"No one would know." She shivered as Noah's words whispered through her head again. How strange to feel desire and fear at the same time. He couldn't have known that Stephan had said something eerily similar—only far more menacing.
She'd been able to push aside the shock of those words quickly, which made her happy. Every day, she felt more like the person she used to be. But the temptation to follow him to his bedroom and ignore that they worked together? Brinnie's cackle sounded in her head along with a hearty, "Oh, Lordy!" Just thinking about what might have happened made her all tingly and fluttery. But common sense had reared its head. She sighed.
But man, those kisses… Yum.
"This one's mine," Noah said, interrupting her wicked thoughts.
She smiled. He often talked with Larry about the remodeling work he'd done, and she was eager to see it for herself.
Noah glanced back at Claire trudging up the walk behind him. "You good?"
"Yep. Hey, is this awkward for you?" Claire asked.
Noah slowed, wondering to which "this" she referred. He wasn't uncomfortable after almost spending the night together, but perhaps she felt weird about it. When she didn't elaborate, he braced himself and prodded, "This?"
She nodded at the blue door they were approaching. "Letting a colleague into your personal space."
Noah let out a breath and relaxed, pulling his house keys out of his pocket. Yesterday, when they'd decided to go straight to work from the airport, he'd realized they'd need to stop at his place for his car or he and Claire would wind up stranded at the office when the workday ended. At the time, he hadn't thought much about bringing her here, but now that she brought it up, nerves struck. He was curious to see what she thought of his home, and also nervous about inviting her in. He was proud of his home, and for some odd reason, wanted her to like it.
"I've had workmates over before. Some of my best mates are guys from work."
"And women?" she asked. Was she wondering about his love life? The question had a saucy tone to it, but the slight tremble at the end gave her away. She was probing into his love life.
He sent a jaunty look over his shoulder as he inserted his house key. "Yes, there've been women from work over too." He gave her a wink and pushed open the door for her to enter.
"We don't have much time or I'd give you the full tour. Right now, Simon expects us to join the one o'clock virtual call, so we need to pick up lunch on the way and hope we have time to eat beforehand. The toilet's through there if you need to use it. My car's out back, through there when you're done." He nodded with his head toward the kitchen at the back of the ground floor. "Okay?"
"I don't need a pit stop. Lead the way to the car." She rolled her bag down the hall he'd indicated.
Noah stashed his suitcase around the corner, then followed her. He almost ran over her when she stopped and gawked at his kitchen. It was the first thing he'd modernized when he moved in, and he was pretty proud of it. He'd restored the wooden beams to their original state, installed a farmhouse sink, replaced the countertops, and upgraded all the appliances. The room was a mix of rustic old and shiny new, which made cooking easy. He'd called it "grandma gets an upgrade" and laughed at how often his mum talked about stealing his kitchen for her own.
"This is beautiful, Noah," Claire said as she took in the room. He slipped past her and grabbed his car fob from the key rack next to the back door.
"You like it?"
"Yes, very much so. It looks so functional. I'd love to cook in here." She ran her fingers along the granite countertop.
He opened the door and motioned for her to come. "I tell you what, I'll take you up on that offer this week. I'll bring you over, give you the full tour, and let you cook with me. But right now, we have to go. Please. We're going to be late."
She shook her head, laughter dancing in her eyes. "I never realized you were so fussy. Okay, I'm coming."
"Fussy?" He scoffed. "I'm not fussy. I just don't like being late. Now, after you, madam, if you please." He held the door for her. As she walked by, he slid his hand under hers on her suitcase handle, liberating it from her so he could load it into the boot of his car.
Chapter 24
Work Crashes In
Noah kicked the kitchen door closed behind him and let his laptop bag slide to the floor next to his breakfast table. He threw his jacket over the back of a chair and hung his key ring in its usual spot. He toed off his boots and left them by the table as well. Normally after work, he'd put everything where it belonged right away, but all he could focus on right now was taking a hot shower to beat the stress out of his tired, aching muscles.
He trudged through the kitchen straight upstairs to his bedroom, peeling off layers of clothing as he went. Noah turned on the shower to let the water heat and tossed his clothes into the overflowing wicker basket in the linen closet, giving it a dirty look as he mentally added another chore to his growing list. Laundry could wait.
The steam welcomed him as he stepped in and braced his hands on the tiled wall. He lowered his head and let the heat envelop him as it seeped into his hair, pummeled his shoulders, and radiated down his back.
Noah wasn't sure how long he stood under the spray, but the tension holding his body hostage slowly bled out of him. He ran a hand over his face and back through his hair, counting backward. It had only been four days since that heart-stopping emergency landing, but he'd been running on adrenaline the entire time and his body was crashing hard. He threw his head back, flinging his hair off his forehead, and reached for the soap.
He hadn't mentioned it to Claire, but getting on the plane this morning had terrified him. A flashback to when their plane had dropped had Noah breaking out in a sweat. He'd trembled as he'd buckled his seat belt, missing the slot the first time. When the plane sped up for takeoff, Claire had grabbed his hand and held on. He'd pretended to comfort her, but inside, he'd been damn happy to cling to someone during that white-knuckled event.
His stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn't eaten since lunch. He finished washing the day away, then wrapped a towel around his hips and headed to the kitchen. Since he hadn't planned on being back here, he doubted he'd find anything viable to eat. Tonight might be a takeout delivery night.
