Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
‘ I ’ll pick you up at eight o’clock when it’s getting dark. Wear black,’ she added and a secret smile lit Maya’s face.
‘Wear black?’ Noah chuckled, and she loved the sound of his deep voice. ‘Are we going to rob a bank?’
Maya grinned and her eyes sparkled. ‘That’s for me to know and for you to find out. I’m taking you on a date.’ She didn’t want them to be noticed because she’d seen from the press articles that going out with Noah could cause a furore. She’d asked Joe if she could borrow Bertha for an evening and she’d spent the day fizzing with excitement. They didn’t run tours at night very often, as there wasn’t much to see except the stars in the night sky! She’d already sorted out fairy lights, plump cushions and rugs that she’d found in a box of storage items under her rented house she guessed the owners used when they took their boat out. She’d made a picnic of crusty French bread, mature cheeses, pickles and she’d added a bottle of rich and fruity red wine.
In the end she’d called Leah and apologised for bolting out before they chatted about her dilemma with Noah. Her best friend had scolded her for ruining her first chance of some fun in years. It had made Maya realise she was still feeling the pressure from her family about having a proper relationship and had put unrealistic expectations on what was happening between her and Noah. She could spend time with him and not fall under the spell of those baby blue eyes, she’d decided, after giving herself a stern talking. She was a grown woman and the love pact idea between her and Noah could actually give them both space to breathe without the constraints of a relationship. That was the idea, anyway. It had made her hatch her plan to bring in some fun and to wine and dine her date, Maya style. She’d popped some Ragged Robin and Cuckooflower stems in a few jam jars and dotted their pink and lilac blooms around, which made the setting a bit too romantic, so she’d pared them back a little.
Since that night in his guesthouse, things had changed. She might be confused about what was for show and what was real, but was equally determined to enjoy the moment and not ruin it by overthinking. Noah was an attentive fake boyfriend and as the family party was coming up soon, her family wanted to meet him now that they knew he was on the radar. She’d put them off at the start by saying that she needed to get to know him herself, but they were all eagerly champing at the bit – except for Arthur. It surprised Maya that her gran hadn’t turned up at his house and interrogated him yet, but she had spoken to him briefly on the phone a few times, and that had appeased her for now. After finally agreeing, they could all meet at the family party, the date was getting closer rather quickly!
Maya climbed aboard the boat and finished setting the scene for their date. Noah had mentioned that no one ever did anything nice for him, so she wanted to make him feel special, even if it was just as friends. She’d hung the fairy lights across the bar and set the rugs and cushions up on the floor, as she couldn’t risk drawing attention to the fact that there was someone aboard as Alex and Luca would fly in to protect any of the boats if they were called by a worried neighbour who lived by the river.
When Noah jumped onto her boat and kissed her in welcome, her knees almost buckled, so she had to sit down and get on with guiding the boat back along the river, the slight wind whipping her hair around her face and making her eyes water. She steered past several other boats that were moored along this stretch of water and avoided the ever-present ducks and swans that floated up and down the waterways while they slept with their heads tucked under one wing. ‘Are they actually asleep?’ laughed Noah in surprise, clearly fascinated by the sight.
‘Yes. It’s safer here than on the river bed, unless they are nesting and protecting their eggs,’ she smiled in response. ‘It keeps them away from foxes and other predators.’
Noah was dressed simply in a fitted black jumper and black jeans, but her mouth salivated at the sight of him. His hair was slicked back and his eyes shone when he looked at her. He seemed happy to see her and excited about where they were going. He grinned when she pulled up by Bertha and used the torch on her phone to get them inside as swiftly as possible but putting her hands on his backside to help him up as he climbed on board via a rope ladder.
‘Are you taking me somewhere dark to have your wicked way with me?’ he chuckled as she hurried him towards the bar. He didn’t look too scared at the prospect and her cheeks flushed in pleasure. She opened the door to the bar and his eyes went wide with wonder as he looked around at the snug paradise she’d created. ‘You did this for me?’ he stood stunned for a moment and then whisked her off her feet and swept her into his arms, with one hand going to the soft curve of her hip and the other to cup her face and bring her lips close to his. When he released her, flustered, she licked her lips and couldn’t string a sentence together for a moment, so she stepped behind the bar to calm her racing heart and make them some drinks. The air sizzled with electricity and she felt shy suddenly. Being in an enclosed space with Noah was lethal as she couldn’t seem to drag her gaze or her hands away from him and he clearly felt the same as he followed her behind the bar and began kissing the back of her neck and shoulders while she made the drinks, which sent goosebumps down her spine.
