I never told her my feelings for her, obviously. Now, I worry. Did I go too far? Did I say too much?
The rain stops.
The silence feels so loud.
“I remember that day,” Bree says. She moves to the edge of the bed, looking down at me. “My mom was going on about how I was too reckless and too flighty. She brought you up, said you were a ‘great kid’ to imply that I wasn’t.”
My brow furrows. I didn’t hear that part of the conversation.
She continues. “I felt selfish, I didn’t want to bring you down with me. I had a feeling that it was a date, but I insisted we were just friends. I didn’t want her to know that I wanted to date you too. The lecture she would have given me…”
I almost choke. She felt the same way?
In the darkness, my eyes meet hers. I can see everything on her face. Her future. Her past. Her hopes, fears, and pain.
I gaze at her face and all of my doubts and fears leave. I always believed I was never good enough for her, but now, I know that I’d do anything to make her happy. I want to reach out, touch her, grab her hand, hug her. Anything to be close to her. For the first time in a long time, I let myself be real with my feelings for her.
The truth is, my crush never went away. I’m in the heart of the storm crazy for Bree. I would trust her with my life. She’s the most breathtaking person I’ve ever known.
My eyes linger on her lips and her breath catches.
She starts to lean in and I lean in too.
But then, her face contorts. Some unreadable emotion flits across her eyes and she pulls away. She rolls onto her back, her walls up again.
“That’s it for me tonight,” she says. She’s got the mask back on. “Night, Noah.”
I lay back on the floor. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to show her how much she means to me.
“Night.” I close my eyes and let images of our childhood flash behind my eyelids. Jumping off the dock together, building forts in the forest, baking cookies in the Inn kitchen with Mom. Happy memories of a time I’d repressed.
Then, a soft hand finds mine in the darkness.
Bree’s arm hangs off the side of the bed. She intertwines her fingers with mine, clasping my hand tight.
When sleep finally takes me, her hand is still wrapped around mine and I’m rubbing my thumb along her fingers, the movement lulling us to a place almost as beautiful as reality.
38
Bree
Sunlight beams through the window. A cool, fresh light — the kind you get after a good storm. My hand is wrapped in Noah’s, resting on his chest. His chest rises and falls with each breath, and I briefly allow myself to wonder what it would be like if my head was resting on his chest, my arm looped around his waist.
I don’t want to move, I don’t want to wake him up.
Even in sleep he has his trademark smile.
What’s he dreaming about? Maybe about last night? I can’t believe everything that we talked about. It feels like something out of a movie.
My lips tingle as I think about how I almost kissed him. Man, did I want to. But at the last moment, the memory of my mom’s voice berated me and I pulled back. All I could hear were her stern words, telling me to stay away from him.
I could kiss him to piss her off, or I could hold back to follow her rules. But it’s like Noah said — if I’m doing something to rebel or follow her rules, I’m still doing it for her.
What do I want, without factoring in my mom, dad, or anyone else? My mind kicks up all kinds of scenarios, all sorts of options.
I squeeze my eyes shut.
What do I want? Not “what does Mom want for me.” Not “what do I want to rebel against.” What do I actually want?
An image immediately pops in my head. I’m standing in the rain with Noah, his arms around me, my lips on his. That’s what I want. I want to kiss Noah. It’s the first thing I’ve wanted for myself in a long time.
I just hope he’ll try again.
I shift so I’m closer to him. He looks like a happy, sleeping puppy. But cuter. Finally, I see what I never let myself see before. The abrupt angle of his jawline and of his chiseled cheekbones. His square nose and his long, black eyelashes. He’s one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever laid eyes on.
His hair is getting long again. It’s lush and thick and I want to run my fingers through it. Maybe I can do it now, before he wakes up. Without thinking twice, I lift my hand tentatively. Noah continues snuffling and I reach forward.
Almost there.
I touch a strand.
And then his eyes shoot open.
