10. Willa
CHAPTER 10
WILLA
“May I clear your plate?”
Charlie stands beside me, pointing at my very clean dinner plate. Blushing, I pass it over into her waiting hands.
“Thanks. Guess I was hungry.”
Was Noah a little surprised to show up and find out his biggest fan in Maple Falls is Charlotte “Charlie” Arnold? One hundred percent. Watching his face when she opened the door and he asked if her brother Charlie was home was worth the price of admission.
“Mom’s the best cook around.” Charlie grins at her parents, who sit closely together, watching every move she makes. “Her miso salmon is my favorite.”
“That’s one of my favorite meals to have when I’m training,” Noah shares, passing his plate to Charlie.
“I know. I read it somewhere and figured if that’s part of your training routine, then”—she shrugs—“you’d like it tonight. Now it’s part of my training routine, too. I’ll get dessert real quick. Be back.”
The preteen disappears into the kitchen, and Noah turns to her mother.
“So, Sarah, Charlie said she’s on a local women’s team? ”
“She is. She’s been watching ice hockey since she was a little girl—”
“That’s my fault.” Her father, Kurt, chuckles. “I used to sit with her on my knee when I’d watch the Washington Capitals play.” He casts his eyes my way, nodding. “I’m from there, so my allegiance has always been solid.”
“I get it,” I say. “I grew up an hour outside of Washington, D.C., and when we wanted to watch a game, we’d go see the Caps.”
Kurt smiles, holding up a fist in the air. It takes me a second; I stare at it and him, then my eyes flick back to Noah, who is obviously trying not to laugh. Noah looks at my hand, then back to Kurt’s, and it’s as if a tiny light bulb fires up inside my brain.
“Ah!” Giggling, I raise my fist to bump his in return, making the table laugh.
“Kurt coaches the junior league,” Sarah explains, rubbing his back. Her face glows with pride. “He could have played hockey himself if he hadn’t injured his knee in college.”
Noah tilts his head to one side. “What position did you play?”
“Goalie. Loved it. Nothing better than getting on the ice and playing defense. It was a hard job, lotta pressure, but it was for me.” He then taps his left knee. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t for my knees.”
The kitchen door swings open, and Charlie sways back into the room carrying a tray with five plates piled on it, all with something that could be a piece of cake. “Caramel banana bread, homemade by my mother.”
I take a bite, groaning. “Bananas and caramel? This is absolutely divine.”
“I heated up some more caramel to drizzle on top before I served it,” Charlie adds, sitting taller in her seat. She looks pointedly at Noah. “I think I read somewhere that you also like caramel and bananas? ”
Noah throws his head back and laughs. “You’ve really done your due diligence on me, haven’t you?”
“Better than you did for me, considering you thought I was a boy.”
Noah throws his hands up in faux surrender. “You got me, and I’m sorry about that. It was pretty silly of me to assume that my biggest fan, who also plays hockey, was a guy.”
Kurt laughs. “She’s the reason there is a women’s junior league in Maple Falls now. Made us help her petition to get names and present a case to the community board. When Troy and Kelly moved here and bought the rink, this one requested a meeting with them to get funding for the team.”
“Now, we have twenty-three players this season, not only from Maple Falls but from a few of the surrounding towns as well.” Charlie beams.
“And I guess you’re playing defense?” I ask, basing my guess on her apparent adoration of Noah.
Charlie leans against her dad’s shoulder. “I’m a goalie.”
Noah puts down his fork, leans back in his chair, and nods. “Well, I’m impressed. You are quite the force to be reckoned with, Charlie. I can’t wait to see where you end up when you’re older.”
“I want to play for the United States national women’s ice hockey team,” she informs us, matter of factly. “The University of Wisconsin has a good women’s team, so my plan is to go there and then be selected.”
“Wow,” I say, jubilant for her. “You’ve got it all under control. I love it. You’re a firecracker!”
A flush of pink hits her cheeks. “It’s just that it makes sense to me, you know?”
