Chapter Five
MOLLY
My dislike for Noah is shifting. To what, I’m not quite sure, but I want to find out. I think there’s a whole lot more below the surface, and that I can relate to. What puzzles me is how a person can be grumpy while at the same time trying to do something nice and apologize. Although I suppose I can put a smile on my face while pissed off, so maybe it’s the same.
Plus, I’m not turning down food. I haven’t eaten anything today. Sure, I tasted a few of my own products while baking to make sure they were right, but as much as I wish I could live off sugar alone, I can’t. I’ve tried and only lasted about three days before I crashed and burned.
"Are you going to join me?" I lean to the side to try and see what he’s doing at the sink. He’s just standing there with his back to me.
"Yeah, just cleaning up a bit."
"I wish I had that habit when I baked. The girls call me a tiny Tasmanian devil in the kitchen." The last thing on my mind is cleaning when I'm in the middle of cooking. I’m focused on the task at hand and whatever audiobook or music I'm listening to. "But I think you're just standing there."
I decided to call him out on it. It’s not as though he’s been biting his tongue when he’s got something to say. I wish I had more of that in me.
"I’m washing my hands," he says a touch too definitively before he quickly turns on the tap. "You can eat."
"How do you know I'm not?" I toss back at him since he’s still facing away from me.
"You want a drink?" he asks once his hands are clean and he turns off the water. He’s still not answering my question, but I let it go.
“Sure,” I say, watching him.
He walks over to the fridge and says a few options before I choose one. Normally I’m quick to fill the silence, but I keep on watching him as he makes his plate. I’m starting to wonder if I’m making him uneasy. Shit, what if he only invited me because he felt like he had to? What if he really wants me out of here?
Is he worried I’ll tell his sister about what went down while he was here? I wouldn’t. I’m not one to start crap, and I like Kim. Now that he told me Kim is his sister, I can see the resemblance. They have the same dark hair and eyes.
I pick up my silverware and take a few quick bites. The second the food hits my tongue, the full depth of my hunger makes itself known. The bonus about being so hungry is that the quicker I eat, the sooner I can get out of here and leave the man alone.
When Noah sits down across from me, I reach for my Coke to take a drink.
"Your hand is shaking," Noah points out.
"It's fine." I take a giant gulp, and he grumbles. Yikes, why am I such a bother to him?
"It's not fine." When I don’t speak right away, he lets out a heavy sigh. "Do I scare you? I know I can be loud."
Now it’s him watching me, and I shift in my seat. I’m sure I’m a hot mess since I came straight from the bakery, and it was a long day.
"No, you don't scare me." In fact, it dawns on me that I'm alone in a cabin with a man I hardly know. Clearly I’ve lived in Cheerful for too long because the thought of him hurting me was never a dot on my radar.
"You're shaking," he says again.
"It happens when I don't eat enough." I wave him off because it’s not a big deal.
He sits back in his chair, his eyes narrowing on me. What the hell did I do wrong now? I can’t breathe without annoying this man. Hell, maybe the air annoys him too.
"Why?" he asks.
"Why what?"
"Babe," he snaps, surprising me.
It’s not the tone that surprises me, but the term of endearment. I could understand maybe "honey" or "sweetheart." People use those with everyone. Actually, those words would have surprised me too. I don't see Noah calling anyone those either.
"Molly." Noah clears his throat and corrects himself.
Oh, god. Did he forget my name for a second? Nick at the Christmas tree farm calls everyone “chief” when he can’t remember their names. They all think it’s a nickname he’s given just to them. Spoiler, it isn’t, but it’s freaking smart on his part.
