by Noelle Adams
“Thank God,” Noah moaned, wasting no time in freeing his erection and rolling on the condom. “I’m not sure how much longer I could have lasted.”
Then he was finally settling between her legs and finally, finally sinking inside her.
She started to move against him right away in eager little bucks and rocks. Her motion undid him completely. He found her mouth in a deep kiss and let himself go, thrusting into her fast, hard, almost clumsy.
She was with him all the way, and just before the pressure was about to break inside him, she tore her mouth away from his and cried out loudly, her little body riding out what must have been a really good orgasm.
She’d clamped down around him with her release, and it pushed him over the edge. He let go. He let go of everything.
His own climax nearly leveled him in its power, and he was limp and gasping afterward, relaxing into Emma’s arms.
She was stroking his back.
Her body felt like home.
He’d never really believed he’d had a home before now.
She pressed a soft kiss on his face when he could finally lift it up. “You better rest up,” she said with a smile, “because in a little while, we’re definitely going to be doing some more of that.”
***
A week after that, Emma was sitting in the passenger seat of Noah’s SUV on a Saturday afternoon, looking at him as he took a couple of deep breaths.
He hadn’t said much since they’d gotten into the car, and she’d sensed a tension shuddering inside him, ever since he’d pulled over in front of a house in one of Blacksburg’s older, established neighborhoods.
Her heart was beating like crazy, and she kept watching his perfectly composed face, wondering if there was anything she could do.
Finally, she reached over and put a hand on his thigh. He wore a pair of tailor brown trousers and a moss green shirt. He looked incredibly handsome, expensive, masculine.
And vulnerable.
He glanced over at her at last and gave her a half smile.
Relieved, she smiled back. “You ready?” Her voice cracked slightly, like it wasn’t accustomed to being used.
“Yeah.”
He didn’t get out of the driver’s side. He didn’t even move.
“You don’t have to do this now,” she said, rubbing his thigh over his pants.
“I want to.”
“Okay. Good.”
Noah cleared his throat. “He told me that my mother… my mother wouldn’t let him come see us when we were kids. I don’t know if I believe him or not.”
“How could you know? If it’s true, then I’m sure she had her reasons, and they were probably to try to protect you.”
“Yes.”
“And if it’s not true and it’s just something he’s saying, then maybe you can figure that out. You’ll never know otherwise. You’ll never know a lot of things. You’ll never have any sort of… closure. I don’t think it’s going to just happen for you. I think you need to make it happen.”
“I know. I do. I want to.”
She nodded, wishing she could stroke his face, his hair. He wouldn’t appreciate the coddling though. Not right now.
He was steeling himself for what he was about to do. No one else looking at him would know how hard this was for him.
No one but her.
He’d spent a lifetime running away from this very thing.
He took and released another deep breath. “Okay. Here I go.”
She was so full of emotion as he turned to open the car door that the words slipped out before she knew she was going to say them. “I love you, Noah.”
He froze, making the softest little gasp. Then he turned suddenly back toward her, his eyes devouring her face, searching for answers. “You mean that?”
He’d said the words to her—twice now—but she hadn’t said them yet to him, although she’d known they were true from the moment he’d walked back into Tea for Two, throwing away his defenses, ready to change his life.
For a lot of reasons. But one of those reasons was her.
She nodded, her eyes filling up with tears. “Of course I mean it. I wanted to be… to be careful with my heart, but I don’t need to be careful anymore. I love you so much. It feels like I’ve loved you for half my life, and I know I’m going to love you for the rest of it. I just… I just wanted to tell you.”
A little groan came out of his mouth, and he took her face in one of his hands, leaning forward to kiss her. “I love you too, Emma. I love you too.”
They kissed for a minute, both leaning over the console between the seats, but then Emma finally pulled away, smiling and wiping away a stray tear.
“I feel like maybe I should take you home now and show you exactly how much I love you,” Noah murmured huskily.
She gave a little huff of laughter. “We can do that later. But you wanted to do this.” She nodded toward the house. “Do this first.”
“Okay.” His face composed itself again, like he was putting on his armor. “Okay.”
“I’ll wait here for you. If it seems like you’re going to take longer in there, just text and I’ll drive somewhere and kill the time. But otherwise I’ll be waiting right here for when you come out.”
“Okay.” He gave her a smile that was almost bittersweet. “Thank you.”
She felt a little teary again as he got out of the car at last and walked around it to the front walk that led up to the door.
Noah wasn’t running anymore.
Her heart was full of so many things—things she’d never dreamed she had it in her to feel—as she watched him straighten his shoulders and then knock on the front door of his father’s house.
Epilogue
“I don’t really want tea today,” Ryan said, looking too big for the small, ornate chair he sat down on at a table in Tea for Two. “I’m getting sick of it.”
“You don’t have to drink tea. You can drink coffee,” Carol told him, frowning at her brother. “It’s not like we only serve tea here “
“I know. I was just saying.”
“Well, your saying sounding like complaining. If you want to hang out somewhere else, you can.”