She turned round and handed him a drink, noticing that he had a wrapped parcel in one of his hands. He saw what she was looking at and grinned. ‘I brought you a gift.’
‘You didn’t need to do that, but thank you! This date was supposed to be about you,’ she said, her skin flushing.
‘It's about us,’ he said, handing her the gift. She untied the red ribbon and eased the beautiful floral printed wrapping away and folded it carefully before placing it on the bar. She shuffled backwards a step or two as she picked up her gift and held it tightly to her chest for a moment. It was a hardback book about all the plants that thrived around the riverbed. She flicked through the pages in awe, and then pulled him to her by grabbing a handful of his jumper and kissed him thoroughly. ‘You like the gift then?’ he laughed finally, tenderly brushing her hair out of her eyes with his fingers and then taking her hand and handing her a glass of the Bertha special, a strawberry gin and lemonade.
‘I love it! It’s so thoughtful,’ she flushed, before kissing him again and then leading him to sit on the rugs and cushions she’d placed on the bar floor, alongside a wicker hamper full of tempting treats, like chocolate covered strawberries, fresh bread, mature cheese, chilli jam and black truffle crisps - although Noah himself was the most tempting of all to her. Her heart felt like it might burst with happiness and she wished she could bottle that feeling. No man had ever done anything as thoughtful for her before and she adored the beautiful book. She handed Noah a plateful of food and they ate while they chatted about their week and plans for the next couple of months.
‘I’ve got a huge work party coming up that I’d love you to join me at. It’s the year’s biggest charity ball in my industry and my agent has reiterated that I have to be there on pain of death. The tickets are like gold dust.’ Maya was intrigued and nodded, thinking that she’d happily attend with him without thinking of the consequences. ‘I’m still excited to come to your family party. I hadn’t forgotten. When is it?’ he smiled, tasting one of the artisan breads and cheeses from the plate in front of him.
‘When’s yours?’ she countered. He told her the date, and her mind raced through possibilities in a panic, as it clashed with that of her own family party. Oh hell! She cringed and then plastered a smile onto her face before he saw it.
‘This ball is part of my working calendar, but it should be fun’ reiterated Noah, his voice animated, his eyes shining in the moonlight. ‘Dame Rosalie Alton is hosting and there will be an auction during the ball. She’s donating a piece of original No.1 Ethereal Lane jewellery to a local museum and it’s going up for auction. This brand has come out of nowhere recently and it’s literally everywhere I look. It might be exciting to be part of that…’ he hedged.
‘Um… sounds great!’ said Maya, her voice trembling slightly .
‘Plus you already have a piece!’ he remembered suddenly and Maya flinched. ‘The one Tabitha pointed out. You really should keep the ring somewhere safe now,’ he advised, ‘it’s value must have skyrocketed.’
Maya cleared her throat for a moment and then bit her lip while she thought about how to respond. ‘Good idea,’ she diverted. Maya had been commissioned to create a stunning waterfall necklace for Dame Rosalie to auction at her illustrious party - as Noah said, the ball of the year. Dame Rosalie was a household name, so when the request had come in, it had been impossible to refuse. Noah was working on his next film with Dame Rosalie and he’d told Maya before how much he was looking forward to it.
Blast , thought Maya. This was getting complicated . Maya already understood this ball was a tremendous deal to anyone with one of those precious golden tickets. It almost felt like an invitation to the Oscars. Dame Rosalie and Noah had worked together before, but he was headlining this film. Rosalie had a smaller part this time, but the press adored her and most of the film articles were about her and not the movie. Maya wondered how Noah felt about that, but he didn’t seem to mind. She’d spent months working on Rosalie’s necklace and she was quite a character, so it had been fun to delve into her life for a while, but the work had been gruelling.
‘I’d love to join you,’ said Maya, without as much gusto as she’d have liked and Noah smiled and took her hand, turning it over and kissing her wrist.
‘You don’t sound too sure,’ he noted. ‘Will it bother you if our photo gets into the press? There will be photographers and journalists there. I know we’ve avoided it so far because you’re shy and hate having your photo taken, although I don’t know why because you’re beautiful,’ he complimented and she softened a little. ‘They can’t stand me, but I try not to let it bother me too much.’ She wanted to ease the frown lines from his brow, but nibbled on a bit of bread instead.
‘Journalists don’t hate you at all! They adore you. One newspaper writes trash and we both know why that is.’ She looked at his imploring eyes and her heart melted. Could she face being splashed all over the front pages for him? She tried to calm her breathing and decided that she could. ‘I’ll come with you.’
