Chapter Twenty-Five
The Striped Cat
“It’s going to be around the bend, on your right,” Nicholas informs Noah from the back seat.
“Got it,” he says, nodding.
His Bentley rolls through the English countryside, passing cobblestone fences and rolling fields of green. We whiz by pastures full of sheep. Round through villages with old stone homes. Receive the shade of leafy trees hanging over certain parts of the road.
But just as Nicholas said, up around the corner is The Striped Cat Pub, which is one of our favourite pubs in Dorset. The building is old—from the 1500s—and is made of stone and has a charming thatched roof. Ivy climbs up one wall, covering nearly the whole side of the building. The Striped Cat is a local favourite for its outdoor garden, which is a perfect spot to enjoy a pint on a beautiful summer night like this.
“I have beaten Nicholas many a times here on Quiz Night,” I tease my twin.
“I’ve beat him, too!” Amelia cries in delight.
“You both got lucky with topics that are in your wheelhouse,” Nicholas declares.
“Do they have Quiz Night tonight?” Noah asks. “We could place some bets.”
“No, that would be completely unfair because now you know to put money on Nicholas finishing last,” I tease.
“Shut up,” Nicholas says good-naturedly from the back seat. “But no, there’s no Quiz Night on Saturday. We’ll have to resort to talking to each other for entertainment.”
I glance at Noah. That first night at Wisteria House, he was quiet and didn’t speak much at all. At least from what I can remember of him. When he came to stay with us in Dorset, he was still quiet within the group, but began to open up to me. Before this past week, I would have wondered if he would be more reserved in the presence of Nicholas and Amelia.
But from the relaxed expression on his face, I know he’s going to be just fine conversing with them tonight.
Noah eases into a parking spot and turns off the engine. We all get out of the car and head inside. Because it’s Saturday night, the pub is full—both with people at the bar and on the restaurant side.
And because of that, I know Noah could easily draw a lot of attention. “Noah, would it be easier if we sit outside? To keep you from being recognised? You could keep your sunglasses on out there.”
He nods. “That probably would work best. But I don’t mind if you would all rather go inside. You’ll just have to be prepared for possible interruptions.”
“Oh, we don’t mind eating outside, it’s beautiful out tonight. I want to enjoy it after all that rain yesterday,” Amelia says cheerfully.
We go to the hostess stand and ask for an outdoor table. She leads us out to the garden, which is also full of people wanting to enjoy the perfect summer evening. We luck out with a picnic table in the back, and we all take a seat, with Noah sliding in next to me and Nicholas taking the seat next to Amelia.
“Welcome to The Striped Cat,” the hostess says, putting down plastic-coated menus in front of us. “Tonight’s special is fish and chips with mushy peas, and your waitress, Carrie, will be with you shortly.”
We all thank her and turn our attention to the menus. Noah reaches for my hand underneath the table, and I grow warm with happiness as he entwines his fingers with mine.
“I’m going to leave sunglasses on, if that’s okay,” he says.
“A disguise.” I grin.
“A bad one, but yes, somewhat of one,” Noah says, the edges of his mouth pulling up into an amused smile.
“We need to get you a better one,” Amelia says. “Like a wig!”
Nicholas burst out laughing. “You want Darby to wear a wig?”
“Well, it would help conceal him. Because who would expect Noah Darby to be running around with a wig on?”
Noah pulls down on the brim of his baseball cap. “I’m going to be optimistic that nobody would expect to see me at a pub in Dorset, so if someone thinks I look familiar, they’ll just think I’m a bloke who looks like that Darby guy.”
Nicholas grins. “That Darby guy. I might have to call you that.”
“So what’s good here?” Noah asks.
“Ooh, there’s a quite a few good things,” I say. “I love the burger.”
“The chicken tikka masala is my favourite,” Nicholas says.
“I can vouch for the salmon,” Amelia adds.
“I’m torn. I’d love the burger and chips, but I probably should have the salmon,” Noah says.
I study him as he looks over the menu. I’m once again reminded of how his job never really ends. Whether it’s the public wanting his attention or having to work out to keep up his fitness levels, down to choosing what to eat at a pub. He’s not playing right now, but the tentacles of being a professional footballer are still entwined with everything that happens to him even when he’s not on the pitch.
“It’s really good, and I’m picky,” Amelia assures him.
“Trust her, she is,” Nicholas teases.
She pretends to glare at him, but then he leans over and drops a kiss on the bridge of her nose. “I’m joking,” he says.
Amelia laughs. “Not really, but I accept that.”
A waitress appears at our table. “Good evening, I’m Carrie, and I’ll be your waitress this evening. What can I get you to drink?”
Nicholas orders a pint, Amelia orders a glass of rosé, and I ask for a Pimm’s. Noah, being our driver, opts for a Diet Coke.
