6. Landon #6
When I turned around, Nolani was still beside me.
Pink apron.
Loose curls.
Close enough that I could smell sugar on her.
“I hate leaving.”
“You’ve been here almost three hours.”
“Still hate leaving.”
“I know.”
She stepped into me and adjusted the edge of my collar.
Nothing was wrong with it.
I let her anyway.
“Text me when you get home.”
“I will.”
“When you’re actually home. Not at a gas station.”
“I hear you.”
“And don’t speed.”
“I don’t speed.”
“You coach football and drive a black SUV. That combination feels statistically dishonest.”
“My driving record is respectable.”
“That doesn’t mean spotless.”
“It means none of your business.”
She laughed.
I took her hand.
“You got something else.”
“How do you know?”
Her fingers touched the pendant at her throat.
I looked down at them.
She immediately dropped her hand.
“Annoying.”
“Accurate.”
Nolani glanced toward the road before coming back to me.
“You showed up for my world today.”
“Gladly.”
“I want to see yours.” I waited. “I want to watch you coach. I want to see you with the boys instead of only hearing the stories afterward.”
That got my attention.
Football wasn’t something I performed for women I dated. Those boys trusted me with more than routes and scores. Asking to see that part of me meant she’d been paying attention too.
“You volunteering to make the trip?”
Her smile changed.
“A full tank, a good playlist, and somebody worth seeing at the end of it. Heard that makes the road simple.”
I laughed.
“That’s my line.”
“It was effective. I redistributed the resource.”
“You spend one week around me and already weaponizing vocabulary.”
“I’m an excellent student.”
“I’m an excellent instructor.”
“That remains under review.”
I pulled her closer by the waist.
“Now you flirting.”
“I’ve been flirting.”
“I know. I like hearing you admit it.”
“You like hearing yourself validated.”
“I like hearing the truth.”
Her palms settled against my chest.
“Then hear this. I want to see you again.”
“Say less, love.”
I kissed her.
The porch kiss had carried surprise.
This one didn’t.
Nolani met me halfway, one hand sliding behind my neck while the other stayed against my chest. Her mouth opened beneath mine, and I drew her closer as she rose into me instead of waiting to be pulled.
That difference got my attention.
I slowed the kiss because we were standing outside her business in broad daylight, and I possessed at least some home training.
Slow had its own problems.
It gave me time to feel her fingers at the back of my neck, the way she leaned closer when I deepened the kiss, and the breath she took when my thumb moved along her waist.
Yeah.
I eased back before judgment started negotiating with me.
Her eyes stayed closed for another second.
“That was not restrained,” she countered.
“That was measured.”
“By what standard?”
“What I wanted to do versus what I actually did.”
Her eyes opened.
“Should I be concerned?”
“Only if you keep looking at me like this parking lot got privacy.”
She smiled. “Maybe I don’t care.”
Jesus.
I laughed low and rested my forehead against hers.
“You getting bold.”
“Maybe.”
“I like it.”
“I know.”
That answer again.
I kissed her forehead, then one cheek, then the other.
Nolani laughed and pushed lightly against my chest.
“Go see your mama.”
“In a minute.”
“Landon.”
I kissed her mouth once more.
Short.
Necessary.
“Now.”
“Better?”
“No.”
“Go.” I stepped back before I found another excuse to stay. “Call me when you get there.”
“I will.”
“Promise?”
That word carried more than the others.
I looked at her.
“I don’t make promises casually. If I tell you I’m calling, you’ll hear from me.”
Her shoulders eased.
“Okay.”
I opened the driver’s door, then took her hand and kissed her knuckles.
“Thank you for today.”
“Thank you for coming.”
“I’ll be back.”
“I know.”
I climbed into the SUV.
Nolani stayed beside the open door.
“Tell your mama I hope she likes the butter pecan.”
“She will.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know Mama.”
“What if I didn’t put enough pecans?”
“She’ll complain.”
Her eyes widened.
“Landon.”
“Then eat the whole pint while complaining.”
“That woman better not insult my product and finish it.”
“You’ll understand the Brooks system eventually.”
She caught the word.
“Eventually?”
I smiled.
“Drive home, Landon.”
“As you wish, love.”
I pulled away with four pints in the cooler and Hershey’s kiss still sitting on my mouth.
I’d gone to Self Ridge to see what she built. I liked the shop. Loved what she’d done with the books. Liked her people. Liked seeing her behind the counter, in the kitchen, and across a crowded room looking at me like maybe I belonged there a little too.
But the best part of the afternoon had been simpler than all that.
Nolani had stopped making me do all the reaching.
She looked when she wanted to look. Touched me because she wanted her hands on me. Kissed me first because she felt like it. Asked to see the part of my life that mattered after trusting me with hers.
Yeah.
That was plenty for one Saturday.
More than enough to make me look forward to the next one.