? For dinner? We’re doing a whole spread for Rosie.’
Lara cocked her head, holding her cowboy hat so it wouldn’t fall. ‘I mean, if we wouldn’t be interrupting anything …’ She considered. ‘You know what, we’re going to head down to the beach for a bit, but how about we swing by later? We’ll bring wine.’
‘I think we’re pretty set for wine,’ I said, contemplating Rosie’s enormous wine fridge.
‘Fine, a dessert. I’ll stop by Lorraine’s. I’ll let Tiff know as well.’
I frowned. ‘Tiff’s with you?’
Lara nodded. ‘She stopped by on a walk a little while ago. She said something about needing a meeting room because the Wi-Fi was being weird at the Pink House. Secretly, I think she actually wanted to try the scones at the B&B.’
‘They’re really good,’ said Jack, who’d just polished off the rest of his crepe. Apparently, he had quite the sweet tooth. ‘They make their own preserves. And they use Kerrygold.’
‘Rosie would approve,’ I said, climbing into the passenger side of the golf cart.
‘No. Nope,’ said Lara, shoving me so that I slid back over into the driver’s seat. ‘I was promised entertainment. You’re driving.’
I switched the golf cart on and we puttered off, too much cheering and whooping from Lara.
‘Don’t look back,’ said Noah, ‘because I don’t want you to crash the golf cart into the boardwalk railing, and about half the town is watching us go.’
I groaned, flooring the accelerator pedal. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
We trundled back to the house sans any additional drama, although Noah did help me park the cart back in the garage just in case I managed to hit a load-bearing wall.
‘Wow,’ I said, wiping my palms down on my skirt. ‘I can’t believe I actually did that.’
‘There and back again,’ said Noah, amused. ‘Like a hobbit.’
‘Minus the hairy feet.’
When he shot me a slightly concerned look, I added, ‘I shave them.’
He laughed – a deep, genuine laugh that sparked something within me. Flushing, I hefted my shopping bags and carried them inside.
Over the next couple of hours, Noah and I chit-chatted as we prepped for the dinner, gathering bright plates and dishes to serve our dips in, and chopping vegetables on Rosie’s fancy cutting board.
I’d never cooked using so many dishes in my life, but Noah somehow kept on top of it all, making sure we were cleaning up as we went, and that the sink was never piled too high with knives and measuring cups.
We made a good team, I thought, working comfortably beside each other to put together a special evening for someone we both loved deeply.
It felt like something I’d happily continue doing, with this person by my side.
That is, until Finn showed up.