“But then I’d never see you guys. You never seem to be anywhere else now.”
Emma chuckled at Ryan’s aggrieved comment, but in a way he was right. For the last three months, ever since the place had opened, they’d spent more time as a group at Tea for Two than anywhere else.
She wasn’t anywhere close of getting tired of it, though. She loved the little shop like it was her own.
Noah came in with Ginny just then—they’d been having lunch downtown with Nan earlier—and he gave her a special smile when he saw her. He came over, pulled a chair up very close to hers, and sat down in it, wrapping an arm around her.
“Let’s try to keep the PDA to a minimum today,” Ginny said, flopping down in another empty chair between Ryan and Patrick. “I’m in a no-touching-men mood, and it’s likely to be contagious.”
“What happened?” Carol asked. She’d put a plate of freshly made muffins on the table before she’d sat down.
“Bad date,” Ginny muttered, making a face. “Really bad date.”
Ryan glanced over, looking like he was about to say something, but then he must have changed his mind.
Noah frowned. “Anything I should be concerned about?”
“No. Not that bad.” Ginny gave him a little smile. “Nothing to get all big-brotherly about.”
“Okay. Good.”
“Maybe you should go on a Man-Fast,” Patrick suggested, glancing up from his phone. He’d spent most of his time here looking at emails, but he’d obviously been listening to the conversation. “It didn’t work out for Emma, but maybe the principle is still worth considering.”
Emma reached over to punch her brother softly because his tone had been very dry.
Ryan snorted. “Right. That will be the day. Ginny Hart on a Man-Fast.”
Ginny narrowed her eyes a
t him. “I’m more likely to do that than you are to manage a Woman-Fast, so I don’t know what you’re scoffing at.”
“Why would I fast from women?” Ryan asked with a lazy smile, leaning back again. “I like them. And they like me.”
While the rest of them laughed, Ginny rolled her eyes and muttered, “Not all of them.”
Again, Ryan opened his mouth like he would say something, but then he must have stopped himself again.
Emma didn’t know why that was, but it made her curious.
She wondered when Ryan would get to the point when he was tired of playing the field. He was showing no signs of it yet.
And she also wondered what he’d wanted to say to Ginny but hadn’t.
“It’s a lot better with just one woman,” Noah put in, leaning over to brush his lips against Emma’s hair. “I speak from experience in this.”
Emma felt rather sappy as she gazed up at him. He was as all-in with this relationship as he’d been with his career, and it was obviously making him a lot happier.
There was no way to doubt his love for her. It never even crossed her mind anymore.
He was going to be there when she woke up—every day for the rest of her life.
“God save me from that,” Ryan groaned.
“One day it will happen to you,” Carol told him. “And then what will you do?”
“Run like hell, probably.”
Carol shook her head.
Ginny cleared her throat. “Nan was quoting verses about marriage to Noah today at lunch.” It was a sudden shift of subject, like she hadn’t wanted to continue the previous teasing of Ryan. “So he has that to worry about.”
“I’m not worried,” Noah said with a very pleased smile.
Emma looked at his face, and then she looked at her friends. She felt her cheeks grow a little warm, but the truth was just this.
She wasn’t a bit worried either.
One day, not too long from now, Noah was going to ask her to marry him.
And she was going to say yes.
***
Author’s Note
The next book in the Tea for Two series will be Winning her Brother’s Best Friend, about Ryan and Ginny and a contest they think up to prove who’s more popular with the opposite sex. It will come out in September. If you’d like to be alerted about the preorder and if you’d like to receive a prequel story I wrote for the series about when they were kids, you can sign up for the Tea for Two newsletter here.
In the meantime, my next release will be a novella in the Billionaires on the Beach anthology, which comes out on June 27. It’s a fun, sexy friends-to-lovers romance, and it’s part of five-novella anthology about billionaire brothers that’s on sale for just $.99. An excerpt from my novella can be found on the following pages.
If you want to keep up with my new releases and sales, you can sign up for my newsletter through this link.
Excerpt from Her Reluctant Billionaire
“What are you doing next weekend?” Logan asked, surprising Katie by the change in subject.
“Next weekend? I don’t know. Why?”
“Do you want to come to the beach with me?”
She knew he was talking about visiting his family, who lived in Wilmington and also had a house on Wrightsville Beach. She’d gone with him a couple of times over the past few years when he was going home for a visit and she’d wanted a few days at the beach.
“I didn’t know you were going. Is your family okay?”
He had a large family. Both his parents were still living, and he had four brothers. When the whole family was present, it was a very full house.
“They’re fine. This club I was part of in high school is having a reunion thing, so I thought I might go.”
“What club?”
He slanted her a wry look.
“Tell me!” she demanded playfully, giving him a poke on the shoulder. “What club? The audio-visual club?”
“No.”
“The comic-book club?”
“No.” His eyes had narrowed, but she knew he wasn’t really annoyed.
“The science club?”
“I wasn’t that much of a nerd.”
