Chapter 11 #2
“What can I say? You’re rubbing off on me.” Kara smiled.
Dahlia walked closer to the pink heritage rose painting with white plumeria tucked among the stems. As she held it in her hands, the palette reminded her of spring when possibility seemed endless.
The roses were a salmon hue, and the background felt like the sky on a perfect cloudless summer day.
“She always loved her girls the most, though. Anne Pratt, Lady Harriet, and, of course, Georgia O’Keeffe,” she mumbled as Kara looked on.
“What’s that? On the back?” Kara asked. “Turn it back over. Look, there’s a number.” Kara pointed. “It says four.”
“It’s probably just markings from an art show or exhibit.”
Suddenly, a loud tap came from the other side of the barn. “Dimples, you in here?”
Kara’s eyes widened as she mouthed the word dimples.
Dahlia’s heart swelled, and her hands tingled. Dimples, Dahlia repeated in her head. Was this her new pet name?
“Yeah, I’m in here,” Dahlia yelled, feeling her voice crack. She prayed he hadn’t heard any of their earlier conversation.
Noah walked through the plastic tarp with Harry and looked surprised to see Kara there. “Oh hey, sorry. I figured you were alone.”
“Did you know?” Kara asked quietly with a side nod.
Dahlia glared at her with wide eyes, telling her in one look to behave herself. “Was Harry bothering you?”
“No, not at all. He’s my shadow.” He looked down at him, who was sitting ever so patiently next to him. It was as if Harry knew something that no one else did. Noah gave Kara a friendly smile. “Hi, I’m Noah.”
“I know. I’m Kara, Dahlia’s cousin. Very, very nice to meet you, Noah,” Kara said, ogling him like a piece of meat, which wasn’t hard because he was practically naked.
Well, almost. The thin tank top, which offered a full view of his dragon tattoo over the shoulder, paired with short shorts, didn’t help the drool fest.
Dahlia nudged Kara with her elbow.
“Kara is heading to the Hamptons for a party tonight, so she took the ferry over from Connecticut to keep me company for the day,” Dahlia said, keeping one eye on her cousin.
“And she might be coming with. I might steal her away for the night,” Kara said proudly. “Or she could stay here … if there’s something worth staying for.”
Dahlia glared at her. If looks could kill, Kara would be lifeless on the floor. “Well, I have a lot to do here. I’m really not sure.” Dahlia looked at Noah, secretly wanting to stay.
“You should go. It sounds fun,” Noah said, still not mentioning one thing about his old life there or how well he knew the Hamptons from the show.
“Yeah, maybe,” Dahlia said, swallowing the disappointment.
Noah stared at Dahlia, as if there was something else he wanted to say. “Oh, right. I’m heading up to the chimney. I didn’t want to scare you.”
“Oh, I can help you,” Dahlia said.
“I can help too,” Kara said.
“No, that’s very kind, but I’ll be fine. I’ve done this hundreds of times,” he said, running his fingers through his thick brown locks.
Dahlia just stood there trying to settle the winged creatures that took flight.
“Okay then.” Noah smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too, Noah,” Kara said, watching him stroll away.
Later that day, Dahlia said goodbye to Kara from the porch.
“He definitely has rizz. I’ll give him that,” Kara said.
“Rizz?” Dahlia’s brows furrowed.
“Charisma, swag, glow. Geez, you need to get out more. And you better get on that before the vixen decides she wants him back,” Kara said with a firm nod.
“Oh, I don’t know. The more I think about it, the more I realize it’s probably not the best idea to get involved. Plus, I’m so out of practice. And not to mention older than he is.”
“So you’re robbing the cradle.” Kara shrugged.
“Don’t say that. It makes it sound so illicit.” Hearing it aloud had a whole other connotation. If she was robbing the cradle? Was ten years that bad? She still didn’t know.
“Who cares? It’s been done before. Heck, Priyanka is ten years older than Nick Jonas. Don’t overthink this.”
“Not overthinking got me in trouble in the first place, remember?” Dahlia leaned against the door frame.
“And look how that turned out,” Kara said thoughtfully.
“Yeah, pretty great.” Dahlia couldn’t imagine her world without Daisy. As hard as it had been being a single mom for the first five years of Daisy’s life, she wouldn’t trade those memories or the gift of being her mom for anything. As Lil would say, “Some mistakes turn out to be miracles.”
“Make a move. Have some fun. He didn’t show up by accident, you know.” Kara held Dahlia’s hand, making firm eye contact. “And if you change your mind about the party, text me. I’m sure Simon would be very pleased.”
“Sounds good. Today was fun. Thanks for all your help with the landscaping and some of the painting.”
“It was. Any time.” Kara hugged her goodbye. “Love you, girl.”
“I love you too.” Dahlia followed behind Kara, trying to avoid the sinkhole in the porch floor, which had magically been fixed. When did he do this? she wondered. Her smile grew as she waved to Kara, now climbing into her Suburban. She walked toward his property to thank Noah.
She turned onto the gravel driveway and saw him working on his motorcycle. He was wearing a backward hat and untied black work boots. God, he looked good—a bit of rogue biker sprinkled with all-American boy next door. Heat trailed through her body, moistening even her hands.
“Hi,” she cheerfully said.
“Hey there.” Noah briefly looked up.
“I just wanted to say thanks for all your help today.” Dahlia paused, watching his sweaty body curve around the wheel. Perhaps this wasn’t such a bad idea after all. She bit the inside of her lip, imagining his slick body against hers. Trying to slow her heartbeat, she asked, “What are you up to?”
“Trying to fix a leak. I’m heading out for a few days,” Noah said with a slack face.
“Oh, where?” As soon as the words left her lips, she regretted it. It sounded way too needy.
“Montauk. For a boys’ weekend.”
Something felt off from yesterday. Had he overheard them talking this morning?
Did Dahlia scare him off? Dahlia wondered if his ex would also be out there.
If so, would they meet up? “Okay, well, have fun.” Dahlia turned to walk away.
“Oh, and thank you for fixing the porch. That was so nice of you. I’m sure there were other things to do, like fix your bike. ”
“Yeah, I’m running a little late, but it’s okay. Any time.”
“Well, I’m grateful.” Dahlia covered her chest. She didn’t want him to go to Montauk; she liked having him next door. It made her feel less alone.
“I’ll stain it at some point, so it looks seamless,” he said.
“It looks better already, and it’s no longer a death trap, so …
I can see you’re busy. I’ll let you go,” Dahlia said.
She didn’t want to go, but she knew she had to.
Staying meant fooling herself into thinking a summer fling could work.
It was obvious that they were from two different worlds.
She wanted quiet, wanted to stay home, and he wanted a party.
Dahlia walked away, feeling like the air was being sucked out of her bright balloon.
“Dahlia?” Noah asked.
“Yeah?” She turned back, holding on to the bit of air that was left.
“Want to grab dinner when I get back? I heard there’s a movie on the lawn in Greenport on Sunday.”
“Yeah, okay.” She turned away, biting her lip. She’d forgotten how turbulent dating could be. Perhaps she’d never really known. But a little voice inside her head told her it would be worth finding out.