“You’ll always have the memories. Happiness shouldn’t be about a particular place anyway. It should be something you take with you everywhere you go—transferable. If you really miss it, you can always visit the lake. It’ll always be here.”
“You won’t be here.”
My eyes widened. “No, I won’t.”
She stared long and hard into my eyes before asking, “Are you happy, Noah?”
Heather had been trying to figure out my deal since the moment I moved in. Maybe I could afford to open up to her a little.
“I’m working on it. Being here has been good for that. It’s been exactly what I needed.”
“You needed to work your ass off for no pay?” she teased.
“I’ve gotten plenty out of it. Believe me.”
She turned her body toward me and rested her head on her hand. “Are you ever gonna tell me what you’re running from?”
Heather had really good intuition. But she was wrong in thinking I was running away from something. Whenever we spent time together, I was tempted to tell her the truth, but I was never quite sure it was the right thing to do.
“Why do you assume I’m running? Maybe I needed to run toward something else. I was looking for a change of pace, something different—and I found it here.”
“You were looking for something profound, and you got me instead?” She smiled.
She had no clue how much she’d changed me.
“It wasn’t until I got here that I realized why I was here. Something outside of myself sent me here to help you. I truly believe that. I feel like once I leave, my job will be done. I’ve helped set you on the right path.”
I’m a better person when I’m around you.
Heather didn’t seem satisfied with my answers. “What about you? I sell the house, go away to college, start my new life. What happens to you?”
I blew out a breath. “I go back to my life in Pennsylvania. Taking photo assignments. Looking after my father. I don’t really know what’s next for me. But I’ll go back home feeling more fulfilled because I was here.”
She nodded slowly. “I really like you, Noah.” Her face turned red. “I don’t mean that in the way I did when we first met, so don’t worry. I really like you. You try to remain a mystery, but I can see right through you—to your heart. You show people with your actions what kind of a person you are. You live your life with purpose, just like I try to. I think that’s probably the biggest thing we have in common.”
“I can agree with that.”
“I can also tell you live with a lot of regret. I can sense it. Whatever guilt you’re carrying around—about who you were in the past, the mistakes you made with your ex-wife, whatever it may be—let it go, because you deserve better than to live like that.”
Her words both healed me and amped up the guilt inside of me all at once. She doesn’t know everything. “I’ll try. Thank you.”
She looked over at the television and joked, “Well, this was a good movie.”
“It was for the first five minutes when I was paying attention.” I chuckled.
Heather looked back at me. “I like talking to you better.”
“I like talking to you, too. We’re definitely good at that.”
We’re good together.
That realization stung, because being together wasn’t a possibility.
Our eyes lingered. Fuck, if I didn’t want to kiss her. Her skin was so soft and flushed. I wished I could have bit into it and watched it change color some more. It felt like she could see right through me. I wondered if my feelings for her were obvious.
She looked down at the sofa and rubbed her hands along the fabric. “This was a really nice gesture. Thank you.”
“I’ll take it back to Pennsylvania with me, so you don’t have to worry about moving it.” I rubbed the dog’s head. “Fathead seems to really like it.”
Teddy was out like a light.
“Either that or he’s asleep because we bored him to death.”
When the feelings creeping up inside of me felt like they were becoming too transparent, I stood up and said, “I almost forgot, I bought some bread. Want me to heat it up?”
“That sounds yummy. Yeah.”
I couldn’t go past the bakery in the supermarket anymore without buying a loaf of garlic bread.
Slicing some pieces, I said, “Bonnie and Clyde always look pissed when I’m making real food.”
Heather looked perplexed. “Bonnie and Clyde?”
“The guinea pigs. I finally named them.”
“Aw, that’s so cute.”
“Yeah, but they get angry when they see me eating—especially meat.”
“They’re bitter vegans.” She laughed.
We ate the bread in comfortable silence as Fathead continued to sleep.
For a moment, I considered asking her why she’d left her panties in my damn laundry a couple of weeks ago. But then I’d have to admit what I did with them and why she’d never get them back.
***
The following afternoon, while Heather was at work, Alice let me into the main house to fix a few things. The last window that needed to be replaced was the one in Heather’s room. I hadn’t told her I would be coming in to do this work today, so I hoped she wouldn’t be mad when she found out I’d been in her bedroom.
It took me about an hour to put the window in. After I finished cleaning up, I was headed out when I tripped over her bedside table, knocking a notebook to the ground. When I picked it up, I noticed my name written amongst a bunch of other words.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Noah all day. It was hot out, so I decided to sneak over to the boathouse to use the outdoor shower. After taking off my clothes, I let the water stream down on me. My backside was fully exposed.
When I heard footsteps, I covered my chest and turned around to find Noah standing there. I expected him to yell at me for sneaking into his outdoor shower. Instead, he said nothing, just flipped me around so my ass was facing him. I could feel how hard he was as he—
“Noah?”