“I can drive tomorrow so you can drink,” I tell him.
He smiles at me. “It’s not necessary. I’m not that bothered about missing a beer.”
My brain does a sudden trip down my dating history at St. Andrews, when so many of the guys I went out with lived for hitting the pubs and hard drinking. Yet with Noah, it’s of no consequence to him.
It’s another thing I like about him.
Carrie returns with our drinks, and we place our order for dinner. Nicholas adds some starters to the table, like halloumi fries and salt-and-pepper squid, and seeing as I’m starving, I’m grateful he did so.
As soon as Carrie leaves, he shifts his attention to me and Noah. “I’m glad you guys could come out with us tonight.”
“Me too,” I say, smiling at Nicholas.
“How did you and Amelia meet?” Noah asks, taking a sip of his Diet Coke.
Nicholas grins. “Oh, we used to hate each other.”
A surprised expression passes over his face. “Really?”
“Oh yes, we were crazy about each other, had a stupid misunderstanding for years, then got together recently,” Amelia explains breezily. “Except I don’t think we ever really hated each other.”
“No,” Nicholas agrees. “We didn’t.”
“Well, at least you had some kind of interest. Violet had zero interest when she first met me at Wisteria House,” Noah teases.
Happiness fills me. He is easily joining in the conversation, and I would never know he was reserved or quiet from the way he is speaking right now.
Nicholas grins. “But it all worked out.”
“Just like it did with me and Nicholas,” Amelia says breezily. “I mean, he even bought peacocks for me!”
Our waitress reappears and sets down baskets of halloumi fries with chilli jam and salt-and-pepper squid, along with some plates and cutlery for each of us.
“And I’m reminded of that fact every morning at five o’clock by Carl and Roy,” Nicholas says, snagging a halloumi fry and dipping it into the spicy jam.
I grin. Carl and Roy have already become quite notorious for their five a.m. wake-up call to the entire estate.
“I think it would be incredible to have peacocks,” Noah says.
“Incredibly noisy,” Nicholas retorts.
“The beehives would have been much quieter,” I remind him.
“Beehive?” Noah asks.
“There’s going to be no beehive,” Nicholas declares.
“Tyrant,” Amelia says, her green eyes sparkling at him.
“What about the beehive?” Noah repeats.
“I had the idea to have beehives so we could sell our own honey in the gift shop,” I explain. “Nicholas said no.”
“In my defence, I didn’t know if Violet would fully commit to the idea of caring for them forever, so I said no because I have no desire to become a beekeeper.”
I swallow. Nicholas said that in the nicest way he could, but the uncomfortable truth is told. He didn’t trust his butterfly twin to finish the project.
I feel an embarrassed flush heat my face. I know Noah knows this about me, but now he’s hearing it confirmed by my brother.
“Violet, I have a massive garden in Surrey,” he says, pausing and taking a sip of his Diet Coke. He puts his glass down and stares at me. “And if you want a beehive, I’m more than happy to give you the space to have one. I trust you.”
My heart practically stops beating. In no uncertain terms, Noah is telling me he has complete faith in me to commit to a project and he’s willing to back me on it if I wanted to do it.
I’m so full of emotion, I can’t find the words to speak. But just as I’m about to say something, Noah speaks first. “I have to have some of that squid,” he says, helping himself to some and acting like what he just said was no big deal at all.
Because to Noah, it wasn’t.
But to me?
It’s another reason to fall in love with him.
We fall into an easy conversation at the table, and eventually Noah and Nicholas break off and chat with one another, whilst Amelia and I catch up on other things. But I keep one ear on Noah and Nicholas, and I notice it flows easily between them, bouncing from football to estate management to travelling abroad.
“So you’re going to Australia in a few weeks?” Nicholas asks.
This catches Amelia’s attention, and she turns towards them. “You’re going to Australia? I’ve always wanted to go there.”
Noah wipes his lips with a paper napkin and nods. “Yes, every season we play in different spots of the world to promote the game. This year, Stonebridge United has Australia.”
“That’s brilliant,” Nicholas says. “Will you get to do stuff outside of football?”
I listen with interest, as I don’t know how a tour works.
“We have a lot of stuff scheduled with the community, but yes, we’ll have some time. I’ll get the itinerary when I report back for training and then I’ll know for sure. But usually, a night after a game, we can go out. Not that I will, but if I wanted to explore the Melbourne night life, that would be a night to do it.”
The conversation shifts away from Australia, but I’ve filed the information away, excited to have it—and knowing I’ll be able to use it, too.
Because I made a decision the night Noah poured his heart out to me. If things went well, I was going to surprise him and show up in Melbourne to watch him in the first fixture of the season.
