Brody, you’re right. We need to talk man-to-man. There are things that need saying.
He sent the message, and sighed. He doubted that Brody was going to jump at the chance to be told off, but before Noah could pocket his phone, he’d received a reply:
I’m free tomorrow night.
So Brody was actually game for this... Noah rubbed a hand through his hair.
Alpine Pub. 8:00.
It was neutral territory—a place where they always used to meet up.
See you then was Brody’s reply, and Noah didn’t bother answering that text, but he did feel a strange sense of relief to be finally facing this. Maybe a friendship like this one needed a proper goodbye.
Noah locked his office door behind him and headed to the main doors. He pushed out into the fresh night air, the voices on the patio murmuring pleasantly in the background. As he made his way toward his truck, he heard the women on the patio calling farewell.
“See you next time, Taryn!”
His heart sped up a little at the sound of her name, and Noah turned to see Taryn ambling around the building in his direction. Her hair was swept up in a twist at the back of her head, and a floral necklace sparkled in the low light. She seemed to spot him at the same time, and they stared at each other for a moment before he waved and smiled. She smiled back, and he felt a flood of relief. Things had become awkward between them, and maybe it was time to straighten that out, too.
When he reached her, she rested her hands on the top of her belly. Her cheeks were pink, and a tendril of hair fell down along her creamy neck.
Noah nodded in the direction of the patio. “I didn’t realize that was you.”
“We started out inside, but we moved outside when the patio became available,” she said.
“It’s a nice evening for it,” he said. “I sat on a porch tonight with a friend.”
“Brody?” she asked. “Did you talk things out?”
Why was everyone so concerned about the status of his relationship with Brody these days?
“No, I have more than one friend,” he said, and he smiled faintly to show he was teasing her. “This was a guy named Gabe. But we ended up talking about Brody a lot, though. What about you?”
“We talked about our exes, but that’s about all I can say,” she replied with a small smile. “We’re sworn to secrecy.”
“Right.” He paused and the warm night breeze whisked past them. “Are you in a hurry? You want to take a walk? The pathway around the side of the building leads to a really beautiful spot by the water.”
Taryn smiled. “Sure.”
She fell into step next to him, and they wandered down the walkway. There were a few people out tonight—a couple was down by the water, a blanket thrown around their shoulders together. A bonfire farther down the shore glowed against the night sky, and the sound of a guitar playing softly surfed the breeze.
“I thought you were avoiding me today,” he said.
“I was,” she replied.
He looked down at her. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” she asked.
“Kissing your cheek. Making this weird.”
“You didn’t make it weird,” she said. “This is a weird situation.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “But we’ll sort it out.”
They meandered down the walkway next to the lodge. The windows here were in the employee break room, and the blinds were all shut.
She sighed. “If only you were more of a jerk, I could have lied to you. And if only I was okay with keeping a few more secrets, because then I could have lied to my son about knowing who his father was. That would have kept things simple.”
“Would you have lied to me?” he asked. Did she really want to—now, after getting to know him?
Taryn shook her head. “No. That isn’t me. I can’t raise my son on lies, either. It isn’t who I am, and it isn’t how I want my son to turn out, either.”
“But you’d rather I went away?” he asked, his voice low.
Taryn glanced up at him, and for a moment, he thought she’d say yes, but then she shook her head. “No. Not anymore. Unfortunately, I like you.”
He felt an unexpected rush of satisfaction at those words. She liked him... He smiled ruefully. “That’s too bad.”
“It is,” she said, but he saw the joking sparkle in her eyes.
There were lights that illuminated the path as they moved past the lodge, and he put a hand on the small of her back to nudge her in the right direction. The breeze was cooler the closer they got to the water. The rocks along this part of the pebbly beach were sharper, making it less appealing to guests, but Noah had always liked this spot. It was secluded with a surrounding of bushes, but the view was the same stunning panorama of jagged mountains and pristine lake.
When they emerged onto the sliver of beach, he heard Taryn’s soft intake of breath. Silver moonlight reflected on the surface of the lake, the water beneath glowing dark turquoise. Where the moonlight ended, the lake turned murky black.
“Wow...” she breathed.
He bent down and picked up a flat pebble, then threw it across the water, watching as it skipped along the surface before disappearing into the deep.
“After that night together, I thought about you,” he said, straightening. “A lot. I don’t mean that in a crude way...” He paused, searching for the words to explain what it had been like for him. “I kept thinking about how easy it was to talk to you, and how funny you were, even when you were having an incredibly tough night. I’d never felt that way just talking to a woman before. Not with Nevaeh, or with anyone else. I opened up with you—and I know how crazy that sounds because it was a one-night stand that wasn’t supposed to mean anything—”
He looked over at her and shrugged helplessly. “But to me, it did.”
Her cheeks pinked, and she hitched her shoulders up. “I was a stranger—”
“You were, but that wasn’t it,” he said. “I’ve found in life that there are a handful of people that you really connect with on a deep level—and there is no faking it, or forcing it. I think you’re one of those people for me.”
