Chapter 7 Delylah
Delylah
The hotel room’s phone was pressed between my shoulder and ear as I flipped through the menu on my lap.
“Anything else, Miss Banks?” the woman in the kitchen asked.
“Dessert.” I tapped the last page. “Any recommendations?”
“You can’t go wrong with any of the options, but my favorites are the fruit tart and chocolate cake.”
“Great. I’ll have both.”
“Excellent decision,” she said. “Let me just read this back to you. I’ve got a cheeseburger, medium well. A side of steak fries. The mini crab cakes. A loaded baked potato. A fruit tart and a chocolate cake. Anything else?”
There was a very real chance I wouldn’t fit in my bridesmaid dress tomorrow. “Could I also have a Diet Coke? Actually, red wine. I mean both. A Diet Coke and a glass of red wine. Your house cabernet will be lovely.”
“Of course. We’ll have that up to you shortly.”
“Thanks.” I returned the phone to its cradle and flopped on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
It was painted a pretty shade of cream, just like the walls, that brightened the space and complemented the plush white bedding. The bed frame was made of rustic reclaimed wood. A soft burgundy rug covered most of the oak floor.
As far as hotel rooms went, this was certainly not a bad place to spend a quiet night. Except there was a pit in my stomach that half of the room service menu wasn’t going to fill. I wanted to be in that canvas tent, sitting on the floor, playing cards with Noah.
Maybe it was for the best.
I’d spent most of my life dreaming of Noah Chappel. If something happened between us and then it fell apart, well . . . maybe I was better off dreaming.
He’d been about to kiss me, right? Or had I imagined him leaning in? I guess I’d never know.
When it came to Noah, timing had never been on our side. Maybe that was for a reason. Maybe it was time to finally let him go.
On a sigh, I pushed up on my elbow and trudged into the bathroom to comb my damp hair. I’d taken a hot shower after we’d gotten back to the lodge, and the edges of the mirror were still fogged. The scrape on my leg was tender, so was my ankle, but neither ached as much as my heart.
A knock came as I was putting away the hair dryer. I limped across the room, opening the door. “Thank”—my lip curled—“you?”
Jake stood in the hallway, dressed in dark jeans and a crisp gray button-down. His eyes were clear, his face freshly shaved. He must have slept off this morning’s bourbon. His gaze dragged up and down my baggy sweats. “You made it back.”
“Sure did.”
“I was worried.”
“No, you weren’t.” I crossed my arms over my chest, arching an eyebrow. “What do you want, Jake?”
“I thought we could start over.” He cleared his throat and held out a hand, giving me a devilish smile that might have been handsome if not for the sheer arrogance radiating from his body. “Jake Hearst.”
I forced a smile. “While I appreciate the effort, there’s really no need.”
“How about a date to the wedding tomorrow?”
“No, thank you.”
“Dinner tonight?” He was persistent, I’d give him that.
“I just ordered room service.”
“You don’t want to eat alone. I’ll join you.” He took a step forward to cross the threshold, but I held up a hand, planting it over his sternum and pushing him back.
“Jake. It’s a no.”
“Look, I know Emily was hoping we’d date or something. She told me about what happened with your ex.” He leaned forward, lowering his voice. “This doesn’t have to be anything serious. Just a hookup for the weekend. Call me a rebound if you want.”
I was really going to love slamming the door in this guy’s face.
Except before I could swing it closed, he went flying backward, yanked by the collar of that starched shirt.
“You have three seconds to get the fuck out of this hallway before I throw you out a window.”
Noah.
He glowered at Jake, fists planted on his hips. Annoyance and anger radiated off his towering frame.
Jake righted his shirt and sneered. “She’s not even that hot.”
Noah turned and faced me. “Yeah, she is.”
My heart skipped.
“Your hair looks nice.” Noah leaned a shoulder on the open doorframe.
“Thanks.” I stared up at him, wishing my belly wouldn’t flip whenever he was around.
Jake muttered something under his breath and stomped down the hall, probably to find a new bottle of bourbon.
“Sorry,” Noah said. “I know you had that handled, but I couldn’t resist.”
“It’s okay. Though I was looking forward to slamming the door in his face.”
“Want to slam it in mine instead?” he teased.
“That depends. What are you doing here, Noah?”
“I was hoping you’d be my date to the wedding tomorrow.”
It took everything I had not to say yes. More than anything, I wanted to go with Noah. But I also couldn’t ignore the elephant somewhere in this lodge. “What about Emily?”
“Well, I think she’ll be there too. She was talking about wearing a white dress.”
“Funny.” I bit my lip to hide a smile.
“I’m not sure what’s going to happen,” he said. “I just know that I can’t be in the same room as you anymore and pretend like you’re not the only woman I can see.”
My breath hitched.
“I have a crush on you, Delylah Banks.”
The sixteen-year-old Delylah Banks inside of me screamed at the top of her lungs. Twenty-six-year-old Delylah Banks wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. It seemed too good to be true.