Noah pulled her into his arms so that the food was soon forgotten. In the end, they took the rug and blankets outside and Maya rested her head on his arm and snuggled into his side while they watched the stars twinkle in the inky night sky. She put off mentioning her family party again because talking about that would now have to wait, so she gave him a fake date, which was ironic, and made her grin to herself for a moment. She wouldn’t have let Noah go to such an important night in his life alone when he wanted her by his side. A warm feeling spread through her body and she decided that she’d do almost anything for this man, even if it meant her family was grumpy for a while and even if they just ended up as friends.
After a while she leaned up on one arm and looked at him. ‘Tabitha called me,’ said Maya regretfully. ‘She keeps asking me out for coffee and seems quite insistent. Blake’s been texting me lately too,’ she added quietly. ‘He wants me to meet him to talk about our past and to try to be friends again.’
Noah frowned and grew serious, sitting up and turning to face her. ‘Is that something you want?’ He didn’t look happy, but there wasn’t much she could do about that and she kind of liked the feeling that it riled him a little .
‘No. Not at all! Blake is my past. He doesn’t have a place in my future.’ She was resolute on this. Noah’s shoulders relaxed and then leaned in to kiss her gently on the mouth. The problem was that this felt more like a proper date and they hadn’t spoken about their conversation in the guesthouse since, probably because they both realised it was a tricky topic. For now they were friends who were still fake-dating it seemed but her feelings for Noah were becoming more muddled by the day.
‘Does it matter to you either way?’ she asked. ‘I’m still unsure about what your intentions are,’ she said bravely… ‘well I have an idea, but I’m not sure.’
‘Can we drop the fake date bit and just date?’ he asked, taking her hand and gently kissing his way up her arm, making her skin heat to a million degrees.
Noah pulled her onto his lap and wound his arms around her, his hands slipping up and under her black shirt and touching naked skin. She shivered, but not with the cold and his lips captured hers and plundered them until they were plump and glossy. She ran her own hands over his hard muscles and almost forgot where they were. When he released his arms and she leaned back to look into his eyes with her own glazed ones, he grinned wolfishly and kissed her once again. ‘Does that make it clear how I feel?’ he asked. She nodded and leant in for another searing kiss, her hands snaking into his hair to pull him closer. He groaned and pulled her so that she was straddling him, deepening their kiss and squirming on his lap so that he had to take hold of her hips, or lose control. She felt like rockets full of glitter were exploding in her brain and she had to pull back to keep hold of her sanity. This man would be her undoing. ‘I think we’d better take this back indoors before anyone sees us,’ she said shakily, taking his warm hand and guiding him back into the bar, where he swung her up onto the bar, kissing her again, leaving her breathless.
‘I was unsure what your situation was with Blake,’ he said as he linked his arms behind her waist and dipped his head to steal one more kiss, before setting her back on her feet. ‘Is what you had really over?’ he asked. ‘You said he broke your heart and that scares me a little.’
Maya took his hand and leaned her hip against the bar, mirroring him. ‘I got over my heartbreak when I met you,’ she looked up at him and his featured softened suddenly.
‘Whatever was going on at my garden party seemed pretty intense from what I could understand, and the way he couldn’t take his eyes off of you made me feel cautious,’ he admitted bashfully, snuggling her under his arm protectively. ‘Sorry.’
‘Cautious or jealous?’ she asked gently.
‘Both I guess,’ he admitted truthfully. ‘I didn’t want to end up with my own broken heart.’
Maya moved behind the bar again to pour them both a glass of light and fruity Pinot Noir wine and to stop herself from fainting with shock at Noah’s admission. She needed sustenance after being so close to Noah and after talking about Blake. Noah had been jealous and thought she had the power to break his heart! She tried to still her beating heart. Would every significant moment in her life be overshadowed by Blake, though? She handed Noah the glass of wine and enjoyed the frisson of heat shooting up her spine as their hands touched again. He sat on the freshly upholstered velvet banquet seating that Maya had bought and patted the seat next to him for her to move closer. She shuffled until their thighs were touching and he put his hand on her leg, as she turned to face him. ‘I’m not so mad about you being jealous,’ she smiled shyly. ‘Blake hasn’t been part of my life for a long time. Any feeling I had for him died the day I found him in our bed with Portia.’
‘Portia?’ Noah frowned. ‘I didn’t realise the full extent of her involvement. I’m sorry.’ Maya brushed her hair out of her eyes, burning with embarrassment suddenly. Maya felt uneasy about the fact that both Blake and Portia floated in the same circles as Noah, but she couldn’t do anything about that.
‘I really don’t know them that well,’ Noah said, as if reading her mind. ‘I only met them recently. Portia knows Tabitha from a photo shoot they did together last year.’ Well, that explained a lot, seethed Maya. She already knew that Tabitha wasn’t her type of friend, or acquaintance, so she wasn’t planning on inviting her round for dinner anytime soon.