Taryn looked up, and this time she met his gaze. “I know you probably won’t believe me, but I’m cautious normally. I do things in a particular order, and that doesn’t involve falling into bed with a stranger. That was risky, and while I kicked myself for taking that kind of risk, I couldn’t ever quite regret it, either. You made me remember that I was a woman still...and talking like we did was healing for me, too.”
“We had something,” he said softly.
She turned back to the water. “Yeah, we did.”
That felt like a victory for her to admit to it, because he’d spent the past seven months remembering the intoxicating woman from a night that felt almost like a dream. Her hand hung at her side, and he brushed her fingers with his own. She didn’t move, and he could feel her holding her breath.
“For what it’s worth,” he murmured. “I was really glad to see you again...”
He closed his hand over hers, and she twined their fingers together. She squeezed his hand tightly, and his breath caught.
“If things were less complicated, I’d be making a move right now...” he whispered.
“But things are very complicated,” she whispered back, meeting his gaze.
“Yup...” He pushed a stray tendril of hair away from her cheek. He knew he shouldn’t even be thinking about it right now, but his gaze moved down to her lips.
“Besides,” she said. “We were just two heartbroken people back then. It was different.”
She was still gorgeous, and smart and insightful... And he was still drawn to her.
“It doesn’t feel any different,” he murmured.
This time, she didn’t protest, and he stepped a little closer. He leaned cl
oser still until his lips hovered over hers, and then he tugged her against him and ran a hand down the soft swell of her belly.
“Now’s the time to stop me,” he whispered.
But instead of pushing him away, she lifted her mouth to his, and he felt a crashing wave of relief as their lips met. He kissed her tenderly at first, then he slipped his hand into the back of her hair and pulled her closer against him. She tasted of chocolate, and even though she was seven months pregnant, he found a way to hold her that made her form fit against him.
The kiss was everything he’d remembered, and when she finally pulled back, his breath was ragged. She shut her eyes and licked her lips. Her hair had come loose, tumbled down around her shoulders. Her lips were plump from his kiss, and he couldn’t drag his gaze away from them.
When he leaned in again, she put a hand against his chest, and he stopped.
“You can’t tell me there’s nothing there,” he said softly.
“I know...” She swallowed. “But you can’t tell me there’s a future for us, either.”
Her words slammed against him like a shutting door. She was right. He needed to rein this in. He felt out of control in his own life, and this powerful draw toward Taryn... She wasn’t just a woman he was deeply attracted to; she was the mother of his son.
Noah moved back, putting a couple of inches between them, but he caught her hand in his, and she didn’t tug it free.
“If things were less complicated, would you be tempted?” he asked softly.
A smile flickered at her lips. “Oh, definitely.”
He chuckled at that, but then Taryn pulled her hand free and moved toward the path.
“It’s late,” she said over her shoulder.
“Yeah...” It was late. “Taryn?”
She paused and looked back at him, her dark gaze shining like the depth of the lake behind him.
“Your hair,” he said. She put her hands up, and then rolled her eyes as she felt the disarray.
“Thanks,” she whispered, and he watched her expertly twist her hair back up as she made her way up the path once more.
There was definitely something between them...and the bitterly ironic part was that the thing holding them back was the baby they’d made together.
He wasn’t thinking straight tonight. He needed to catch his breath and remind himself why this was a bad idea. Because for the life of him, tonight under a full summer moon, it almost made sense.
CHAPTER TEN
THE NEXT DAY was another busy one for Taryn. She went to Melanie McTavish’s lake house, where Melanie and Gayle were waiting. They sat outside on the wharf, their feet trailing in the cool water as they talked about the women’s divorces and subsequent remarriages.
They’d both gotten married at the resort, and they’d both emailed her photos that could be used for the campaign—stunning shots that showed shared jokes, relieved kisses and family celebrating with the newly married couples. The lodge, the lake and mountain scenery only intensified the sense of happiness and love in those photos.
“I like this one,” Taryn said, holding up her phone to display a photo of Matthew looking adoringly at Gayle.
Gayle smiled. “Me, too.”
“What’s it like?” Taryn asked. “Being married to a man who feels like that about you?”
“It’s...” Gayle was silent for a moment. “It’s like coming home after a long trip, when you’re out of clean clothes, and you’re tired and cranky, and you finally drop your suitcase by your front door and you smell that scent of your home, and you feel this overwhelming sense of...at last. You know what I mean?”
“I think I do,” Taryn said.
She’d felt a bit of that in Noah’s arms last night. That strange relief of being pulled back into his muscular embrace...
“Well, that’s what it’s like,” Gayle replied. “You don’t have to change yourself or be anything else for that man to think you’re amazing. For the first year I was with him, I was waiting for it to wear off. It never did.”
Taryn nodded. “Can I quote you?”
“Feel free.” Gayle smiled.
