Our lives can’t mix, so why the hell am I here? The work I’m doing for the next town over can be done from my apartment. Sure, the bridge is still closed, but I could drive around. It would take ten hours longer, but I’m not stuck here or anything. Yet, when Kim asked me when I was heading home, I got that pain in my chest again.
“I stand corrected,” I tell Molly when I place the groceries on the counter. “Pink is clearly a Christmas color.”
“So if I were to translate ‘I stand corrected,’ that would mean…” She trails off, letting me finish the sentence for her.
“I was wrong.” I press my lips together and scowl, and she thinks it’s hilarious.
Molly’s laughter dances through the house, and it’s like the world stops spinning. I blink, and there’s a vision of the future right in front of me. Molly is standing there, pregnant with a ring on her finger. She’s got her hair up in a bun while she wears Christmas pajamas and helps a little girl make cookies at the kitchen counter. There’s flour everywhere, but Molly tells her it’s like fairy dust and makes the cookies magic.
“Noah?” Molly says my name, but it echoes in the distance like I’m far away from her.
The scene I imagine changes, and now it’s Molly with children as tall as she is. Only now she’s got gray hair and lines around her mouth because she smiles so often. She’s helping her granddaughter make cookies in the same spot, and I want to reach out and hold her hand.
“Noah?” She’s closer now, more insistent than before.
I blink a few times, and the vision fades, leaving the two of us standing in the kitchen looking at one another. Without thinking it through, I slide my arm around her waist and pull her to me. My heart is beating frantically like I’ve run a marathon.
“Noah, what’s wrong?” She puts her hand against my chest, but she doesn’t push me away.
“I-I don’t know,” I tell her as I bend down. There’s something telling me to get as close to her as possible.
“You looked lost,” she whispers as her eyes dart to my mouth and then back at me.
“Strangely, I think I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.” I pull her tight against me, and she doesn’t tell me to stop. “I have to kiss you.”
“Why?”
The question makes the corner of my mouth turn up in a smile as I stare down at her. “This won’t make sense,” I say, brushing the hair away from her face and cupping her cheek. “But your granddaughter had my eyes. So I think I have to kiss you.”
“Whatever you say,” she tells me before I dip my head and press my lips to hers.
The instant we kiss, I feel her hand pulling me closer. Her soft lips are like magic against mine, and every cell in my body comes to life. Was I even living before I kissed her? I’m not certain of anything before today. Before this kiss.
Everything about her calls to me, and although there are a million reasons this is a bad idea, I can’t think of a single one. Not when she parts her lips and lets me taste her sweetness. I moan into her mouth as my tongue slides against hers, and the more I kiss her, the more I never want to stop.
That’s probably why Molly is the one to break the kiss and take a step back. My fingers ache to pull her to me again, but I don’t. I let her slip from my hold as I stuff my hands in my pockets so I don’t embarrass myself any further.
“So,” Molly says, spinning around. “Why don’t you get started on dinner and I’ll get the movie set up. I just need to run to the restroom first.”
Before I can say anything or apologize, she darts from the room. I rub a hand down my face and curse myself for my lack of self-control. Usually it’s my greatest strength, but it must be all the Christmas lights that are making my brain melt. There’s also probably lead paint on the walls, which is why I’m having visions.
Sure, that’s got to be what’s going on. Because falling in love with a woman that I can’t be with isn’t a possibility.
Chapter Nine
MOLLY
I run my fingers across my lips, still feeling the effects of the kiss Noah laid on me. His words and what they must mean swirl in my mind as I try to process what he’d meant by them.
Noah’s whole face had gone soft when he said he was where he was supposed to be. Then the whole thing about “your granddaughter has my eyes” threw me for a loop. I don't even have kids! Are we really already talking about grandkids? If it's my granddaughter with his eyes, that means… I can’t finish the thought.
I puff out a breath as I close my eyes. It was all so sweet and a bit dreamy. It was the kind of kiss that takes your breath away and lights up your whole world. My body fit perfectly against his, and I too got the sense I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
For a brief moment, the weight on my shoulders eased as his lips touched mine. That constant sense of being alone and having to do everything for myself lessened. I know I have this town and Tilly behind me, but she has Paxton and her own life.
I’ve wanted that kind of love for so long, but I’ve been scared to dream about it. I kept pushing it to the back of my mind and moving forward like I always do. It might be time that I simply stop and take account of everything I'm running from. If I stopped running, what would happen?
I change into pajamas and freshen up before I head back out of my bedroom. When I enter the kitchen, I stand there for a moment watching Noah. His back is to me while he cooks, and the smell of garlic bread and pasta fills the space.