Beside me, Noah shifts in his seat. When I glance his way, there’s a melancholy look on his face, but his green eyes sparkle. “Yeah, Charlie. I get it.”
The car ride back is quiet. I’m not sure if it’s our full bellies or the fact it’s pitch black outside and the back of the SUV is so warm, it’s almost like a sauna. Heat always makes me sleepy, but I can’t speak for Noah.
The driver pulls up in front of my hotel, expertly navigating so he can fit into one of the parking spots out front. The glass window that separates us from him suddenly begins to slide shut, giving Noah and me some privacy.
“Well, thank you for that,” I say, gathering my bag and getting ready to hop out. “That was unexpected and just what I needed.”
“Same,” Noah replies thoughtfully. “Funny how that happens.”
“What?”
“Sometimes you don’t know it, but the thing you need to hear, or the person you need to meet, appears in front of you and changes the course of your life.” He leans forward, putting his hands on his knees. “Sometimes forever.”
“Charlie had an impact, huh?”
There’s faint light illuminating the inside of the SUV from the street lamps outside. I can see the silhouette of Noah’s head as it bobs up and down in agreement.
“She’s got so much fire in her belly, and it’s all planned out. But the look of pride on Kurt’s face …” He turns to me and smiles, his face falling into a beam from the street lamps. “That’s his daughter he gets to watch conquer the world. ”
“It was nice to see both Sarah and Kurt on the same page about Charlie’s future.”
“I didn’t have that when I was growing up,” Noah begins. “My dad was around, enough to belittle me and tell me I was worthless. At some point, he took off and left my mom to raise me. She was a nurse and worked a lot of shifts. After I got into trouble at school one day, she told me I had to find something to do after school. A club or activity that she could trust where I’d be safe or I’d have to have a babysitter.”
“You found hockey?”
“I found hockey.” He stares at his hands. If I’m not mistaken, the great Noah Beaumont seems a tad nervous. “I mean, it kind of found me. I started going to the local rink because my friends went. They were playing hockey, so I wanted to. I grew more confident on my skates, played a few games, and was spotted by a local coach who wanted some junior recruits for a men’s league. My career started from that moment.”
I place my bag down on the floor beside my feet and turn my attention to Noah. “Well, I bet your mother was proud to watch you and all of your accomplishments.”
“She was,” he says, his face blank. “She was around until I got out of college and signed with the first team I was in in the NHL. My second season, she was gone. Killed in a car accident.”
The space between us goes stone silent. I don’t know what to say. I open my mouth, wanting the right words to fall out, but I’ve got nothing. Thankfully, Noah takes me out of my misery.
“It’s fine,” he says, his hand resting on my knee as he squeezes it. “I’ve been through a lot of therapy so I can talk about it now without going off the handle. Rehab helped with that.”
A lightbulb goes on over my head. If we were in a cartoon, the whole back of this car would suddenly be lit up brighter than a Christmas tree. “Your drinking.”
“Yes.” He sighs, angling his body so he’s facing me fully. “That began a string of years I’d like to forget, all culminating in the human who stumbled onto your photoshoot that day three years ago. I should have been hawking underwear; instead, I was hungover and, well…nervous.”
“Okay, hungover I get. But nervous?”
“The minute you marched up to me and told me I was a pain in your butt, I think I started to fall for you,” he murmurs, slowly dragging his eyes to meet mine.
“Oh.” That’s all I’ve got. Way with your words, Willa. What a charmer.
The electricity in the air actually snaps off around us, the space between Noah and me seems to be getting smaller and it’s like this moment in time has come to a full stop. Somewhere in the front of the SUV is a man sitting behind the steering wheel, probably waiting to get home to his family and here we are in the back seat staring at each other like lovesick teens.
Wait. Am I lovesick? The pounding in my heart tells me yes, but there’s a voice in my head that’s screaming “Slow down!”
Noah reaches his hand out slowly, his fingertips drawing a line on the edge of my jaw as he cups my cheek. It’s at this moment, as Noah’s mouth and its intentions come into clear focus, that I tell that nagging voice in my head to shut up and take notes.
