Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
He was kissing Nora.
Nora was kissing him back.
And there was no way he was going to forget it.
When her lips met his, the world shrank to warmth and breath and the steady pressure of her hands against him, anchoring him in place.
She smelled like fresh laundry and skin, clean and familiar and achingly real.
It wasn’t something that overwhelmed him, but something that settled him, like he’d found his way back to himself without realizing he’d been lost.
His arms slowly wrapped around her waist just as hers came to rest on his shoulders. He could feel all her curves as he gently urged her closer, and he swore no moment had ever been this perfect.
She hummed softly—a throaty little sound that was surprisingly arousing, so much so that he took the kiss deeper. He was hungry for more of her, hungry to hear her make that little sound again.
Nora’s hands smoothed down from his shoulders to his chest where she lazily fisted his shirt in her hands, clenching it and then releasing it. It was slowly driving him insane because now he wanted to feel her hands on his chest, her nails gently scoring over his skin. He wanted…
Reluctantly, he broke the kiss. They stood there breathless, resting their foreheads together.
Milo knew he could have kept on kissing her all night, but…
she trusted him. He swore he’d never let her regret choosing to have dinner alone with him, and if they didn’t stop what they were doing, he was afraid he’d make her uncomfortable.
“Sorry,” he said quietly. “I didn’t mean to get so carried away.”
“To be fair, I think we both got carried away.”
Still, his arms were around her, there was music playing softly in the background, and before he knew it, they were swaying to it. It felt like the natural thing to do, and they stayed like that until Connor knocked on the door a few minutes later.
“Sorry I’m late,” he loudly announced as he walked in with two members of his kitchen staff, causing Milo and Nora to jump apart. Connor immediately told his team what to do before turning to Milo and Nora. “Pretend I’m not here.”
“Kind of hard to do when you came through the door like a Mack truck,” Milo murmured.
“Just wanted to be sure you heard me and I wasn’t interrupting anything. Anyway…just ignore me. My team will be out of here in two minutes, so…go back to dancing. Salad will be served in five.”
The moment was broken, and rather than trying to recapture it, he took Nora by the hand and led her over to the sofa. “Can I get you something to drink? It looks like Connor’s brought the wine, but there’s also soda and water and…”
“Water would be nice. Thanks.”
There was a pitcher of water set up on a tray on the coffee table, and he poured a glass for each of them before sitting down beside her.
“I know this is going to sound incredibly lame, but…why don’t you tell me about yourself?”
Luckily, she smiled. “Okay, um…I grew up in northern California. My dad’s a dentist and my mom teaches fifth grade. I have two sisters and one brother. What about you?”
“We moved around a lot when I was growing up. My father was a chemical engineer, and my mother is a psychologist and an author.”
Nora’s eyes went wide. “Wow. No wonder you ended up being so smart and successful. You’ve got overachieving parents.” She said it lightly, and he knew she wasn’t making fun. “Do you have siblings?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Just me.” Pausing, he took a sip of his water.
“So…one of the reasons we kept coming back here to the resort on our vacations was because it was the first place where I made friends. We moved around a lot, I was shy, and because I was…well…smart, most kids didn’t want to hang out with me.
They said I was weird.” It still pained him to admit it.
“Obviously, I was socially awkward, but when I met Walker, Axel, Conner, Slater, Jayce, Kelsey, and Lexi, they just treated me like I was just like them.”
She glanced in Connor’s direction, and he saw a ghost of a smile before she returned her attention to him. “And you’ve been friends ever since?”
“Exactly. They all know I’m not as athletic as them, but they don’t make a big deal of it.”
“Why should they? They’re not as smart as you and you don’t make a big deal over it, right?”
If he wasn’t mistaken, she sounded a little defensive.
On his behalf.
Gently clearing his throat, he nodded. “Right.”
“You mentioned Jayce and Kelsey. They’re the ones who got married here a few months ago, didn’t they?”
“They did.”
“So how are they responsible for you all buying the resort?”
He explained about his friends meeting up here after not seeing each other for over fifteen years and then learning the resort was closing.