‘Blake and I met at art school and then ran a jewellery design business together for a while, but it didn’t work out. Portia was one of our models – that’s how they met.’ Maya tried to gloss over the subject and move on.
‘I didn’t know you used to design jewellery,’ said Noah, interest sparking in his eyes. ‘Blake’s current brand is pretty popular now, so that must have been awful timing. Maybe I misjudged him if he treated you like that. What an idiot!’ he ground out angrily.
Maya quite liked Noah’s protective streak but talking about Blake always exhausted her. ‘I can’t disagree. He’s done well since we split up and thankfully he’s not a part of my life now,’ she sincerely hoped that was true.
She made a quick decision and finally confided in him about what she’d heard Tabitha and her cronies talking about at the garden party. ‘She mentioned being annoyed about the public being let in.’ She smiled as she could almost see the steam coming out of Noah’s ears .
‘That’s outrageous! How dare she make you feel like an uninvited interloper when you were the guest of honour!’ he fumed.
‘It’s ok,’ said Maya holding her hands up and placing one on his chest to calm him. ‘I can stand up for myself,’ she assured him.
‘I told her privately in no uncertain terms that we were dating now and that she had to back off,’ growled Noah protectively.
‘She’s so desperate to be my friend to find out how I got my No. 1 Ethereal Lane ring that she’s actually being nice to me now,’ chuckled Maya, finally lightening the mood once more. ‘She keeps asking me out shopping.’ Maya scoffed at how ridiculous the thought of her and Tabitha ever being friends was.
‘How did you get the ring?’ he asked, linking her fingers with his. She fleetingly thought about telling him the truth that she’d made it, but the mystery around the designer’s identity was still rife and she’d trusted and been burnt before. He saw her hesitation and backed off. ‘You don’t have to tell me.’
‘It’s okay - Matt gave it to me,’ when he paused and rubbed his jaw, his eyes darkened in distrust because he’d already seen them out alone for the birthday meal. She gently reassured him. ‘I don’t know if you would have seen it in the press, but Matt was the first No. 1 Ethereal Lane model.’ She could see the cogs in Noah’s brain whirring and the moment when he pictured the billboards with Matt's face on them. ‘The jewellery brand had given Matt the ring as part payment for modelling in their first campaign, before the company knew how stratospheric their rise would be in such a brief space of time.’
‘You’re wondering why he gave such a valuable piece to me and not Leah?’ she smiled at Noah’s look of concern and confusion. ‘We were friends long before either of us knew Leah. We both grew up here. I actually introduced them. I spotted the job opportunity for him and it was his way of saying thank you for launching his career.’
‘You found the first No.1 Ethereal Lane model and got him the job?’ he asked incredulously. ‘Bloody hell! Tabitha has just hit a goldmine of information. Never tell her that. She’s at all of my work events and meetings and is even trying to be nice to me at the moment because she’s dating our producer, Corey. It happened the day after I told her about us. She’s acting like we’re the best of friends, but it feels like just another way to interfere in my life.’ He shook his head in wonder, but didn’t look like he trusted Tabitha any more than he had before as his tone was wary when he spoke about her.
‘Try not to worry about Tabitha,’ she reassured. It felt weird for her to be talking about her actual business with someone other than her tiny team of confidants. She wished she didn’t have such trust issues, but was trying to overcome them. Blake had a lot to answer for, but perhaps she’d been over cautious? ‘Anyway,’ she continued, ‘the combination with gorgeous Matt…’ she leaned back and fanned her face in jest and Noah rolled his eyes and slid his hand further up her leg to make her skin sizzle and the teasing stop about the fact that he’d thought she fancied Matt. She cleared her throat shakily and continued. ‘The brand was dynamite and Matt has become a household name. Hence, he gave me the ring.’
‘Wow!’ said Noah in a stunned voice. He reached across her and selected a fresh chocolate dipped strawberry from a bowl that she’d placed on the table earlier. He held it tantalisingly, just above her lips and she reached out and took a bite, the sweet juices and tangy flesh filling her mouth and making her groan. She was about to pick one for him, but he pulled her onto his lap instead and she instantly forgot all about work and her mind filled with the delicious man beneath her thighs.
‘I think my girlfriend and I should definitely christen the boat in our own way,’ he said in a low voice, and his hands ran even higher up her legs as they tumbled together onto the floor and he pushed the fabric of her skirt up to her waist. The last coherent thought she had before she reached for the waistband of his jeans and slipped them from his hips, was that exceptionally hot man in her arms had just called her his girlfriend.