Taryn wrote with her stylus on her tablet for a moment, and then she let her gaze move across the water toward the lodge. It was in full view from the creaking wharf, and the sunlight shone like silver off the windows.
“I think I saw this house last night from the shore,” Taryn said. “All the lights were on, and it was glowing.”
“You probably did,” Melanie agreed. “We were home.”
And last night while those lights were glowing, Taryn had been kissing Noah. She felt some heat in her cheeks.
“Melanie and Logan were high school sweethearts,” Gayle said.
“A very, very long time ago,” Melanie said, and she lifted her feet from the water, then dropped them back in. “We were different people then. We were young and dumb and...it just didn’t work. We met up again after my divorce and after his wife had died, and we started over.” She was silent for a beat. “It was the scariest thing of my life.”
Taryn chuckled. “I didn’t expect that!”
“It was just terrifying!” Melanie said. “He wasn’t exactly husband material back in the day. He was a bad boy. A rebel...and as much as we grow up, there are some parts of our personalities that just don’t change that much. I was afraid that Logan would be the same guy at heart—sweet, but impenetrable, you know?”
“Obviously, you warmed up to the idea,” Taryn said with a low laugh.
“Yes, I did,” she said. “Basically, we realized what we had to lose, and we took the leap.”
“And it was worth it?” Taryn asked.
“Oh, yes. To be with him. I don’t think it would have been for anyone else, but for him...”
But how did a woman know when a man would be worth the terrifying leap? Right now, the only person Taryn was willing to take any risk for was her son. He was her miracle, and for him, she’d be willing to do just about anything.
After some lunch, Taryn headed back to the lodge with her newest batch of content to work with. The day had gotten steadily hotter, and the air-conditioning in Taryn’s car couldn’t keep up. She unrolled her window, and it didn’t seem to help.
When she got back to the lodge, she meant to go inside and cool off, but the light was just perfect and the lake was still and clear. When Taryn went down to the water, she could see straight down to the fish darting about, and the photo opportunity was just too amazing to miss.
By the time she finished, she stood back up with some difficulty, and her head swam. She was thirsty, and she rubbed a hand over her eyes, trying to get her brain to refocus.
“Ma’am, are you okay?”
Taryn glanced over to see a teenage girl looking at her uncertainly. “You okay?” the girl repeated.
“Yes, I’m fine, I’m just—” Taryn shut her eyes against a headache that had suddenly sprung to life. She was definitely overheated, and probably dehydrated. “I’d better get back inside.”
“Why don’t I walk with you?” the girl said.
Taryn had overdone it—she could feel it, and she allowed the girl to guide her back up the walk toward the lodge. As they got closer to the building, she could see straight into Noah’s office. He was standing by the window, and when he saw her, he shaded his eyes to get a clearer look. Then turned around and disappeared. Taryn wanted water—and some cool darkness. That would help...
The heavy wooden front doors swung open to reveal Noah standing there, a worried look on his face.
“I think she’s sick,” the girl said.
“What happened, Taryn?” Noah asked.
“Just a little overheated,” she said.
“Thanks for helping her back,” Noah said to the teenage girl. “I appreciate it. I’ll take it from here.”
The girl lef
t, and Noah put an arm around her and brought her into the air-conditioned interior.
“You want to rest here, or go up to your suite?” he asked.
“Um—” Taryn licked her lips “—I’d really like some water, and I want to lie down upstairs.”
“Tell you what,” Noah said. “I’ll help you get upstairs, and I’ll get you everything you need.”
His voice was authoritative, and he released her and grabbed a water bottle from behind the front desk, and then headed over to the service elevator and hit the call button. Then he came back to her side, cracked the bottle open and handed it to her. She took a welcome swig and allowed him to lead her to the elevator. She felt weak and light-headed, and when the elevator door closed behind them, Noah moved in closer.
“Noah—”
“Lean on me,” he said, his voice low.
She leaned her head against his shoulder, and it felt good.
“I shouldn’t have stayed out as long as I did,” she said. “It’s a hot day.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” he said. The elevator door pinged and opened, and Taryn felt some relief at the dimmer light in the upstairs hallway.
“Thanks,” she said as she pulled out her key card, but she fumbled with it, and Noah slipped it out of her fingers and opened the door for her. He followed her inside.
“Go lie down,” he said. “I’ll bring you a cool cloth.”
Taryn was too tired to argue, and she went over to the bed and eased herself up onto it. Her head was pounding, and she shut her eyes, listening to the sound of running water. Then Noah’s voice...
“I need a lemon water up in suite 210, please. Also some orange slices... Thanks.”
A cool cloth descended over her forehead, covering her eyes, and she let out a sigh.
“Thank you...” She lifted the corner of the cloth to look at Noah standing next to her. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”
“Do what?” he said, and his dark gaze met hers.
“Don’t tell me you escort every guest back to her room and order her lemon water.”
“No, I don’t,” he replied, and he pulled up a chair next to her bed, and sat down.
Harlequin Heartwarming June 2021 Box Set Page 13