by Force, Marie
“That’s nice of them. What’s on the menu?”
“Eggs, pancakes, French toast.”
“Oh, pancakes, please. And coffee. Lots of coffee.”
Noah placed the order, requesting an omelet for himself, and put down the phone. He curled up to her and moved her wild hair out of the way so he could kiss the side of her neck. “Did you sleep okay?”
“Like a dead woman.”
“Me, too. Haven’t slept that well in a long time.”
“Me either.”
“We’re stuck here, then, huh?”
“Looks that way. I should call Carlo and tell the guys to stay in bed.” He sat up again and made the call to his foreman.
Brianna dozed to the sound of his voice. She marveled at how his voice had gone from a source of irritation to one of comfort during an unforgettable night. She’d expected to feel conflicted this morning, but she didn’t. Sure, she still didn’t think sleeping with a colleague was the wisest thing she’d ever done, but mostly she just felt… good.
When was the last time she’d woken up feeling good? Before the implosion. Every single day since then had been shitty. Not every second, of course, but most of the time. Feeling like shit sucked the life out of a person and made everything difficult, even the most mundane tasks.
The next thing she knew, Noah was pulling the bedcovers up over her shoulders. “Stay put. They’re here with the food.”
Brianna snuggled deeper into the comfortable bed, delighted that they were stranded and didn’t have to spend the day in the frigid tundra.
Noah carried in their tray and set it on the coffee table. He went into the bathroom and came out with a robe that he held up for her. “Madam, your breakfast is served.” His most excellent chest was still on display since he was wearing only his jeans with the top button undone. Adding to his morning sexiness was the golden-blond stubble on his face and jaw. He was rather lovely to look at.
She tore her eyes off him and got up, eager to put the robe on. “Thank you.” The wave of shyness made her feel silly considering what they’d done during the night. She quickly stuck her arms in the sleeves and tied the robe around her waist.
He held her chair at the table and sat across from her to take the catering covers off their plates.
“Holy cow, that’s a feast,” she said.
“It’s holy pig, remember?”
“Oh, right. You want my sausage?”
“Since you had mine, I’ll take yours.”
She sputtered with laughter. “I can’t believe you said that.”
“Sure, you can.”
They ate the delicious breakfast that also included Vermont maple syrup for her pancakes and a fruit bowl to share.
“The Pig’s Belly is my new favorite place,” Brianna said after her third bite of pancake. “In fact, I think I’d like to live here.”
“That’s quite a statement for a vegetarian.”
“I know! Meat is so not my thing.”
Noah gave her a dirty look that had her face heating with embarrassment.
“Stop it.”
“You’re cute when you’re mortified.”
“I am not.”
“You are, too.”
“Glad to get back to normal with you.” She eyed him over the rim of her coffee mug. “Back to arguing.”
“Feels like old times from just yesterday.”
“You mean when you were trying to tell me it was no big deal that you signed for supplies after I explicitly asked you not to?”
“That seems like such a long time ago.”
“Does it?”
“Uh-huh. We’ve traveled light-years from there.”
“Maybe so, but you’re still not signing for supplies when we get back to work.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She glowered at him. “Don’t call me that.”
“What should I call you?”
“Brianna works.”
“Brianna it is.”
“Do you have any idea how difficult it is to be a female project manager when your entire team is men who think they know much better than you ever could?”
“No, I guess I don’t, seeing as how I’ve never been a woman.”
“I worked construction for four summers when I was in college because I wanted to learn the business from the ground up.”
“Is that right?” Noah asked, surprised.
“I did it all, from roofing to drywalling to finish work to apprenticing with the plumbers and electricians, so I’d understand their roles.”
“That’s impressive.”
“From the first time I ever stepped foot on a jobsite, I was treated as someone who didn’t belong there. They acted like I was going to get hurt and cause them problems when all I wanted to do was learn their trade.”
“How’d you get hired in the first place?”
“A family friend owned a construction business, and when I decided to major in architecture, he told me I should learn the business from the construction side first. He offered to give me a summer job if I wanted it. My parents weren’t thrilled about me spending summers with a bunch of grown men, but our friend ran a tight ship and put the word out that they were to leave me alone and teach me. I give him so much credit for starting me off the right way.”
“That’s cool you did it that way. I really am impressed.”
“For all the good it did me. I still have to fight for respect on every job. It gets tiresome after a while.”
“I’m sorry I made you feel disrespected.”
She shrugged. “It’s fine. I’m used to it by now.”
“It’s not fine. My shitty attitude has nothing to do with you, as you know by now. I’ve been guilty of letting my personal crap spill over into work, and I am sorry if I mistreated you. You have a job to do just like I do. What happened to me three years ago certainly isn’t your fault.”
“It’s not yours either.”
“I have trouble believing that. I must’ve done something to create the opening for my ex to do what she did.”