And right now, it looks like I need to buy a ticket to Australia.
* * *
The night couldn’t have gone any better.
Nicholas and Noah hit it off, talking and joking the entire time. Noah engaged Amelia in conversation, too, and I was so proud of him for moving out of his comfort zone. We stayed long after our meals were finished, and it was enjoyable, as Noah went undetected by other pubgoers the entire time we were there. It was a fun evening, full of a lot of laughs, and I was so happy to see my twin and Noah get on exactly as I hoped they would.
Now we’re driving back towards the cottage, and all I want is to sit outside with Noah, watching the sea roll against the shore.
“What are you thinking?” he asks, his free hand skimming over my thigh as he drives.
“How much fun I had tonight,” I say happily. “And that I want to sit outside with you and watch the sea when we get back to your cottage.”
“Sounds good,” Noah says, smiling softly. “What do you want to do tomorrow?”
“The weather is supposed to be lovely. It might be a good day to go to the beach. We could go back to that same one we went to a few weeks ago, because it’s more private.”
“I’d be game for that,” Noah says. “We can eat at that same fish and chips place for lunch. That was good.”
“Oh, and I have to get an ice cream with a Flake,” I say.
“Are you going to wear that same bikini you wore last time?” Noah asks, his fingers trailing up and down my bare skin, causing me to shiver.
“I am.”
“Good. Because you looked so hot in that.”
I feel a smile of triumph pass over my lips. “Thank you.”
“You’ll need me to apply sun cream like I did last time.”
“I love that you are so incredibly helpful.”
He chuckles at that. “I’ll use any excuse to touch you, Butterfly.”
HELLO.
We reach the cottage and exit the car, with Noah coming around to meet me. He takes my hand in his and we walk down the path to the front door. Mila is barking on the other side, and as soon as Noah opens the door, we’re greeted by a very happy and excited dog.
“Let me take her out,” he says.
I nod and step inside the house. Noah grabs a lead and affixes it to Mila’s collar, then he walks out the front door with her. In the meantime, I fish my phone out of my bag and head downstairs. I open the sliding glass door to the terrace, then plop down in the oversized chair and unlock my phone so I can read my messages. I grin when I see the first one is from Aimee. She’s replied to my Connectivity Story Share, where I posted a picture of me and Noah at the pub tonight.
I read her message:
LOOKING SO CUTE WITH MR SAUCY SHORTS!!!
She’s also attached a bunch of heart-eyed emojis to her caption.
I text her back:
He’s not only Saucy Shorts, but he’s so … everything. That’s the best way I can explain it. Noah is smart, driven, funny, thoughtful, considerate, encouraging … just everything.
Aimee is typing …
Vi, I never heard you talk about any guy like this at uni. Now, I don’t know how you’ve felt about any guys you’ve been with since we’ve lost touch, but my gut says Noah is different. Are you falling in love with him? SAY YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
I grin and message her back:
I can definitely say I’m falling for Noah.
Aimee is typing …
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I AM DOING FLAILING AMRS
I giggle. God, I’ve missed Aimee!
Aimee is typing …
Or arms, even.
I text her back:
I’m glad to give you flailing AMRS.
Aimee is typing …
It does!!! Because Noah seems like a great guy. And he’s FIT FIT FIT. But take fit out of it—he sounds like such a good human. That’s important.
Aimee is right. Noah is gorgeous—I’m not going to deny that—but what is making me fall for him are all the things I’m learning about his inside.
A different message flashes on my screen, and this time, it’s from Nicholas:
Not that you need my approval for anything, but Darby has mine.
Warmth seeps through me, and I see Nicholas is typing. A second message drops in:
He really cares about you, Vi. You should have heard what he said about you when you and Amelia went to use the toilets.
Ooh!
I immediately respond to that message:
What??? What did he say? TELL ME, NICHOLAS!!!
Nicholas is typing …
My code of ethics won’t allow me to reveal the specifics, but I can say with confidence he’s ALL IN on you. Talk to you tomorrow.
I zero in on two words in Nicholas’s text.
All in.
I don’t need to know anything else. The fact that Noah—who has been so careful and protective of his heart—let my twin know his feelings? So much so that my brother told me he’s “all in”?
That is all I need to know. I can’t contain the excited feeling coursing through my veins.
Every time I’m with Noah, I find myself falling a little bit more for him. Yes, there’s that excitement of being with him, the endless thinking about him—the signs of that early infatuation stage—but then there’s something different. It’s falling for the things he says, for how he cares about others, his vulnerability, how he believes in me—these are the things causing my heart, for the first time in my life, to pay attention.
To fall.
And I’m beginning to believe it will be sooner, rather than later, before my entire heart belongs to Noah Darby.