“AH!” I shriek, flying backwards and toppling sideways off the other side of the bed.
“You trying to kill me again?” Noah booms and then sits up.
Willing my cheeks to stop burning, I pop my head over the bed. “I thought I saw a bug.”
Noah looks around suspiciously. “A bug?”
“A spider,” I say. It’s not my best lie. “A big one.”
“Where is it now?”
“It was just a piece of hair.” I scramble to stand. “But. For the record. You should be thanking me. Not a lot of girls would try to save you from a spider.”
“Uh huh. Sure.”
I dance around the bed and hold a hand out to help him up. “You mean: thank you.”
He stands and flattens his shirt. “My hero.”
“And don’t you forget it.” My false bravado disappears when I remember I’m wearing tiny pajama shorts.
Fortunately, Noah is keeping his eyes on my face. He takes a step closer so we’re almost face to face. Well, my face to his chest.
Is this when he kisses me?
I tilt my face up and soften my expression.
Rather than taking the obvious sign, he steps around me.
I almost fall face first.
“You have the day off too?” He looks out the window. “I have an idea.”
“Yerg?” I mumble.
He bursts into laughter. “Get dressed and meet me downstairs. I want to take you somewhere. If you’ll come?”
His crystal eyes are dancing and my throat goes dry. Of course I’ll go! But, my mouth refuses to work. I nod, dumbly, like one of those nodding dogs you see on people’s dashboards.
Where is he taking me? Why are my legs weak again? And why, oh why, do I want nothing more than to kiss him?
39
Bree
But it seems a kiss will have to wait.
Noah disappears down the staircase and I spin around the room, letting out a little squeal. Last night was unreal. Now that I’m finally acknowledging my feelings for Noah, I can’t wait to see him again — this time on a date.
I stop spinning and frown at my reflection in the mirror. It is a date, right?
Or did I get it all wrong? Maybe I’ve assumed that he likes me, but that isn’t the case anymore. He did say his feelings were long gone… Maybe I’ve completely blown this up in my head.
I search for something appropriate to wear. I want to dress casual in case we’re just going as friends, but I also want to wear something cute in case it is a date.
I rifle through the dresser drawers and pick out the perfect outfit — a cute sundress with sunflowers. I tie my hair into a half-ponytail and then, to play up the casualness, I add my favorite pair of white converse. Good enough.
“No matter what happens,” I murmur to myself, “I’m doing this for me.”
With a final twirl in front of the mirror, I skip down the stairs.
Noah waits for me at the bottom. He’s wearing a black t-shirt that hugs the muscles of his chest and his black hair is shaggy. His eyes light up. “You look beautiful, Bree.”
“Thanks,” I stammer, blushing.
“Come on.” He takes my hand and pulls me towards the kitchen.
Fernando and Carrie bustle about, singing and whistling, respectively, to a rock song.
“Change of soundtrack today?” I ask.
; Fernando looks over impassively. “Carrie won our latest bet — that the power at the Inn would go out before August.”
Carrie pumps her hand and Noah gives her a high-five.
Right, there was a power outage. With everything else that happened last night, I’d almost forgotten what brought Noah and I together.
Noah plops a picnic basket on the kitchen counter. With a cryptic smile, he says, “Take anything you like.”
“Is that so, amico?” Fernando shakes his finger at Noah. “Because of you, we are almost out of food!”
Noah bursts into laughter and swings open the fridge. “Maybe out of cheese, Fer, but that isn’t my doing.”
They continue with their bickering while we stock up the picnic basket for breakfast and lunch. By the time we latch the picnic basket, my sides hurt from laughing.
“Uno momento!” Fernando exclaims. He unwraps a plate of colorful cupcakes. “Please, take some.”
“I don’t think they’ll fit,” Noah says, eyeing the over-stuffed picnic basket.
