Noah was here? For once I have to fight a smile.
"He didn't ask for me?" That has both of them turning their heads and giving me their full attention.
"I knew it!" Lucy does a small jump with a fist pump. "He wasn't jolly or anything, but he also wasn't not-so-jolly either."
"And we think we know why," Mia adds.
My cheeks start to warm. This town doesn’t miss anything.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Is my voice higher pitched than normal? I clear my throat and try again. “He doesn’t seem too bright. Maybe he was lost.”
"If you say so," Lucy says and lets out a small giggle.
I ignore it. If I give it more attention or overexplain, that will only make them more suspicious.
"All right, if you all—" I stop talking when the chime on the door goes off and Noah walks in. Now both Mia and Lucy start giggling like schoolgirls. "Hush," I whisper, knowing my cheeks are turning redder by the second. Turning around, I pretend everything is normal as I give him my normal customer greeting. "Hi, Noah.”
"Hey, Molly." He tips his head slightly. "Sorry to show up here, but I actually don't know where you live."
Well, shit. Now the whole town will know. I bet Kim too. The phone tree is quick around Cheerful. Guess there’s no point in hiding it now.
"I was about to leave. Do you want to wait for me?"
"That would be great."
"Just give me a second." I undo my apron and shoot both the girls a warning look before I slip back to the kitchen and grab my things. When I come back out, Noah has his hands in his pockets, appearing a tad uncomfortable. "Come on," I say, nodding toward the door. He follows after me, and when we’re outside, I lower my voice. "People talk around here.”
"So I'm not paranoid. They are talking about me."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," I tease. "But yeah, they're talking about you, and now they are likely talking about me too, so brace yourself."
“Brace myself? For what?” He stops walking, and I do the same. “Wait, my SUV is here. Are we walking, or am I driving us?”
“We can walk,” I tell him.
“Hi, Molly,” Cara says with a giant goofy grin on her face. Her eyes are bouncing from Noah to me. “And hi to our newest resident.”
“What?” Noah stares at Cara, clearly thinking she’s lost her mind. “I don’t live here.”
“You do now,” Cara tells him as she continues down the sidewalk.
“Yeah, let’s take your SUV because that’s going to keep happening.” I motion for us to get off the sidewalk.
"Oh, the new Cheerful resident,” Hannah says as she walks over to us and holds her hand out to Noah. “It's a pleasure to meet you."
"All right, we have to go now," I say as I push Hannah's hand down. She keeps on smiling, and in fact, it might grow bigger. "His name is Noah, and she's Hannah. There, you’ve been introduced." I usher Noah along. "Hurry, or they'll never stop."
"It's here,” Noah says as he walks faster to his SUV. He opens the passenger door for me, and I get in.
"Oh look, he's got manners,” one of the Christensen twins says.
“Even if his face is always grouchy," the other finishes.
"Don't engage with them," I tell Noah under my breath. They're sitting on the bench in their usual spot since they retired a few years back.
Noah heeds my warning and hops into the driver's seat, pulling away from the curb.
“What was all that?” he asks, looking in the rearview mirror.
