He smiles into Vicky’s neck. “Late last night,” he says with confidence.
I don’t even bother trying to work out their relationship anymore. Danny isn’t always a dick, he obviously has great taste in women, considering he is always chasing Vicky. But they just don’t know what they want, so what they have works for now, and I am okay with that as long as Vicky is too.
“Okay, well, I hope you’re here to take us to work because we don’t want to walk today.” I smile at him.
Vicky nods her head, taking a bite of toast as I grab my bag while walking out the door.
I hear them giggle and know he’s trying to stop her from going to work today and spend the day with him instead, but she does that way too much, and she needs to work.
“Vicky,” I yell, already out the door.
“Coming,” she yells back.
“Damn right, you will be.” I gag a little, but she can’t see me and then shake my head.
To say I am smitten would be an understatement. Blush, butterflies, and bright-eyed are my three B’s when I look at him. I like that. I like those feelings a lot.
He sits across from me as we wait for our food to arrive from the local bar, not too far from where I work. Noah waited for me outside, and when he said hello, the butterflies set flight.
“Do you enjoy Christmas?” I ask, but a look of immense pain slides across his face, his brows scrunch and his eyes darken.
Our food arrives, and I thank the waiter.
“I did, once,” he finally manages to reply.
I look down at my chicken and salad then back to him. “Care to elaborate?” I question.
He cuts into his steak, his hands gripping the knife hard. “Not particularly. I would hate to ruin a nice lunch with you over something like that.”
“Okay.” I look down because there isn’t much more to say, and I don’t want to push him on the subject. There seem to be boundaries, and I hope it’s just a wall he has up until he feels more comfortable with me. I’m not sure if I could handle someone not being honest with me.
“You look beautiful today. Did I tell you that already?” he asks, sitting back and looking at me.
“Thank you.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to share with you, it’s just that I can’t right now.”
I nod, smiling at his honest answer. At least he’s trying and giving me words of confirmation.
“You like Christmas?” he asks.
“I love Christmas, it’s my favorite time of the year.” I smile. “The parties, the presents, the food, the company. What’s not to love?” I realize what I’ve said at the end, and my smile drops, but when I look up at him, he’s smiling as he watches me talk. “You didn’t kiss me last night,” I say, changing the subject.
He leans in. “Did you want me to kiss you?”
“Yes,” I say breathlessly. I’m not even going to lie.
“Well, you will just have to wait.”
“So, you don’t plan on kissing me today, either?” I pucker my lips.
“I guess we’ll see.”
My phone dings, and I realize it’s time to head back to work.
I stand. “Thank you so much for lunch.” He paid when we ordered.
“It’s the least I can do, considering the company I get to stare at.” I look back at him as we walk out.
“If I give a little wiggle, will I get a kiss?” I ask with a wink.
“That depends…”
I wiggle my butt, he stops directly behind me and laughs. Then he grips my waist, turns me around to face him, and he places his hands on my cheeks. At first, I think he’s going to kiss me, but he leans in and kisses my cheek, dropping his thumb to my lips.
“That ass deserves more than that kiss, but that’s all I can give right now,” he says as his thumb trails over my lips before he pulls away.
I could steal a kiss.
I have a feeling he wouldn’t say no if I did.
“When will I see you again?” I ask, eager to work my way up to his lips on my lips.
“I’ll call,” he says.
As we arrive back at work, Vicky’s inside, watching us through the window. He offers her a wave before he walks off, heading to his car.
I watch him leave, hoping the wait won’t too long.
Chapter Seven
I don’t see him for the rest of that week, but he sends me a message every morning saying, ‘hello beautiful.’ The butterflies take flight even from two simple words.
I’m a goner.
I have my mother’s first Christmas party coming up next week. I was going to invite Noah to this one, but now I’m unsure. She wanted me to bring a date. Usually, I wouldn’t, but for some reason, I would love to show him off. Even if it could be a drastic mistake.
I invited him out tonight, though. Rylee has a dinner she didn’t want to attend by herself, and I asked if I could bring a date. She smiled and agreed because she’s been eager to meet him.
“You should have let me pick you up,” Noah says, walking up to me as I get out of the car. He leans in and kisses my cheek before pulling away. Letting his eyes search me, I twirl on the spot so he can see every inch of me in this dress. It’s burgundy and strapless, and it flows out to the floor. It hugs perfectly to all my curves. “But then again, I’m glad you didn’t. We may not have made it here,” he says, leaning in again. This time, his hands circle around my waist, and his face comes down near my neck as he breathes me in.
I’m weak, so weak for him.
“My sister is inside waiting to meet you,” I say as he pulls back. He slides my hand in his, and we entwine our fingers as we walk into the room. It’s a business charity for our father’s company, and even though I may have chosen not to take on any role in his business affairs, I still come to these things in support of Rylee.
I spot her straight away. Her hair is down and in long, lush locks. She’s wearing a long green dress with a slit up her right leg. Anderson is standing next to her, his hand on her hip as she shakes the hands of a few people in front of her.
“Your sister is here, right?” Noah asks as I grab a glass of champagne that’s being handed out. He takes one too and holds it as I sip mine.
“Yes, she’s right over there.” I nod to where she is. I watch as he turns to her, but unless she’s turned to face us, I’m not sure he can tell which one she is. “Want to meet her?”
“You two are close?” he asks.
“Very much so,” I reply, sliding my arm through his elbow and walking over to her. Anderson sees me first and smiles, his eyes fall to Noah and then his eyes go wide.
“Rhi, you brought a date?” Anderson says with surprise.
Rylee turns around, a smile on her pretty face as she looks at me. “Father is here. Sorry, I didn’t know until a minute ago, otherwise I would have warned you.”
“Fuck.” Of course, he’s here. He never comes to these things anymore, leaving them to Rylee, yet he shows up to this one. I turn to look at Noah and see him watching Rylee with his eyes wide in surprise
Noah leans in closer to my ear. “You are identical twins?” he asks, more to me, but I know she hears him.