16. Noah
Noah
“This is your house?” she asked, an incredulous tone in her voice.
I palmed the back of my neck. “This is my house.”
She peered out the window, nose almost pressed against the glass.
“It’s gorgeous, Noah.”
It was a typical ranch-style home, one-story but wide and spacious, intended to be the home base for my wife and kids one day. At least that was the intention.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “We’re a bit farther out than I expected. Should I text Harper your address in case she doesn’t hear from me in the morning?”
I huffed out a laugh. “I’d be upset if you didn’t.”
I parked the truck, making sure to jog around to her side before she could reach the handle.
“That’s not necessary, Noah,” she said sheepishly. As if worshipping the ground she walked on was a hardship.
“No, it’s not necessary. It’s required,” I replied.
I dragged my palms up her legs, smoothing over the curve of her calves, skating over her smooth thighs. I tugged her toward the edge of the seat, letting her legs flank my sides, and her arms fall over my shoulders.
“You look so fucking beautiful, baby,” I murmured, letting my fingers find the inch of bare skin between her shirt and her shorts. “I nearly drove off the road with how your legs were teasing me.”
“My legs aren’t special,” she muttered.
“Your legs are a goddamn wet dream, and if we don’t get inside, I’m going to do some very ungentlemanly things before this date starts.”
I led her in through the glass double doors, relishing the feel of her hand in mine, her scent wrapped around me, her presence in my home.
“I know it’s not a fancy restaurant, but I figured I could impress you with my grilling skills and we could have a BBQ for two in the backyard.”
Her smile lit up the room. “Sounds incredible.”
I steered us toward the deck, holding back a wide grin as her eyes darted around the house.
“Make yourself at home, peaches,” I said, gesturing toward the outdoor couches and cooler.
She immediately kicked her sandals off and dug around in the cooler, likely looking for an IPA if I knew her. Her ass was directly in my line of sight as she bent over, and I averted my eyes to prevent a poorly timed hard-on.
“Do you want anything?” she called over her shoulder.
You.
“Whatever you’re drinking is good with me,” I said instead.
She popped up, two beers and a bottle opener in hand, with golden rays from the sun bouncing off her.
Watching Bailey lounge barefoot on my deck, drinking my beer under my porch lights, was doing potentially dangerous things to my heart. It looked a little too much like the kind of life I’d always pictured for myself. I rubbed my chest at the physical weight of seeing her so at peace in my space.
I kissed her forehead and grabbed my beer, heading back toward the house.
“Let me go grab everything out of the fridge, and I’ll be right back,” I said.
I went inside and let the air conditioning work its magic on me.
It was warm outside, but I think it was the nerves more than anything that were getting to me.
Going from avoiding dating to picturing forever with someone was a big leap, and it wasn’t lost on me the one-eighty my life had taken since meeting Bailey.
I grabbed all my supplies and headed back outside, making quick work of seasoning everything and getting it onto the grill.
“You look hot grilling,” she said. “It’s giving major DILF energy.”
I flipped our burgers, closing the grill top before invading her space on the couch.
“I really like seeing you here,” I murmured as I placed my arm around her shoulders.
She looked up, eyes flickering to my lips. “Well, I like being here, and I hope I don’t get too spoiled because I’ll never want to leave,” she joked, but I could sense a hint of honesty behind her words.
I kept the conversation going before my brain came up with any bright ideas about inviting her to move in after the first date.
“I’ve only had the house for a little over a year. I used to live at the inn full-time like you do, but Ma got on to me about ‘work boundaries’ and ‘never settling down.’ I’ll give you a tour after we eat.”
Bailey snuggled closer into my side, sipping her fruity beer. “Your mom really is quite fantastic. It says a lot about who you are and who your brothers are. Parents really leave an impact on you,” she said.
“Give me a good memory of your parents,” I said. “Doesn’t matter what age you were.”
She perked up, tapping her bottle against her lips.
“My dad was determined to help me learn how to ride a bike. He said no respectable kid could go around without knowing how, and he took me to the neighborhood basketball court and had me ride around for hours until I figured it out. I still love biking, and he was so proud when he told everyone I learned how to do it in a single day.” She smiled fondly at the memory.
“I barely talk to him now. He’s always in a different meeting, in a different country. I’d be shocked if he remembered my birthday in a couple months,” she said, disappointment coloring her tone.
