Chapter 10
Lewis
“Morning, Lew,” Noah greeted me with a big grin on his face, his whole body vibrating with excitement as I picked him up for our first fake date.
I’d tried to dress up as much as I could without looking like a fool, and, judging by the way he looked at me, I’d succeeded.
“You look amazing,” he said in a hoarse voice before clearing his throat.
“Thanks, you too. I tried to look nice for the camera.” I shrugged, feeling my ears heat.
“You could have worn those ripped jeans and that T-shirt you wore to the airport and would have looked hot, Sinclair.” Noah quivered his lips at me, then—oh, fuck me—ran his pink tongue over his bottom lip.
I vividly remembered the outfit I had worn when Ollie and I had picked him up from the airport the previous week. He’d called me perfect that day—twice.
As far as I knew Ollie hadn’t checked on Noah at all since he had arrived.
Damn you, Ollie!
I wanted Noah to be so happy about being back in Scotland that he didn’t want to leave. What would happen if Noah thought nobody but me gave a fuck? Having Ollie on my team would help, I was sure, but if he didn’t show up for his brother, I would.
I’ll convince him to stay.
“Uh, I got you something.” Noah’s face went through a range of emotions in the space of only a couple of heartbeats: surprise, then shock, then...
“Noah? Oh no, don’t cry, please. It’s just, ah.
I had a bit of time the other day and N?kken isn’t too far away and …
.” My voice trailed off as I pulled a bawling Noah into a hug.
“Do you want to see what I got for you or do you want me to take it back?” I asked him when he’d calmed down again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“Lewis.” Noah squeezed my forearm to make me shut up. “Of course I want to see it.”
I opened the boot of my truck and took out a large cardboard box.
Did I go overboard with this?
Well, it was too late to turn back now. I carried it inside and set it down on the couch.
Noah stared at the contents for a long moment, then he flung himself into my arms again and hugged me around the waist.
Once he’d calmed down, he pulled out two fluffy orange blankets, four throw pillows—I’d got them all because I couldn’t make up my mind which design he’d like best—a houseplant with an orange pot, a couple of candles, and an orange watering can.
“You are ….” He cleared his throat. “Thank you so much. And you got everything in orange,” Noah added in a whisper.
“It was always your favourite colour. I hope you still like it.”
“I do.” He sniffed. “I can’t believe you remember that.” When he wiped his face on his cuffs, I slipped my arm back around his shoulders and pulled him close to my chest one more time.
The kiss I dropped on his temple surprised me as much as it did Noah. His head snapped around and, for a moment, our faces were only inches apart. All I had to do was lean in and I could kiss him. Instead he stepped back and cleared his throat.
“Uh.” I rubbed my hand over my neck with embarrassment. “Shall we get going?”
“Yeah.” Noah’s grin returned. “Bye, Mr Pickles.” He scratched the scrawny cat under the chin and locked the shack behind us.
We climbed into my car, and without thinking, I leaned over to buckle his seatbelt, coming dangerously close to his face again and pulling away from him before I did something dumb.
“Sorry,” I huffed. I’d never done that for one of my dates before.
Nope, because it’s only ever been about sex.
“It’s okay.” He coughed quietly and straightened out his sweater.
I buckled my seatbelt, started my car, and pressed a few buttons on the dashboard to get some music playing and to turn the heater up to keep Noah warm.
He was so delicate, and it was close to freezing outside even though the sun stood in the sky.
The first song that came on was Juna Lux’s ‘Neon Chapel’.
A glance at him told me he smiled out the window and mouthed along to the lyrics.
So sweet.
“I need to turn the seat heater off,” he told me after a while in a small voice.
Shit, did I fry his balls?
I never minded the heat but sometimes forgot other people didn’t appreciate it when their asses were well-done by the time they got out of my truck.
“Sure, sorry if it was too warm.”
“Nah, it’s great, but it’s so comfy that I’ll probably fall asleep if I keep it on.” He uttered a little boyish giggle that threatened to melt me into a puddle again.
How is that a constant threat when he’s around?
“Noah?” I cringed.
Why is my voice so horny?
“Yeah?” he rumbled back.
“Leave it on. I’ll wake you when we get there.” I squeezed his knee but let go of him at once.
His eyes hung on the spot where my hand had been for a long moment but he didn’t comment, and before long he was out.