Brianna looked him directly in the eyes. “You did nothing to deserve what she did. I don’t care what failings you might have had as a husband. If she wanted out, all she had to do was say so. To sleep with someone else is disgusting. To sleep with her husband’s best friend and highly valued employee is despicable.”
His lips quivered with the start of a smile.
“I’m serious!”
“I know you are.”
“So then why are you trying not to laugh?”
“Because you’re cute when you’re fierce.”
She scowled at him. “Quit calling me cute. No grown-ass woman wants to be told she’s cute.”
“Sexy, then. Is that better?”
“I can live with that.”
When he smiled, it transformed his face, taking him from hard and unreachable to sweet and eminently accessible.
“You ought to smile more often. It does good things for you.”
“Makes me feel good, too. My face sorta hurts from all the smiling I’ve done since I picked you up last night.”
“Didn’t expect that, did you?”
“Not so much. But neither did you.”
“Nope. I was kinda dreading having to go to the Pig’s Belly with you, of all people.”
“The thorn in your side.”
“More like a gigantic pain in my ass than a thorn in my side.”
He tossed his head back and laughed hard, which made her laugh right along with him.
“What should we do with this unexpected day off?” Noah asked.
“I’d love a shower, and then I might go back to bed for a while.”
“I could be convinced to participate in both those activities if I’m invited.”
“You’re definitely invited.”
Chapter Eight
“Disappointment hurts more than pain.”
—American proverb
Noah couldn’t recall a day h
e enjoyed more than the one they spent stranded at the Pig’s Belly. They napped, used two more of the condoms, watched a Mission: Impossible movie and played pool downstairs, which was where they were when they got the word that the road to Butler had reopened.
He was almost sad to see their time at the tavern come to an end. The unexpected interlude had been fantastic. They returned to their room to retrieve their coats and other belongings before bundling up to head out into the frigid late afternoon. The sky was dark and gloomy, the snow hip-deep and the roads treated but still slippery.
Noah took his time on the winding highway that led back to Butler. About four miles from the Pig’s Belly, they came upon the scene of the accident. A new wooden guardrail marked the spot where the car had left the road the night before. “Don’t look down,” he said.
“Too late. I can’t imagine driving off that embankment.”
Noah noticed several trees had been knocked over, probably by the car or rescue teams. “I hope everyone is okay.”
“I may never drive in Vermont again after seeing that.”
“You just have to go slow.”
“Those drop-offs are terrifying.“
“Accidents happen, but we’re used to that up here. Our EMS is amazing. Two of my cousins are firefighter-paramedics, and they can tell you some stories. My cousin Lucas got hurt in the inn fire. His identical twin, Landon, rescued him and Amanda, the woman Landon is now engaged to.”
“Wow.”
“That was a crazy night, by all accounts.”
“Thank goodness Landon was able to rescue them both.”
“I know. I can’t imagine Landon or Lucas without the other one.”
“How identical are they?”
“I have to take a close look before I call either of them by name, except in the winter when Lucas grows a beard. There’re two sets of twins in that family. Hunter and Hannah are twins, too.”
“It wasn’t enough that she had ten kids. Your aunt had to have two sets of twins, too.”
“My aunt Molly is an overachiever.”
“I’d say so.”
They were back in Butler far too quickly for his liking. Would he drop her off, return home and only see her at work going forward? That thought immediately depressed him and ruined the first good mood he’d had in three years. Five minutes later, when he pulled his truck into her driveway, he was no closer to figuring out how to hold on to the upbeat feeling he’d found with her.
“Someone plowed your driveway.”
“My landlord sends someone to do it, but he buried my car, as usual.”
“I’ll help you dig it out.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I don’t mind. It’ll take you hours to do it alone.”
“Believe me, I know. I’ve had to do it before.”
“Next time snow is forecast, park it at the end of the driveway facing out. That way he can push the snow to the back, and it won’t trap you.”
“Well, duh. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“You’re not a native Vermonter. We’re born knowing that stuff.” He got out of the truck and went around to give her a hand down. “Do you have an extra shovel?”
“Yeah, there are two of them in the garage. I’ll grab them. Thanks for the help.”
“No problem. I can’t leave you stranded.”
They worked together for more than an hour to dig her car out of the massive drift.
“Do you want to make sure it starts before I go?”
“Sure. Let me run inside to get my keys.”
While she was in the house, he used the scraper to clear the ice off her windshield.
She came out and unlocked the car, but the driver’s door wouldn’t open.
“It’s frozen.” Noah began chipping away at the ice around the doorframe.
“I never knew that could happen until I came up here.”
“Your door never froze in Boston?”
“I keep the car in a garage there.”
“Ah, okay.” He continued to work on the ice until he was able to open the door. “There you are.”
“Thank you so much, Noah. I appreciate the help.”
“No problem.”
Brianna got in the car and tried to start it. At first, it made a chugging noise, but then it started. “Phew. I’m not sure what that sound was.”