“So . . . tomorrow?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
“Me too.” He reached for my hair, brushing the bangs off my brow. His thumb skated across my cheek, leaving tingles in the wake of his touch. “Good night.”
He backed away, about to retreat down the hall.
“Noah.” I reached for his arm, pulling him back. “I ordered dinner. Cheeseburger. Fries. Mini crab cakes. Loaded baked potato.”
“Is that all?”
“Fruit tart. Chocolate cake. Diet Coke. Wine.”
He chuckled. “What’s on your mind, Lylah?”
I loved that he knew me well enough to know I sorted through my feelings with junk food. “Would you have kissed me in the tent?”
“Definitely.” He inched closer. My pulse quickened as he lifted both hands, framing my face. His thumb dragged over my bottom lip. “I’m going to fuck up your hair.”
My knees buckled. “Yes, please.”
We moved at the same time, colliding in the threshold. Noah swept me off my feet, his arms banding around my waist. Mine clung to his shoulders. His mouth crushed mine as he took two long strides into the room, kicking the door shut before he pressed me against the nearest wall.
As promised, he fucked up my hair.
I was surrounded by cowboys.
Not only the wannabe cowboys from the city, but real cowboys who’d donned their best for this reception and were turning this night into a hell of a party.
Montana weddings were the best.
The barn at the Haven River Ranch was packed with people. Some were the guests from New York, but most were locals who’d come from town for the wedding. Familiar faces crowded the dance floor as the band played a George Strait cover.
Emily and Luca were slow dancing even though the couples around them were doing a two-step or jitterbug. But ever since they’d kissed during the ceremony, they’d been in this happy bubble, mostly oblivious to everyone else.
The brunette in front of me at the bar fanned her face as she stared at the crush of people on the dance floor. She seemed close to my age and, given her Dior clutch, a guest of Luca’s. “I need to marry a cowboy.”
I followed her gaze, spotting the Haven brothers at a nearby table. Like most of the local guys here tonight, both West and Jax were wearing cowboy hats and boots. And both seemed to have gotten even more handsome in the past eight years.
When I was in high school, all the girls would swoon whenever there was a Haven-brother sighting in town. They were arguably two of the most attractive men I’d ever seen in my life, and their wives were stunning.
West’s wife, Indya, sat on his lap, laughing at something he said while he toyed with one of her blond curls. Sasha and Jax were cuddled so closely together their chairs might as well have fused.
I lifted my camera and snapped a few photos of the Havens to share with Emily’s album, then let my lens swing to the other side of the room, where another cowboy caught my eye.
Noah was talking to my parents, the three of them standing at the edge of the dance floor. Like he felt my gaze, his smile widened.
He bent and kissed my mom on the cheek, then clapped Dad on the shoulder before weaving through the crowd.
“Wow,” the brunette said under her breath. “Tell me he’s single.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Sorry. Not single.”
“Damn.” She shuffled with the line, turning her attention toward the bar.
Noah came to a stop in front of me, the gold flecks of his hazel eyes brighter in the golden glow of the room. “Did you get it?”
“Yep.”
The other photographer was milling around the room, taking pictures of the guests. She’d been so busy making sure she got the centerpieces and cakes she’d missed the best shot.
As the sun was setting on the ranch, I’d pulled Emily and Luca outside for a few minutes. With the sky alight with pastels, I’d sent them into a meadow and told Luca to pick her up. He spun her in two circles, the skirt of her dress swishing over the grass.
If I knew Emily—and I knew Emily—it would be the photo she had framed for above their mantel.
“Let’s dance.” Noah took my hand and led me to where we’d been sitting so I could drop off my camera. Then he pulled me to the dance floor as the band started a slow song. He pulled me close and kept one arm banded around my back as his body swayed.
God, he smelled good. I leaned against him, pressing my cheek to his heart in exactly the same place where I’d slept last night, draped over Noah’s bare chest.
He released his hold to spin me in a circle before pulling me even closer. “I can’t fucking wait to strip you out of this dress later.”
My cheeks warmed as a throb bloomed in my core. “Think they’ll notice if we leave?”
He growled, a raw, sexy sound from his throat. “Don’t tempt me.”
“After cake.”
“We’ll take it to go.”
I smiled, looking up at him as he led me around the dance floor.
As the band changed to a fast song, he came to a stop, framing my face in his hands. “Our parents are watching us, aren’t they?”
I shifted to glance past his arm to where his parents and mine were, in fact, watching. “Yep.”
“How do you think your mom and dad would react if I kissed you right now?”
Dad would probably give us a thumbs-up. He was a thumbs-up kind of guy. Mom would wait a maximum of five minutes before hurrying over to the table where the Havens were sitting and inquiring about availability for a future wedding weekend.
They loved Noah.
“Guess there’s only one way to find out,” I said.
He grinned, then brushed his mouth against mine. The kiss started slow and soft, but then he licked the seam of my lips. The moment his tongue slipped inside, tangling with mine, my entire world seemed to flip.
Upside down. Right side up.
And just like my favorite photographs, the edges blurred until all that remained was Noah and me, in perfect focus.