I dropped the notebook at the sound of Alice’s voice coming down the hall.
I was panting. “Yes?” I moved quickly to the window. I had to hide the erection I was sporting thanks to Heather’s little porn diary. I hadn’t even gotten to the good part, and I was hard as a rock.
“Are you finished in here?” she asked from the doorway.
I pretended to be trying the window out, opening and closing it, as I turned only my head toward her. “Just finishing up now.”
“I need to talk to you about something important when you’re done.”
“Sure. I’ll meet you downstairs?”
“Yes. That’s fine.”
After I heard her at the bottom of the stairs, I picked up the notebook and put it back on the table. Despite how curious I was about the rest of the story, I was clearly never meant to see it. It was better that I didn’t read any more. Anyway, I was pretty sure how it was going to end. And that would torment me all night.
Fuck, Heather. Seriously? You’re trying to kill me.
After visiting the bathroom to talk down my hard-on, I went downstairs to find out what Alice wanted.
Still flustered as all hell, I found her in the kitchen. “What’s up?” I asked.
Her expression made me a little uneasy. “It’s about Heather.”
Shit.
“What about Heather?”
“Tomorrow is her twenty-first birthday.”
Oh. Wow. Wasn’t expecting that.
“Really? She never mentioned it.”
“She doesn’t talk about her birthday. She tries to forget it.”
“Why?”
She looked away. “It’s also the day her sister died.”
No. My heart broke in two.
“Anyway…this is a big birthday for her,” Alice said. “I wish I felt up to doing something, but I don’t know how to celebrate it without upsetting her. She’s been particular
ly off since her father’s visit, too. I wanted you to know in case you can think of anything that might brighten her day. I know she won’t tell you. Heather stopped celebrating her birthday when…you know.”
“Thank you for telling me. I’ll definitely try to come up with something.”
After Alice thanked me for my work and went back to her room, I went home, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d said. The fact that Heather’s sister had died on her birthday haunted me.
If Heather didn’t want to celebrate her birthday, I couldn’t make her. At the same time, her twenty-first would only come around once. She’d never get it back.
I had to try.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
* * *
HEATHER
Noah: Meet me in the lake.
I had to look twice to make sure it was actually Noah sending me this message.
Heather: IN the lake?
Noah: Yes. IN the lake. Wear a bathing suit and meet me in the lake across from the boathouse.
Did he really mean in the water, or was I misinterpreting? I hadn’t seen Noah Cavallari so much as dip his toes in the lake since the day he thought I was drowning.
In any case, I needed to know what this was all about, so I did as he asked. Rummaging through my drawers, I couldn’t decide which bikini to wear. I normally didn’t overthink such things, but the man I had a massive crush on had just demanded that I get into a bathing suit. I couldn’t lose this opportunity to make him sweat.
Today was a sucky day—as all my birthdays had been since Opal died. I’d stayed in my room most of the morning, sipping tea and reading. This message definitely changed my outlook.
After slipping on my favorite black bikini, I flew out the front door and ran toward the lake, still wondering why Noah wanted me to meet him there.
When I saw him, he waved frantically to me from the waist-deep water. Then he started dancing.
What the?
He swayed his hips and pumped his fists, and it was the most ridiculous yet adorable thing I’d ever seen a man of his size do. He was totally mocking my water aerobics, but it was hysterical.
As I approached, I noticed he was holding a bottle of champagne.
“Why are you dancing?” I shouted.
He stopped moving and lifted the bottle into the air. “We’re celebrating your birthday.”
What? How does he know? “Who told you?”
“Never mind. I have my ways.” He waved. “Get over here.”
His demanding tone made my pulse speed up as I trudged through the water to get to him.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were turning twenty-one today,” he said.
“There’s a reason I don’t—”
“I know.”
He knows? “Did my mother tell you?”
“Yeah. She did. So you don’t need to explain any of it. Today is not gonna be about sad stuff.” He handed me the two glasses he’d been holding. “Take these.” He unwrapped the foil covering on the bottle. I smiled when he stuck the trash in the waistband of his shorts rather than litter.
“It’s your twenty-first fucking birthday, Heather. It’s not okay to let this day pass you by. You only have one twenty-first birthday in your entire life.”
Without further ado, Noah popped open the bottle of champagne, which sort of exploded onto his bare chest. “Well, that didn’t exactly go as planned.”
We both got a good laugh, and then he licked some off of his arm. He looked so sexy as he flashed a crooked smile with champagne dripping down his body. I so badly wanted to lick that champagne off of his chest and abs. And that was just for starters…
He took the flutes back and poured me a glass, then poured himself one as well.
“This feels surreal. You’re serving me alcohol.”
“Well, you’re legal now.” He winked.
“Wow. I really am, aren’t I?”
“Cheers.” He smiled.
We clinked our glasses together, and I took a sip of the bubbly. It was ice cold and delicious.