“It’s just cold. You should be good to go.”
She turned off the car and got out. “Thanks again.”
“Sure thing.” He wasn’t sure if he should kiss her or say, see you tomorrow, or how to leave things with her. Though they’d only left the tavern a little over an hour ago, it seemed like much longer now that they were back in Butler. “I, um, well… I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Do you want to come back for dinner?”
He replied before she finished asking. “Yeah, that sounds good. What time?”
“Around seven?”
“I’ll see you then.” Elated to know he’d see her again soon, he started to walk away but then turned back. “What can I bring?”
“Whatever you want to drink?”
“Sure. What can I get for you? Oh, wait. Vodka. I can do that.”
She smiled, which made her whole face light up. God, she was pretty, and yes, he’d known that from the first second he met her. But now, after spending the night wrapped up in her, he’d decided pretty wasn’t a good enough word to describe her. Stunning was a much better word.
He took a few steps back, so he was standing within kissing range, and leaned in, hoping she’d meet him halfway.
She didn’t disappoint him.
As her lips connected with his, all the agitation he’d been feeling only a minute ago disappeared in a matter of seconds.
Noah had to force himself to pull back from her, lest the goodbye kiss turn into something more, out in the open where anyone might see them. “I’ll, ah, just be going now. I’ll see you at seven.”
“Sounds good.”
“Go on inside before I leave.”
“Why? What’re you afraid of?”
“Nothing. Just want to make sure you’re safe.”
She surprised him when she gripped his coat and kissed him again. “Be careful, Noah Coleman. I might start to think you’re a nice guy.”
“Don’t you dare spread that rumor.”
“Your secret is safe with me.”
“Thanks,” he said, strangely moved by the words safe with me. They had all-new meaning to him these days. “Good to know. Now go on inside before I forget I was supposed to be going.”
Flashing a saucy grin, she turned and walked away from him.
He watched her go, noting the attractive sway of her backside encased in tight denim.
She went up the back stairs and into the house, flashing the light over the back door to let him know she was all set.
As Noah walked to the truck he’d parked in the street, he checked his watch to see how many hours it would be before he could come back. Two and a half. That seemed like a long time. “Jeez, get ahold of yourself, man. You’re acting like a fool after one night.”
It was a great night, the kind of night that makes a guy act like a fool if it means he can have more of her.
“Is that what you want?” Noah asked himself as he drove home. “You want more?” He thought about that for a second. “I don’t know what I want. All I know is I liked being with her, talking to her. I like everything with her, which is funny when I thought I couldn’t stand her before last night.”
He turned the heat up as high as it would go. “You didn’t know her before last night. Not really.” It pained him to realize he’d jumped to several unfair conclusions about her without taking the time to get to know her. Did he like being bossed around on a jobsite by an architect from Boston? No, but she was just doing her job, the same way he was, and he needed to be less of a dick in general.
Maybe Brianna was right, that it was time to tell his
family what went down with Melinda so he could stop feeling like he needed to avoid them and their questions. What had seemed so complicated made perfect sense after Brianna had spelled it out for him. It had helped to talk to someone who understood how he felt, not that he’d wish that kind of pain on anyone. But it made him feel better to know that he wasn’t the only one who’d been taken for a ride by someone he loved.
After last night with Brianna, he had reason to wonder if it might be possible for him to feel again the way he once had for the woman he’d married. Not that he expected anything to come of whatever this was with Brianna, but she’d shown him a different path forward, one that wasn’t full of doom and gloom and lonely brooding about things he couldn’t change. That got old after a while.
He pulled onto his street and was surprised to see a line of cars in front of his mother’s house. His siblings’ cars. What the hell? What had he missed? And why were the lights on in his house? Noah parked behind Grayson’s SUV and got out of the truck. He’d no sooner walked into the mudroom at his mother’s house when he was descended upon by siblings.
“Thank God, Noah.” His youngest sister, Sarah, hugged him as tightly as she had in years. “You’re all right.”
“I’m fine. What’s going on? What’re you doing here anyway? And where’s Mom?”
Sarah, Henry, Jackson, Vanessa and Ally all lived in Boston and came home to Vermont only for holidays. They’d all just been there for Christmas, which only added to Noah’s concern.
“There was a huge accident last night,” Vanessa said.
“I heard about that.”
“It was Izzy, Noah,” Grayson said. “Her Jeep went off the road and crashed in a ravine. They had to use the jaws of life to get her out. She’s in the hospital.”
The news hit Noah like a punch to the gut. “Can we see her?”
“We’re waiting for Mom to call,” Henry said. “She was going to let us know as soon as she was stable.”
“Wait, so she’s not stable?” Noah asked, swallowing hard.
Izzy was one of his favorite people in the world, and before he’d shared his nightmare with Brianna, his sister had been the only other person who knew what went down with Melinda—and Miguel.