The delicious satisfaction when his soft lips land on mine is something I want to hold onto forever. I feel his body tense as he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me hard against his chest, but not in a rigid way, more like he’s restraining himself to some degree. As his mouth slides along mine, there’s a faint hint in his kiss of caramel, banana, and brown sugar. This man is oozing with sweetness coming out of his pores. I let one arm slowly snake its way behind his neck, pulling him and his mouth closer to me, parts of me responding in ways I didn't know they could.
This kiss is one that wouldn’t be seen as chaste, but it’s not like it’s over the top X-rated either; it’s two people, tangled up in one another, dipping their toes in the water. But, my goodness, the water is warm and I want to stay. This man’s mouth is skillful and inviting, and did I mention the brown sugar?
As the intensity ebbs, I pull away, not letting my eyes meet his. Touching my lips with my fingers, I bite back a smile, sitting back against the plush leather seats and sighing. As I take a big breath in, I catch notes of what I’d describe to be clean sheets. Must be from his laundry detergent. I need to know what it is, because it’s for sure an aphrodisiac, at least for me.
The window at the front begins to slowly wind down again, and the two of us fly apart to opposite sides of the back seat, like two heavyweight fighters breaking it up on the mat.
“Sorry to interrupt,” the driver calls out, “but Coach Strickland said that curfew is a real thing for you guys and I need to get you back.”
“Right,” Noah says. “Thank you.” He turns back to me, his hand gripping mine. “Before you hop out of the car and I turn into a pumpkin, can you tell me why you keep posting pictures in the park of the trees and birds while you’re here?”
“Are you stalking me on social media?” I tease. “Cinder-fella, I need you to calm down.”
“Does that make you Princess Charming?” He laughs.
“I’m okay with wearing the pants,” I manage to retort, grabbing my bag from its spot on the floor. I put my hand on the door handle to get out. “And I’m taking pictures because I’m trying to snap one of this rare bird that’s only been seen on this side of the country, the Blue Rock Thrush. The Smithsonian Museum is offering a monetary reward if someone can get a good shot of it. I figure, while I’m here I may as well try. It would all go to my mom anyway.”
I jump out, then turn back to find Noah scooting across the seat. He perches on its edge and pulls me in, close to him. His arms wrap around me and I let my hands rest on his knees, the heat of the SUV and Noah warming my front, while the chill of the night air hits my back.
“I’ll text you this week so we can figure out the next shoot. Be good to get some photos of you in town or maybe doing drills at the rink.”
He cocks his head to one side, tucking a stray piece of my hair behind an ear. “Sure, but I’d like to do this again. No camera, no agenda. Just Willa and Noah, talking. Can we?”
The warmth that rises from inside me gives me the response I need. His hands tighten on my waist and he places his lips softly on top of mine.
Pulling away, I bite my lower lip in an effort to keep the silly grin that threatens to burst forth in its place for now.
“I’d like that,” I say, turning on my heel and waving a hand over my shoulder.
“When?” he calls out as I skip up the steps to the hotel entrance.
When I reach the top step, I turn around and place a hand on my hip. “Are you asking me out on a date?” I call out, attracting the attention of at least a few passersby and the concierge who’s patiently waiting with the door open to let me in.
Noah laughs. “You bet I am. So?”
I’m grinning like the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland , and I’m feeling like I’ve fallen down my own proverbial rabbit hole. I take a few steps backward, in the direction of the hotel, but make sure not to leave him hanging.
“I’d like that,” I say, loud enough for him to hear. Why not? This man seems to have gotten his act together. When I think about it, even tonight, he held the door open for me, he made sure I was comfortable at every turn, and I even caught him with his arm on the back of my chair. And he admitted that I made him nervous when we met—because he liked me? “Have your people call my people, and we’ll make a plan.”
I don’t stay to see his reaction. I turn on my heel and flounce inside, headed to my room.
This night is going to live rent-free in my head for some time to come.