I hated that anyone had ever made her feel small. Unwanted. A burden.
“A birthday, you say?” I teased.
“Just a regular old birthday, Noah. Please don’t let me walk into the lobby and see Grant and Eli fighting over the best way to make a balloon arch.”
“No promises, peaches. However, I would love to go biking with you sometime. There are some great trails by my house, and we can make a new memory to sit beside the one with your dad.”
She blinked up at me, another small crack in her defensive shell forming. “I’d love that.”
I popped up from my seat, eager to keep the momentum of the date going.
“No cheese on your burger, right?” I asked.
“Nope,” she replied.
“So just a completely plain burger?”
She glared at me, and I raised my hands in mock defense. “Just checking!”
I added cheese to mine, holding back a shudder as I plated Bailey’s plain burger. I ran inside, pulling the fries out of the oven and laying out an array of burger toppings on the kitchen counter. I was a man, which meant I messed up most things, but I was pretty proud of this dinner spread.
I walked back outside and saw Bailey standing at the edge of the deck. The sun was just starting to think about setting, and the dimming light spotlighted my girl just right.
My barefoot, brown-eyed girl.
“You ready to eat?” I asked.
“Is a fork found in the kitchen?” she retorted.
I snorted. “Touché.”
I led us back inside, setting our plates down and topping off our drinks.
I pointed around the table as I spoke. “Lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup that may or may not be expired, and of course, pickles.”
She grimaced.
“If you tell me you have a vendetta against pickles, I might actually have to end the date,” I said.
“No, no, I love pickles,” she exaggerated. “Who wouldn’t love the refreshing taste of cucumbers soaked in acid and salt.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Go sit your cute ass down before you offend me any more with your unhinged opinions on food.”
“Yes, sir,” she said with a mock salute.
I groaned, adjusting myself in my pants before sitting down. We dug into our food, and Bailey actually moaned after taking a bite of her burger.
“You should fire Matt and take over as the inn’s chef.”
“Well, I don’t know how Matt, his wife, and three kids would feel about that,” I retorted.
“Seriously, this may be the best burger I’ve ever eaten in my twenty-four years of living.”
“And imagine how much better it’d be if there were cheese melted on top,” I replied.
She flicked a fry toward my head with impressive aim.
Dinner was a glowing success. A heap of fries shared between us, beer bottles that leaked condensation onto the table, and a music playlist ran in the background that Bailey curated called “Vibez.”
“Let’s take a quick tour. I have a surprise for you.”
“Is it more delicious food? Because while I am full, I would risk exploding for the sake of not letting food go to waste. Sustainability and all.”
My god, she’d keep me on my toes until the day I died.
“Take my hands and close your eyes, beautiful.”
She immediately did as I asked, trusting me without hesitation. The weight of her trust hit harder than the curve of her body against mine, and that was saying something.
I slowly led her through the house, taking her to my favorite room.
“If you let me stub my toe, I’ll tell Eli to book that couples sex retreat for next month at the inn. They asked for rubber sheets, Noah. Rubber!”
I held back my laugh and guided her into a room on the right, coming up behind her to place my hands on her waist. I leaned close to her ear, kissing it gently.
“Open your eyes.”
Bailey gasped, taking in the home library-slash-man cave space. It was my passion project, my way to unwind from work, and I wanted to share it with her.
Her hands covered her mouth, eyes darting across built-in bookshelves and the cozy corner couch nooks I owned. “This…is a dream,” she stated. “How did you even know I loved to read?”
“I can’t give up all my secrets now, can I?” I said.
She stepped out of my hands. “Can I look around?”
“I’d be offended if you didn’t take at least five books back with you.”
She took off, heading to what she would discover was the fiction side of the room first. Bailey was meticulous, like she was with everything in her life.
She’d pull books out, stroking the spine, before reading the cover blurb, deciding whether or not to add it to her growing stack on the coffee table.
She was fucking adorable.
“Is that the infamous record collection?” she gasped.
I smiled sheepishly. “It is.”
In the back corner of the room, I had waist-high storage shelves where I kept my plethora of records. They were alphabetized and in custom dust sleeves, something Grant regularly gave me shit for.
“This is really impressive, Noah. Am I the first woman to see this room?” she asked. “I’ve got to be. If someone else saw this, they’d have locked you down immediately.”
I chuckled. “You are the first woman aside from Tessa to see it, and she doesn’t really count.”