“Silence, no more arguing,” Fernando’s smile betrays his serious tone. He plucks a couple of cupcakes from the plate and places them in a takeout box. “For your date.”
Instead of protesting, Noah and I look at each other. It’s the moment of truth. My heart beats fast in my chest and my stomach fills with butterflies yet again.
He glances down at our clasped hands and then gives me his trademark half-smile. A warm feeling washes over me and I smile back.
Noah grins. “For our date.”
It’s official.
I’m on a date with Noah Sawyer.
40
Bree
I’ve never experienced cloud nine but I’d imagine it feels a lot like this. My hand in Noah’s, we race to Garth in the staff lot. I click into the passenger seat and Noah smiles at me again, his eyes sparkling with mystery. Where is he taking me?
We pull away from the Inn. I take his hand, our fingers comfortably intertwined, and he kisses the top of our clasped hands. My heart skips a beat.
We drive towards Edendale, chatting happily about our past. I’ve got the window down and the air smells like pine trees. The gentle purring of the car is comforting. Eventually, Noah signals and turns onto a gravel road.
I stare out the window. This is familiar. But why? When did I come here?
Then I remember. It’s the same gravel road that I turned onto the day that I almost skipped out on Legacy Inn. I remember stopping next to that grassy space to answer Delia’s text. Here, I decided to go to the Inn, but only to drop off chocolate milk. How could I have known that choosing to stay at Legacy would be one of the best decisions I’ll ever make?
My body buzzes with electricity and I squeeze Noah’s hand, grateful for each and every choice that brought me to this moment. We continue down the gravel road and my mind is flooded with happy memories of our summer together.
Noah stops the car. It’s a nondescript area with thick forests of trees on either side of the road and gravel reaching to the horizon behind and ahead of us. There really isn’t much to see.
“Is this it?” I ask hesitantly.
“You’ll see.” Noah smiles and hops out of the car, his eyes twinkling. He grabs the picnic basket and holds out his hand. “You coming?”
I weigh the pros and cons. Con: I have no clue where we are or where we’re going. Con: we could get murdered out here in the dense Montana forest. Con: that’s a lot of branches and brambles for a girl in a sundress and white Converse.
Pro: Noah is reaching out to me with a playful look in his eyes and I trust him to take me anywhere.
With a smile, I grab his hand and let him lead me through the forest. Soon, we pop out of the bushes and I’m about to make a joke about him murdering me when I catch sight of the view.
We’re on the edge of a large meadow. The grass is green and bright, like the sun is shining from beneath, and wildflowers throw shades of every color across the field. Directly ahead, the peaks of the National Park glow white in the morning sun and, on the far side, a gathering of cliffs overhang into the meadow. A summer breeze brings the scent of fir trees and pollen. The sound of chirping birds and rustling leaves makes me feel completely at peace.
I know this place. Distant memories return to me. I’ve been here before, many times. It’s a long-lost treasure from my past.
We came here often when I was a kid — me, Noah and his family. We used to run through the meadow, eat fresh bread on a picnic blanket by the cliffs, and watch the sunset color the peaks. We used to play games, talk, dance and dream here.
“Noah,” I whisper in awe. “Thank you.”
41
Noah
I blink against the sunlight, enjoying the cool breeze flowing over us. I don’t think I’ll ever stop smiling. It’s afternoon and I can hardly believe how the time has passed. With Bree, time is elastic. It’s a construct, not constricting. I normally want to rush to the next thing, but with her, I never want our time to end.
We spent the last few hours the way we spend all of our time together — laughing, talking, teasing, joking. We chased each other through the meadow, ate a delicious lunch in the wildflowers, and even tried to climb the cliffs.
Now, we’re lying on the blanket staring at the sky. Bree’s head rests on my arm, her legs intertwined with mine. I hold her hand on my chest. Her hair smells like coconut shampoo.
“It’s coming,” she says, a thrill in her voice.
The sky is turning darker by the minute. She wiggles closer to me.