Giggling, she reached out to give him a one-armed hug. “Yes, you were. I know you were. Tell me what club.”
He released an exaggerated sigh. Almost a groan. “It was a chess club.”
She dissolved into more laughter, and she experienced a warm tension in her chest when Logan chuckled too.
He’d always been able to laugh at himself. There wasn’t an arrogant bone in his body. It was one of the things she loved about him.
“So will you come?” he asked at last.
“I’ll have to check my schedule. Do you need me to come?”
“I don’t need you to come, but it would be nice not to go to the reunion on my own.”
“Why would that matter?”
He rolled his eyes. “It’s not so unusual to want to bring a date to a reunion, is it?”
Her lips parted. “You don’t think they’re going to see you as a loser, do you? My God, Logan, you’ve been so successful that you’re like a billionaire.”
“I’d still like to bring a date.”
“Then ask one of the girls who are always fluttering around you. You could have a date just by snapping your fingers.” Logan had more of a social life than Katie did, but he hadn’t had a serious girlfriend since the first year she’d known him. She assumed he was too focused on his career to take the time. He was thirty-four, so she’d always believed he’d settle down with a wife eventually.
She didn’t like that idea, so she didn’t think about it very often.
“I don’t want to bring one of them. I want to bring you. So do you think you can come or not? We’d need to leave midafternoon on Friday.”
She picked up her phone and checked her schedule. “I have an appointment at four on Friday, but I’m sure I can reschedule it. I wouldn’t say no to a weekend at the beach.”
His shoulders relaxed, which made her realize for the first time that he’d been slightly tense about asking her. “Good. Thanks.”
“Are we driving?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Well, I didn’t know. You could take a private jet if you wanted to.”
He rolled his eyes. “Why would I do that?”
“A lot of people would if they could afford it.”
“Sure, but this isn’t a very long trip. By the time we drive to the airport, board the plane, get everything ready to take off, fly there, de-board, get a car, and drive from the airport to my parents’ place, it will take nearly as long as just driving there ourselves. Why go through the hassle?”
She chuckled at his dry tone.
“Unless you wanted to take a private jet?” he added, his expression changing as he studied her face.
“Of course not! I don’t mind riding at all—as long as it’s in your car.” She meant the words, but she also felt a little shiver of pleasure. It sounded like, if she’d wanted to, he’d arrange a private jet for her.
She’d never had a friend like Logan before.
Once that topic was settled, Katie went into her bedroom to change out of her work clothes and into a pair of cozy leggings and a long shirt. They made chicken with pasta in a cream sauce for dinner, and then they settled on the couch to watch a movie.
After about twenty minutes, she reached over for the cashmere throw she kept folded on the floor beside the couch since she was getting chilly. She spread out the blanket, holding up the ends as she turned to Logan. “Do you want to share?” She always offered, and he usually said no.
He hesitated just slightly. Then surprised her by saying, “Sure.”
She scooted closer to him, and they spread the throw over both of them. In order to get comfortable, she had to fold her legs up on the couch and lean against him, but he didn’t seem to mind. He put an arm around her, which was even cozier.
“Just tell me if th
is gets annoying,” she said.
“Why would it be annoying?” His body was very warm. Very firm. Very nice.
Very, very nice.
She loved the feel of it as she leaned against him.
“Well, I know you’re not the most touchy-feely person in the world. You might not want to snuggle all evening.”
“I can manage.” There was a smile in his voice that made her smile too.
She sighed happily and focused on the movie again. It had been her turn to pick, so they were watching a British mystery.
She had a very good life. She loved her career, even when it tore at her painfully. She loved her little house, and she loved living in Asheville. Her father and sister and nieces were all in town too. So were most of her friends.
Plus she had Logan to cuddle up with on a Friday evening.
She was just fine without a boyfriend, without a husband who would one day betray her.
Logan would never betray her. She trusted him with her life.
***
A few hours later, Katie was snapping the lid to a container of leftovers for Logan to take with him.
It occurred to her that he hardly needed their leftovers. He could hire a full-time gourmet chef to cook every meal for him. But he always seemed willing to take them, and she knew he ended up eating them. A day or two later, he would always return the empty containers to her, cleaned and emptied.
Maybe he just took them to be nice. Maybe he just threw the leftovers away and ate expensive meals instead.
She’d never thought about that before, and the idea gnawed at her a little.
Since it was a warm, crisp night with an almost-full moon, she walked with Logan out to his car, still holding the container of food.
When they reached the door to his car, she handed him the leftovers.
“Thanks,” he said, giving her a little smile—fond and faintly amused—one that felt like it belonged to her alone.
“You do eat the leftovers, don’t you?” she asked before she realized what she was going to say.
His eyebrows went up. “Of course. I’ll have this for lunch tomorrow. Why wouldn’t I eat them?”
Feeling silly and strangely self-conscious, she dropped her eyes. “No reason. It was just a random thought. I know you hardly need our leftovers. I mean, you can afford a five-star meal for lunch if you want—”