“Kelsey has a real emotional attachment to the place, and when she heard that Jayce was still in contact with Walker, she begged him to reach out and try to convince him to take it over.” He laughed softly.
“It didn’t happen right away, and we all had to figure out how we were going to invest and how much we were investing and…
it was a lot. We didn’t realize just how bad the shape of the resort was until Walker arrived. But by that time, we were locked in.”
“So you bought it sight unseen?”
“Yup. It was something we were all on board with, no matter what. And after a lot of conversations, we came up with a plan for what we were all bringing to the project. We each contributed differently, but we sat down with an attorney and made it work. This place meant a lot to all of us, and it felt like something we could all take pride in.”
“That is incredibly sweet. And all because Kelsey didn’t want to see it close.” Her hand rested over her heart, her smile serene. “I’ll have to remember to thank her when I meet her.”
“I guess there wasn’t really time when they were here for the wedding. They don’t come back as often as they’d like, but we keep them in the loop. They were both really impressed with the activities you and Slater came up with.”
“Well, we’ve been doing that sort of thing for a long time and all the activities were things we knew we could handle and even train others to do.”
“How did you get into…um…I’m not even sure what you call it, but…we call Slater an adrenaline junkie. I don’t think that’s the official job title though,” he teased.
“It’s not,” she agreed lightly. “So my dad has a pilot’s license, and my mom used to be a competitive skier.
I had a pretty typical upbringing, but we used to always be doing stuff on our school breaks.
We’re all competitive and honestly, we weren’t happy unless we were outside doing every kind of sport and activity. ”
“And your siblings…?”
Nodding, Nora replied, “They’re all adrenaline junkies too.
” She shifted slightly. “My dad’s brother—my uncle Seth—was a helicopter pilot with a business in Vegas.
He used to do tours of the Grand Canyon and all the places around there.
He’s retired now, but I worked a few summers with him, and that’s how I ended up getting my pilot’s license.
I can fly a plane or a helicopter, but I prefer to be on land.
I love hiking and nature, and I’m really enjoying all the water stuff here too. ”
“Like jet skiing?”
She laughed softly. “Like jet skiing.”
“I kind of envy you. I’m just not coordinated enough for most of that stuff, as you’ve learned firsthand. I mean, between freaking out on the plane and then getting hurt on the hike, you must think I’m a total doofus.”
Her expression turned a little fierce. “The only one thinking that is you,” she said firmly.
“You should be comfortable and confident in who you are. Not everyone is good at everything. I can’t code for shit, and most days I want to throw my tablet in the lake because it never does what I want it to do.
I don’t speak its language. But you do.” She shrugged.
“And you know what? I like who you are. A lot. I mean, I didn’t at first, but that’s on me.
I have issues, and…and that’s it. I have issues.
I jumped to conclusions, and I believe I apologized for that.
And all of your friends like you for you, so…
maybe read the memo, dude. You’re fine just the way you are. ”
Wow.
Slater’s words from a few days ago came back to him.
If I’m telling you that Nora’s worried, that should speak volumes to you.
She doesn’t trust easily and she doesn’t get attached.
Ever. If anyone’s ever gotten hurt on one of her tours, she gets them to a doctor and moves on.
Not because she’s cold, but because there have been far too many people who’ve done some really stupid stuff to her.
So when she takes an interest, you should pay attention and know it’s sincere.
Now it was all coming together and making sense, and it made him smile.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“For what?”
“For being honest and telling me what I needed to hear, so…thank you.”
She blushed, ducking her head. “You’re welcome.”
Connor gently cleared his throat. “Your salads are served.”
Milo stood and held out his hand to Nora, helping her to her feet. And he continued to hold it as they walked over to the table. He held out her chair for her, and while she got situated, Connor came up behind him and whispered, “She’s a keeper,” before quickly moving away.
Smiling to himself, Milo took his seat and poured two glasses of wine. Picking up his glass, he said, “Here’s to taking a chance.”
Nora’s smile was a little shy as she lifted her glass. “To taking a chance.”