Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Noa
F ormer cattle worker Sam Barnes has some trouble today and I work overtime to get him comfortable and as pain-free as he can be before giving instructions to his wife and a tight hug. She pats my cheek and wishes me good luck in my class tonight.
Word has gotten round that the new French restaurant, C’est Trois , offered professional cooking classes to couples as a friendly introduction into a close-knit town.
Because I’ve grown up with the residents, it’s a given to them I’d be attending, but what’s become most curious is who I’m taking it with.
My last boyfriend was two years ago, and he was from Sutton Falls, the next town over.
At the moment, everyone assumes Mrs. Stalinski will accompany me, and when I show up with Stone tonight, I’m basically confirming myself as the talk of the town tomorrow.
It’s worth it , I think as I turn the ignition and pull out of the Barnes’ driveway.
This is an impossible dream come true, a decorated chef deciding to put down roots in a town like ours.
A chance like this shouldn’t be possible, yet it’s staring me right in the face and I’d be an idiot to let pride impede me from learning from someone so accomplished.
I’ll deal with Stone by considering him my assistant, or an intern, or any other number of labels besides an ex-boyfriend who cratered my heart. He may be known to the world, but to me, him crying over the chopping of onions can be the topic of the hour, nothing more.
With a curt nod of confirmation to myself, I pull into Mrs. Stalinski’s property and hop out with the car still running. I changed at the Barnes’, opting for worked-in jeans and a loose black T-shirt. My hair’s twisted up into a bun, held together with a claw-clip.
The screen door creaks as I pull it open, but the wooden door opens silently, telling me Stone’s oiled the hinges.
I’m noticing minor improvements around the home while he’s been living here, things Mrs. Stalinski misses, but become noticeable when Stone walks away from them.
Like the hinges around the house, doors, and windows, and the dripping faucet in the powder room no longer plinking throughout the day.
Not to mention Moo’s litter changed before I get to it.
Those minor improvements and Stone’s presence has brightened Mrs. Stalinski’s demeanor in ways nothing else could.
While Stone’s return to Falcon Haven was under less-than-ideal circumstances, I’m so glad he came when he did.
The very man I’m thinking about tiptoes down the stairs with a finger to his lips, dressed in loose blue jeans and a charcoal Henley shirt. His hair curls damply above his brow and I get a whiff of his woodsy, clean scent before he reaches the bottom.
“Is she okay?” I whisper, still holding the door open.
He nods. “She’s sleeping. I knocked her out with a bike ride.”
My eyes widen. “Was it too much for her? Did she get hurt? Her bones…”
“The opposite.” Stone grabs his black wool coat off the hook and quickly steps outside like I’m about to lecture him for spending time with his mother.
It gives me pause. Does he think I’m a stick-in-the-mud nurse? That I don’t know how to have fun and don’t want my patients to find any joy? And why should I care what he thinks?
“I’m glad you two had a good time,” I say.
Stone glances at me like I’m being sarcastic.
Jeez. I give up. Heading to the driver’s side of my car, I ask, “You ready for this?”
“Yeah, why not.” Stone shrugs, then stops short in front of my headlights.
I look at him. “What?”
“Why are you getting in your car?”
“…Because I’m going to drive it.”
Stone stares at my blue hatchback. “I won’t fit in it.”
“Oh, come on. You had no problems with it ten years ago.”
“I was a scrawny trash compactor back then. Now I pump weights and eat the amount of protein an MMA fighter does. If I get in there, my knees will hit me in the face.”
My mouth drops in a fake O . “Oh no, not your pretty face.”
“And if I remember correctly, the last time I could squish in there was when we rolled the passenger seat all the way down and you straddled?—”
“Your car it is!” I cut in a little too loudly. Opening the door, I shut off my engine and follow Stone to his space-age technological advancement of a vehicle.
He smirks. “Nice jeans, by the way. Don’t think I’ve seen you outside of scrubs since coming here.”
I brush off his compliment—and the warmth in my cheeks—by retorting, “I work a lot.”
“I’ve noticed.” His black beast unlocks with a beep and flash of angry-looking headlights. He opens the passenger door for me. “And what I’ve deduced is, everybody loves you and wants you as their nurse, and you don’t have the heart to say no.”
“Are you saying that’s a bad thing?” I ask suspiciously.
Stone’s lips purse into an innocent frown. “Just observing that you’re young, intelligent, and beautiful, with a long life to lead.”
“What am I supposed to do with a statement like that?”