I looked over at a boat in the distance, and when I turned back to Noah, he moved his eyes quickly away. I’d caught him red-handed looking down at my breasts. That made me feel damn good. Nice work, black bikini.
“Were you really gonna pretend this was just another day?” he asked.
“Yes. I was,” I said.
I specifically didn’t make plans, specifically didn’t want to celebrate my life when my sister had lost hers on this day.
“Well, not anymore. Not this year.”
“Is this what I have to do to get you in the water? Turn another year older?”
“Pretty much. Otherwise I only jump in when I have to save people from their own bad dancing.”
“You were so mad at me that day. Talk about getting off on the wrong foot. I’m glad that happened, though.”
His brow lifted. “Yeah?”
“Yes, because if it wasn’t for that, we might never have had that conversation. It might have taken weeks before we interacted, if ever. Life is made up of little moments that don’t seem that important at the time, but in retrospect they’re what get you to where you are.”
“So we can thank Kris Kross for the fact that we’re standing in this water drinking champagne.”
“Yeah.” I smiled. “Timing is everything.”
At that moment, the sky opened up, dropping rain on us.
“Speaking of timing…” Noah laughed. “You okay with staying out here, or do you want to go inside?”
“I’m not gonna let a little rain ruin my very first surprise birthday champagne party.”
“Good.”
Noah smiled at me, but more than that, his eyes were smiling. It was genuine happiness that made me realize he was just as glad to be hanging out here with me as I was to be with him. It was the kind of smile that gave me a false hope about where things stood with us.
We stayed in the lake for a while, sipping champagne in the rain. After a few minutes, the sun peeked out again while it was still raining. Sun showers were always so cool, so rare. So were moments like this.
The alcohol was definitely going to my head.
“I’d better slow down. I’m starting to feel it.”
“That’s the point.”
“Yeah…but I have to work tonight.”
He emptied his glass and shook his head. “Huh-uh. No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do. What do you mean?”
“I had lunch over at Jack Foley’s Pub today. Spoke to your friend there—Marlene, is it? She’s gonna get someone to cover for you tonight.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“What are we doing?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just go home and get dressed. Nothing too fancy. I’ll pick you up in a couple of hours.”
***
Noah wouldn’t tell me where we were going. We rode with the windows down, and the warm summer evening air blew my hair around. It felt amazing to be next to him in his truck. I stole glances over at his profile and wondered if this feeling of wanting him would ever subside. I wished he would touch me again, even just my face. There wasn’t much I wouldn’t give for a taste of something more with him.
Finally, we pulled up to Tito’s Cantina, a popular Mexican place. Noah had taken a roundabout way to get here. It was almost like he’d driven in a circle.
“Tito’s! How did you know I love this place?”
“You told me once Mexican is your favorite. This is supposed to be the best place in town, so…”
“You’re good. You listen.” I grinned.
As we walked into the restaurant, he placed his hand on the small of my back, which practically lit my insides on fire.
The feeling was quickly replaced by shock, which then transformed into pure joy.
My heart filled up fast as I spotted my mother, Chrissy, and Marlene sitting at a table surrounded by balloons.
My mother is her
e?
They were all wearing sombreros.
“Surprise!” Chrissy shouted.
The real surprise was seeing my mother out and about. I couldn’t remember the last time she’d left the house other than to go to a doctor’s appointment.
“Mom?”
She smiled. “Hi, honey. Happy birthday.”
I turned to Noah. “Now I know why you drove around for a while. How on Earth did you get her out of the house?”
“She loves you. It didn’t take much.”
“Happy birthday, my beautiful daughter.”
I bent down to kiss my mother before moving over to hug Chrissy.
“You took tonight off?” I asked.
Nurse Chrissy was supposed to be working a twelve-hour shift starting at seven.
“Yup. Got someone to cover for me. I couldn’t miss your birthday.”
“And who’s covering for me?” I asked Marlene.
“Are you kidding? When they found out it was your twenty-first birthday, Kel and Leah were fighting over who got to fill in. I can’t believe I didn’t know. Thanks to Noah, I can celebrate with you.”
After we sat down, I leaned into him. “I can’t believe you pulled this off.”
Noah winked and grabbed a sombrero, placing it on my head. “Happy birthday, beautiful.”
A rush of heat ran through me. I wouldn’t read into it, but it felt damn good to hear him say that.
Dinner was everything I could have wanted. My mother laughed at Marlene’s stories. Noah was by my side. As far as I was concerned, everyone at this table was family to me—Noah included. I didn’t know how else to characterize him. He was a friend, for sure, but also a big brother figure, and someone I still had a massive crush on no matter how hard I tried to deny it.
It was very emotional to be sitting here with the four people who mattered most to me, especially knowing how many changes were on the horizon. I shook those thoughts from my mind, because tonight wasn’t supposed to be about that. I needed to enjoy this moment with the people I cared about.
We all stuffed ourselves. And after polishing off two margaritas, I felt completely tipsy.
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