Chapter 41
Noa
P lacing a pint of bitter down in front of Richard Morley, Noa wiped her sticky hands on her apron and rang it through the till.
This job was exactly what Noa needed. Living at home had meant that she didn’t need for much and, after the small amount of rent that her mum asked for, the part-time wage was still plenty to cover what she needed it to.
She’d even been putting a little into savings for when she finally had a piece of work she was proud enough to publish.
The price of that wouldn’t come cheap. She’d need to hire an editor, a cover designer, maybe get some marketing help.
So, the more she could save, the better.
The thought had her glancing at the tip jar on the corner of the bar and smiling at how generous this town was.
Working in the evenings gave her plenty of time every day to dedicate to writing.
She’d made a conscious effort to get out the house too—going on walks, writing in the park, by the lake, or anywhere pretty that would inspire her and aid in her creativity like travelling had done.
It had worked so far, and she was now around eighty percent through her first novel, which tackled subjects like loss of identity, mental health struggles, and starting over in your late twenties.
Basically, everything these last few months had taught her.
She was trying to write the book she wished she’d been able to read when she was struggling with these things herself, and to create something that mattered.
She wanted to make relatable characters that people could get lost in and be left feeling less alone by the end of it.
Doing so felt cathartic and gave Noa a sense of purpose that she’d been lacking for the longest time.
Alex did everything he could to support her, too, and she couldn’t be more grateful for all his help.
In the past, she had been so stubborn. She’d felt the need to prove that she could do everything on her own.
Maybe because Lucas made her feel she had to and, maybe, because she didn’t want to be ‘that kind of girl’.
The kind of girl who relied wholly on a man.
The kind of girl who can’t be independent or stand on her own two feet.
But, along with the other things she had learnt and let go of recently, the negative stereotypes that society had put in her head of how women should act and behave had been one of them.
She still wanted to be independent, but having someone to rely on and seek comfort and support from had been nice, and knowing she could do this on her own, but didn’t have to, warmed her from the inside out .
Sarah Kingsley walked up to the bar then, her warm smile on full display.
She was the town’s local bookshop owner.
Noa had always seen her as a motherly figure, probably because she was her mum’s age and had always gone out of her way to talk to Noa, checking in on her and taking a genuine interest in her life.
She also had this friendly and dependable aura about her that made you want to spill all your secrets to her and let her give you her wise words of advice.
Noa fell into that again now, when Sarah pushed her wine glass onto the bar before asking, ‘How are you, Lovey? It’s nice to see your beautiful eyes for once instead of the top of your head as you frantically scribble into the pages of that book of yours.’
She knew Sarah was referring to the fact that Noa had been sitting on the bench outside her shop to write whenever she got chance.
When the sun was out, from that bench she got a view of ‘The Next Chapter’, which was the name of Sarah’s shop, as well as the breathtaking backdrop of the mountains behind it.
They rolled and fell for miles in the background, looking like a patchwork quilt of greens, browns, and yellows.
The view filled her with inspiration, similarly to how the experiences on her travels had.
Deciding to be honest and say exactly that, Noa responded.
‘That bench has the best view in town. I’m surprised it’s not made it onto a post card yet,’ Noa giggled. ‘And there’s something poetic about writing a novel whilst sitting in front of a bookshop. It’s inspiring, looking up at the books and thinking, maybe, I could be there one day.’
This was the first time Noa had said those words to anyone outside her family, that she was writing a novel. But she didn’t want to let fear dictate her life anymore, and it felt good to tell her.
Sarah’s grin spread even wider.
‘Oh, Noa, that’s so exiting! I can’t wait to see it on my shelves. You can count on me to have the biggest Noa Drake window display in the whole country.’
Her words warmed Noa, and she was reminded of what was so special about Freymoor. This community was more like one big family. She could travel the whole world, but she would never get this anywhere else.
The telltale sound of Albert clearing his throat told Noa that open mic night was about to start. She scurried over to the end of the bar where Tes sat waiting for her.
Tes had been coming to the bar to spend some time with Noa every Friday night. Open mic nights had always been their guilty pleasure, and she loved having her best friend there to keep her company as she worked.
Or, at least, made it look like she was working whilst she put the world to rights with her bestie.
Although Alex hadn’t said anything about her lack of commitment on those nights, he had conveniently brought in an extra waitress to help out when Noa worked on Fridays, like he wanted to allow her that time with her friend.
He really would do anything to make her happy.
It's true that it really does pay to date the boss. Because that’s what it seemed they were doing now—dating. Not in public, of course. But even so, the time they spent together still felt so perfect.
She knew her feelings for Alex were growing exponentially and, at some point, she was going to have to confront them.
Alex didn’t deserve all the sneaking around and, truthfully, the way he made her feel about him, she didn’t want to sneak around, either.
This didn’t feel like just a short term, casual fling anymore.
She wasn’t entirely sure it ever had, but it felt easier to think of it that way at first. It felt like she could justify moving on from Lucas so quickly that way.
Now, she was sure that she wanted everyone to know that they were together.
Even if they hadn’t actually said that yet.
In her head, they were exclusive, and, at some point, she would make sure Alex knew that, too.
I t was a typical Friday. She and Tes chatted at the bar, like she wasn’t there to do a job.
‘Do we need to have a talk?’ Tes asked.
‘Sorry?’
‘Well, I’ve been talking to you for the past ten minutes, and I don’t think you’ve heard a word I’ve said whilst you’ve been staring at the man wiping those tables over there with hearts in your eyes.
Which, I’m pretty sure, is your job by the way, not his.
So, I guess we know who’s wrapped around who’s finger. ’
As Tes said it, she silently clapped in Noa’s direction in a teasing sort of praise.
‘Stop it,’ Noa laughed, fighting the urge to fake a bow in response.
‘I’m just saying, if you have feelings for him, like the ones I can see plastered across your face, you need to tell him sooner rather than later.
You told me recently that life’s too short to not go after what you want.
Didn’t your trip teach you not to sit around and wait for things to come to you?
Doesn’t that apply here? Alex has been a player up until now, but people change, Noa.
You’ve seen that. Don’t wait until it’s too late… grab onto the man and hold tight.’
The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. Noa knew Tes was right. Her friend could be frustratingly wise sometimes.
‘I know, you’re right. It just feels like things are so good right now, and I don’t want to rock the boat. Once I tell him and, if things get serious, it’ll mean it’s finally time to tell Ryan. I just… I don’t want to ruin it. I like our perfect bubble, you know?’
Tes nodded, and then responded, ‘I hate to break it to you, but the way you two spend every spare second together and the way you both look at each other… it’s already serious. You just need to put your big girl pants on. Grab life by the boobs and take what you want.’
Noa’s eyes drifted to Alex then, who was laughing with Terry Finch, owner of Finches of Freymoor, the local food market, as he carried in crates of sundries for The Brew.
She felt her heart beat faster seeing him in these moments, effortlessly happy and completely at one with the town they grew up in.
It was contentment and belonging written across his face as other locals joined their conversation.
Home , she thought, with her eyes glued to him. It had taken her too long to figure out, but he was home. Tears pricked behind her eyes as an overwhelming urge to go and wrap herself up in him gripped her. She wanted to bask in the scent of tobacco, vanilla, and spice until it was all she knew.
Sighing in acceptance, and knowing what she needed to do, Noa nodded in response to Tes without even looking at her.