Stone shuts my door, and it latches almost silently. I stare at the buttons on the handle in wonder as he gets in his side and flicks the car on—literally flicks— on his phone’s screen.
“Good lord, are you about to time travel me?”
Stone’s perfect white teeth flash through the stubble he’s grown out. “She’s almost as gorgeous and lovely as you. Wait until you hear her purr.”
“Enough with the compliments. Please.”
The strangled tone to my voice shuts down the conversation. Just like I wanted, but I feel hollowed out because of it.
“I was just trying to be nice,” he says while pulling up the rear-facing camera and reversing out of the drive.
“I don’t want you to be nice. I don’t want to like you again.”
The truth spills out before I can bite it back, and I press against the cool leather seat as stiff as a piece of torn cardboard.
“Fair enough.” He spins the wheel and as he promised, the car turns soundlessly. “You’ve been looking forward to this night for months. I won’t ruin it for you.”
I stare at his profile with cautious gratitude. “Thank you.”
He gives a single nod. “Contrary to popular belief, I’m trying not to be a dick. Especially to you.”
My cheeks grow hotter. I squirm in my seat.
I thought I wanted a pliable, respectful Stone, but all he’s doing is casually swinging a pickax at the bricks I’ve built around myself since he left.
It makes me wonder who is worse—nice guy Stone or selfish, careless Stone Williams. Either can charm their way out of anything.
Thankfully, the drive into Main Street isn’t long.
The sun hasn’t set and a warm, golden glow casts its rays across the red- brick lined tree wells and black, old-style lanterns with banners showcasing a happy turkey hanging from them.
The trees lining the strip have changed from lush green to burned orange, translucent yellows and scarlet reds, casting a painting across the two-lane road.
Stone parallel parks with one-armed ease. I refuse to be taken by that surprisingly sexy ability and step out onto the sidewalk before he can round the car and charmingly pull my door open again.
We are not on a date.
With the dumb luck of a rich person, Stone found a spot two cars down from the restaurant and we talk to the front door without speaking.
I glance over at him. He’s busy studying the restaurant’s facade with a pointed squint, as if he’s assessing its worth, but I know him better than that.
His shoulders are practically to his ears and he folds his arms like he’s the bouncer C’est Trois never knew it wanted.
Stone is nervous .
It’s not often Stone wanders into areas where he’s unknown or for purposes other than being told to show up, smile, and charm the wallets off everyone in the room. This is a cooking class, a place he has no reason to be at, no desire to learn, and no freaking idea how to act.
For the first time in a long while, Stone is baffled.
I bite back a smile as I open the door and gesture him inside. “It’ll be fine. I promise.”
“I’m not worried,” Stone says unconvincingly, then grabs the edge of the door above my head, ushering me in first. “After you.”
“Uh-huh.” And then I actually wink at him in jest before going inside, my heart feeling light as air.
What is wrong with me? I’m supposed to despise this man. A man who atones for the town by doing grunt ranch work, then spends all day with his sick mom, then attends cooking classes he’ll all but fall asleep in so I can stay enrolled in the class…
Shaking myself out of it, I use stronger strides to get to the hostess stand, where a gorgeous natural blonde dressed in a tight black cocktail dress waits with a pen and headset.
“Can I help you?” she asks after her gaze arcs from my head down to my toes. Then it moves sideways and snags—nay, glues— onto Stone.
“Omigod, you’re Stone Williams. Hi ,” she says. “I’m Amy.”
“Hello, Amy.” Stone angles his head and perfects his relaxed, yet gracious energy with a tight-lipped smile.
I watch him, bewitched and just as enchanted by his ability to what I can honestly call a shapeshift.
“I can’t believe it’s you!” she squeals, then holds her hands to her heart and collects herself.
“I mean, I knew you were here, but I didn’t think I’d get the chance to meet you, and here you are, saying hello to me!
” She risks peeling her eyes away from him by looking over her shoulder, then leaning forward on the podium and showing off her ample, flawless cleavage.
I look down at my A-cups, thinking my neck wrinkles are currently bigger than my girls.
“I could get fired for this, but seriously, I don’t think I’ll get another chance … can I take a selfie with you?”
My head snaps up, automatically searching for a motorcycle boyfriend nearby.
Stone has no such worries. “Sadly, I’m not taking pictures while in Falcon Haven. I appreciate your enthusiasm, though, and wish you all the best.”
I’m shot back into reality when he smoothly adds, “Noa, shall we proceed?”