“Trying to steal my heat or something?”
“Something,” she says innocently.
I laugh. “Did you know that a storm was coming today?”
“The NWR said something might be passing through this evening,” she says. “But I guess it is almost evening.”
The sky is getting angrier and we should probably move, but there’s not a single part of me that wants to disrupt this moment. The winds pick up and the first rain drops dot my face.
I assess the distance to the cliffs. We’re near enough that lightning shouldn’t be a risk. Then, the thunder booms and the sky breaks open. A mountain lake is released onto us and I burst into laughter while Bree scrambles to her feet.
“Come on!” She darts towards the cliffs.
I pick up the soaking blanket and run after her.
We stand under the cliff overhang, watching the world change around us. The trees lining the meadow move with the wind. The rain creates waves in the grass and wildflowers. The lightning and thunder roll in the clouds above us.
We’re the only still images in this wild portrait. But not for long.
Over the weeks that Bree and I have been hanging out, she’s allowed me to see a side of myself I haven’t seen in a long time. She makes me want to try new things and have fun. Her spontaneity constantly inspires me. Anytime I feel stressed or anxious, all it takes is a look from her, a conversation with her, to calm my nerves.
And right now, there’s just one thing I want to do. I grab her hands, smiling devilishly at her. Even with her hair soaking wet and her sundress wrinkled, she’s still the most stunning person I’ve ever seen.
“What’re you doing?” she asks.
Slowly, I step back from under the cover of the overhang, taking her with me. I bring her into the rain and she laughs.
“Dance with me,” I say with a shy smile, pulling her close.
She brushes a strand of hair out of my eyes and steps closer. Without breaking eye contact, I wrap my arms around her and take her hand. There’s no need for music — we sway with the beat of the rainstorm. The thunder and lightning crash above our heads but it’s just us in this perfect moment, and the force of the rainstorm urges us forward.
42
Bree
My heart races and I’m barely aware that I’m soaking wet. I’m pressed up against Noah, swaying to the melody of the raindrops. Somehow, without any music, we’re keeping time toge
ther, like we’re listening to a song no one else can hear.
Never in my life have I felt so alive — so awake, excited, happy and safe. How is it that Noah makes me feel at once wild and free, but also completely at home? I thought this was a thing of fairy tales, not real life.
I hug him close, allowing his arms to circle tight around me. My hands are clasped behind his neck and I hope I never have to let go. The last three years we spent apart feels like a dark, bland memory. If the timeline of our lives was made into a painting, that time was grey compared to the wild colors we had when we were kids, and now again since I’ve been at Legacy Inn.
The reality of my feelings for him floods my entire body and my stomach fills with butterflies. I feel his heartbeat and I know he’s as blown away as I am by this magical moment.
Maybe now’s the perfect time for him to kiss me.
As though he knows what I’m thinking, Noah begins to slow. He leans back to gently look into my eyes and my breath catches. The world goes quiet and my thoughts disappear.
In slow motion, he brings one of his hands to my face. He sweeps the hair from my eyes and cradles the back of my head.
I look at his beautiful lips.
He leans in and I stand on my tip-toes.
Then, a flash of lightning sparks behind my eyelids and his lips meet mine. The world stops spinning, the rain stops falling, time stops ticking.
It’s just Noah and I in the eye of the world’s most dazzling storm, and I know that he’ll never let me go.
43
Noah
The next three weeks are a blur of stolen kisses, quiet confessions, and rolling storms. On rainy nights, I sleep in the loft and we fall asleep with our fingers intertwined. During breaks, Bree comes in the kitchen and helps us with various tasks before starting impromptu dance parties. I join in, and I even get Fernando to teach me a few spins and dips to use on Bree. During the rare moments where Bree and I aren’t together, I scribble away at my book, finishing two to three pages a day.
The Complete Legacy Inn Collection: Four Sweet YA Romances Page 11