Somehow, I seriously fucking doubted it.
14
Laurel
“DO YOU WANT sweet or sour? And are we aiming for flirty and tipsy or fall-on-your-face drunk?” Willa sized me up from the bar across the room and winked. “I think flirty.”
I shifted on the antique wingback chair I’d parked myself in minutes ago and feigned great interest in a piece of nonexistent lint on my skirt. “Why would you think flirty?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Willa grabbed two cocktail glasses and placed them on the counter. “Your high school sweetheart’s back in town. He’s your new boss. You’ve both been working very closely this week, and your hair and makeup look like you’ve touched it up every hour on the hour.”
I reached up to finger the curl brushing my chin. “You’re crazy. I look like I always do.”
“Of course you do. Just a little more…polished than usual.”
“I don’t know if that’s a compliment or an insult.”
Willa laughed as she reached for the Kahlua. “Definitely a compliment. You look like you just stepped off the cover of a fashion magazine.”
I had to admit, this particular dress was one of my favorites and always made me feel confident as a professional woman. Its three-quarter sleeves and boatneck cut were both classy and sophisticated, and the navy color did wonders for my complexion.
So maybe I’d been trying a little harder this week. But could anyone blame me? Everything Willa had said was true, except she’d left out the fact that Noah was now a devastatingly attractive man. One who had the ability to make my pulse race and my brain short-circuit the second he stepped into a room.
At first, I’d thought maybe it was just nerves, that being around him again made me anxious because it made me confront memories I’d locked away long ago. It also made me feel guilty as hell whenever I thought about Jake. But it was becoming increasingly obvious with every passing hour Noah was near that my reaction was much more powerful than a slight case of nerves or guilt. And God help me, it was getting harder and harder not to give in to my curiosity and see if that wicked mouth was as dangerous as I suspected.
“Laurel?”
“Huh?”
Willa chuckled. “I asked you what it’s like being back around him again.”
“It’s…” As I searched for the right word, Willa crossed the room and handed me my cocktail, a Screaming Orgasm.
Yeah, I sure could do with one of those about now.
“It’s what?” she asked.
The icy glass was cool under my fingers, and I had a sudden urge to bring it up to my cheek. “Confusing.”
Willa moved to the matching settee and tucked her legs up under her. “Confusing how?”
I sat back and crossed one leg over the other, then took a sip of my drink. Wowza, she sure hadn’t gone light on the vodka. “Confusing as in, one minute I’m thinking about him as the Noah I knew back in high school, and the next—”
“Yesss?”
I glanced up to see Willa batting her lashes as she sucked the icy drink through her straw.
“And the next I’m wondering what it would be like to have him lay me across my desk and, I don’t know, rip all my clothes off.”
Willa’s eyes widened, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“I know.” I sighed and sat back. “This is so not like me.”
“But it’s amazing. When was the last time you ever felt like this about someone?”
The fact that I couldn’t remember was kind of pathetic. But I’d had a different set of priorities over the last seventeen years, and they all revolved around one guy in particular: Jake.
Sure, I’d dated here and there, but nothing serious. I’d never wanted to confuse or upset the balance at home by bringing strangers into Jake’s life. I’d always made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t disrupt him for my personal relationships unless I saw a future with that person. So far, no one had fit the bill.
“Honestly? I don’t know, and that’s what worries me,” I replied.
“Why? You’re single, gorgeous, and deserve to have some fun. Jake’s not going to care if you date someone.”
“Who said anything about dating?”
“Ah, okay. I see what you’re thinking. More like a quick one and done? I mean, who could blame you? The guy is seriously doable.”
“Willa.” I didn’t know why I was so shocked—she wasn’t wrong. But not having anything remotely intelligent to contribute to that, I found myself thinking about the way I’d caught Noah looking at my mouth every now and then this past week, as though he wanted to…devour it.
“What?” Willa said. “He is. And Ryan said he can’t keep his eyes off you.”
I almost choked on my drink. “He did?”
“Mhmm. Said he gets all stupid whenever you walk in a room.” She sat up and leaned across the arm of her chair toward me. “Ryan said he almost fell off the golf cart yesterday trying to look at you when they were heading out to the vines.”
A flash of the two of them leaving the production facility came to mind. I’d been updating the winery’s website out on the back deck, enjoying the sun with my feet propped up on one of the benches.
“I…uh, don’t remember that.”
“Sure you don’t.” Willa aimed a conspiratorial grin my way. “Sooo, what are you going to do about it?”
“Shh.” I looked around to make sure none of her guests were in the sitting room with us. Well, one guest in particular.
“Don’t worry. He’s not here.”
“I wasn’t looking.”
“Yes you were, but if you want to stay in denial a little while longer, that’s okay.”
“I’m not in denial.”
Willa held her thumb and index finger a couple inches apart. “Maybe just a little?”
“No. I have eyes.” Noah’s striking face came to mind, and a low heat swirled between my thighs. Quickly, I got to my feet. “I’m aware of how good-looking he is. With that thick black hair and the stubble to match. Not to mention how tall he is now.”
I looked down at Willa, who nodded.
“I swear it feels like he’s grown several inches, but that’s stupid. Maybe it’s just all those muscles and those suits that fit him so well. I don’t know.”
As I paced back and forth, I took another sip of my drink, my mind suddenly filled with images of the man I couldn’t seem to shake.
“He’s smart, too. Knows this business like the back of his hand. And he keeps asking me to go over the blasted menus with him like I suggested, but…” I let out a sigh and turned to face Willa. “The idea of sitting in a dining room with him and having a glass of wine and tasting expensive food makes me…flustered. He makes me flustered.”
“That’s great.”
“No. It’s not great. Every time he walks in a room, my entire body goes into hyperdrive. My heart thumps, my pulse goes crazy, and this delicious ache starts and— God, I think I forgot what it feels like to really want someone. I need it to stop.”