CHAPTER 23
NOAH
Tiptoeing across the dark bedroom, I quietly place two Advil and a fresh bottle of water on the nightstand with the note I scribbled out downstairs. Bella doesn’t even stir as I slowly back away and close the door behind me.
I imagine she’s going to have a very sore head when she wakes up today which is why I opted against our usual five a.m. breakfast wakeup call.
It’s Sunday so I know she doesn’t have to be at the café today and although I’m not really needed around the ranch, having completed most of my jobs yesterday, I figured I could go and help Hunter over at the old, abandoned barn he’s fixing up for his wedding in just a little under two months.
I grab a granola bar from the kitchen before heading into the hall and pulling on my boots and then I’m out the door, climbing into my truck.
It takes less than ten minutes to get to the barn and Hunter is already there, a worse-for-wear looking Savannah stood next to him, a pair of oversized sunglasses covering her eyes.
“Feeling a little green today, sis?” I tease, jumping from the truck.
Savannah glares at me and I can’t explain it but even that is British. “Piss off, Noah.”
My responding laugh is loud as I approach, throwing my arm over her shoulder and giving her a little shake.
“Do you want me to throw up on you? ‘Cause I will.”
I step back, my hands up in surrender. “Sorry.”
“The roof is finished. All that’s left to do is hook up the electrics and give the inside a few coats of paint,” Hunter informs me and I nod, turning to face the barn and looking it over.
He really has done a good job on this place. Only a few months ago, it was practically falling apart. There were holes in the roof. Parts of the wood were rotten from the rain leaking in and it just looked run down.
Now, it had life again. He’s replaced the entire roof with a new, weather sturdy one. The damaged outer walls have been replaced with new ones, and all of the supporting beams have been treated and repainted. The doors are brand new and slide open from the outside.
“Place looks great,” I tell him, impressed with how much he’s achieved in such a short time.
“It really does,” Savannah says, her mood brightening as she gazes adoringly at her soon-to-be-husband.
“Anything for you, Goldie.” Hunter leans down and kisses her and I feign a gag.
“Save it for the bedroom, guys.”
Savannah scoffs. “Rich, coming from you.”
My head snaps to her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She narrows her eyes. “You know exactly what that means, Mr fuck-me eyes.”
Hunter throws his head back with a booming laugh and I cross my arms with a huff. “Don’t know what you’re talking about. Are we doing this or what?”
“Yeah.” Hunter cups Savannahs face, lifting her chin. “I’ll see you at home?”
She smiles up at him. “Of course.”
“I love you,” he tells her and I roll my eyes, leaving the pair of them to gush over each other outside.
Pulling the sliding doors open, I step into the dark barn, my eyes needing a moment to adjust to the stark change in lighting. Once they do, I locate the industrial sized pots of paint and open one, mixing it.
Hunter joins me shortly after and informs me he’s going to work on wiring up the thousands of string lights hanging from the beams above us and I mumble an acknowledgement, concentrating on the task at hand.
Of course, the moment I’m left alone in the quiet, my thoughts trail back to the blonde beauty that’s fast asleep in my guest bedroom.
I wonder if she’s awake yet. Did she read the note I left telling her where I’ve gone? Does she even care?
It feels like things are changing between us a little more every day.
Like the line between friendship and something totally opposite is becoming even more blurred with every soft touch and stolen glance.
The air in my house is thick when the both of us are home.
The sexual tension is suffocatingly obvious.
It’s getting harder to restrain myself from touching her at every opportunity.
Surprisingly, she didn’t mention the whole toy situation again after I left her room.
After the amount of wine she consumed with Savannah last night, I half expected her to confront me about it when we got home, but she didn’t.
She just mumbled a drunk goodnight and stumbled her way to her bedroom.
And I’ve been replaying it in my head over and over again every second since.
I feel like I should apologise. Tell her that I’m sorry for hanging around for even a second after I realised what was happening behind her bedroom door.
But in doing that, I’d also be admitting that I did in fact, hang around.
Not only did I hang around like a total fucking creeper, but when I finally got my feet to work again, I took myself right to my shower and jacked off to the memory of her moaning my name.
There is something seriously wrong with me.
Shaking my head at myself, I roll the paint on the barn walls faster, needing a distraction. Thankfully, Hunter reappears and joins me, picking up his own paint brush.
Just a few short months ago, I was sick of hearing about his wedding. But now I’m that desperate for something, anything to help take my mind off Bella that I find myself turning to him, paintbrush in hand and saying, “So, how’s wedding planning going?”