He glanced over his shoulder. Will and Bella were perfectly content to stir their witches' cauldrons without adult interference. "I have some Googling ahead of me to plan the costume. I'm not sure how much of it I'm going to find here." Perfectly safe conversation for friends. He could do this because he had to. Screwing up wasn't an option. Noah chewed the inside of his cheek. "Were you two still shopping or wrapping up?"
An indecipherable emotion appeared on Teagan's face. Her sweet smile remained, but the openness in her eyes became guarded. She shifted her stance, glancing at the kids and taking a step away, reminding Noah how much he hated the distance between them.
Wait …
Did he just miss a cue from Teagan, or was he searching for something that wasn't there? Her voice made his skin prickle with excitement, and she stood close, talking quietly. Then she backed away when he didn't notice.
Because he was a guy. Because he was in over his head. Because there were a million reasons he didn't want to burn this friendship, and because, for Bella's sake-as they'd painfully and honestly realized-he needed Teagan as a resource. Caring for Bella wasn't like an uncle babysitting. He couldn't be a fun time and then disappear. And he didn't want to.
And hell, he was going to mess this up, but the way his chest tightened when she got quiet and smiled … Noah set down the plastic ware and tablecloths. Teagan blushed, her eyes nervously darting about the aisle as though she realized he'd just now caught on, that she'd tried to flirt, and he ruined it. Her eyes dropped to the floor where he placed her belongings, and they stayed there as he took an obvious step forward to resume their closeness.
She didn't move. His heart picked up its pace, drawing heavy beats that surged in his neck. Noah reached for her hand and grinned when her fingers rigidly froze in his palm. He didn't want to twine them together or pull her close. Instead he placed his other hand on top, like a sandwich, then simply held her hand in his.
"Teagan."
"Yes?" She interlaced their fingers slowly then unlaced them, and Noah let his fingers trace the outline of her hand in his palm.
"I lied before, and I don't agree."
Her eyes widened as her hand tensed in his.
He clasped his hands around hers, not playing anymore but simply holding still. "Kissing you was a good thing. I can't get it out of my head. And I want it to happen again."
"I do too," she whispered.
"I get your reservations, and believe me, they make sense. I know you're looking out for Bella and yourself. You should be. And nothing I'm about to say will fall within any rule book or shrink guidelines. But … "
"But what?"
As much as he wanted to touch her, he eased their hands apart. He wanted her to think clearly-he needed her to. He was asking her to break their ground rules, and he couldn't think with his hands on her. "Let's get a babysitter. We can head down to the bar at the Broadleaf for cocktails and then over to Bailey's restaurant. A nice dinner, just the two of us. But-"
He took a breath, ready to lay it all out on the line. What was the point of hiding the truth? If Lainey had taught him anything, more than the SEALs even, it was that life comes at you fast. So fast that he could run into this woman and make plans as fast as they came into his head, not having a clue five minutes before that he might ever make such suggestions. "I've never got a babysitter for a kid before in my life. I don't know how long that takes. I don't have to go into the shop tomorrow. Closed on Sundays. You guys go home, pack a bag. Will can have a slumber party with Bella tonight. Stay with me. I'm not asking you to sleep with me." Noah tucked the loose hair on her cheek behind her ear. "I'll sleep on the couch. I'll sleep on the floor. Out in the car. I've slept in far worse. All I know is that you are a special person, I shouldn't have agreed not to kiss you again. I want you closer than you have been. Spend the night, tonight."
He took a step back and watched for a reaction. She wasn't saying a word. That did not bode well.
"I love the Broadleaf."
Okay, a date. Maybe his slumber party idea was too forward. The woman hadn't wanted to kiss again, and he'd thrown out the suggestion of spending the night together, albeit clearly he meant separate bedrooms. Still … What a moron. But he didn't regret laying it on the line like that and would've done it the same way all over again. "Understood. I read you loud and clear."
Noah was midpivot to check on the kids and save face when Teagan touched his bicep. "Hang on a sec. I wasn't done."
A jagged slice of hope picked up in his chest, making him wonder whether he hadn't crashed and burned completely.
"I have one condition."
"What's that?" he asked.
Her eyebrows bobbed just enough that he knew something fun was coming. "You have to agree without knowing."
He moved closer. "Can I reserve the right to add a condition under your condition?"
She shook her head. "Nope, it's a condition without contingency, and you have to agree to it without knowing what it is."
Game changer. She was throwing in a whole new level of trust factor now. "Done. I agree."
"I'm cooking. You're on cleanup duty. With the exception of whatever the kids clear from the table. As hot of a fantasy as a SEAL and firemen might be, I think I only want to spend the night with you."
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
"We're making dessert," Teagan announced to Bella and Will, who milled nearby. "Go play, and we'll call you when we're ready."
"When you need help?" Will asked.
"Please," Bella begged.
"Maybe," Noah answered. "Go make yourself gone."
Both ran from the room, and Teagan clucked with her tongue.
"What?"
She gave an approving glance. "I think I just saw the look?"
"Do you like that?" He grinned. "I've been working on my I-mean-business stare."
"Impressive." Teagan pulled the reusable grocery bag from the freezer and set it on the counter before extracting two containers of ice cream and one of hand-cranked peanut butter with a label from the small organic grocery store.
Noah watched as she moved through Lainey's kitchen as though it were her own, pulling out the blender and finding a spatula with ease.
"My next look goes something like this." He scrunched his forehead, grimacing, letting his mouth gape, and squeezed his eyes shut.
Teagan paused. "Hmm. What are you trying to convey?"
"How I appreciate that Bella uses words that appear on college entrance exams, but please wait until I've had my coffee and have my dictionary in hand."
"In that case"-she lifted her spatula, tapping it in the air-"you nailed it."
They laughed, and he perched against the edge of the counter. "Do you need any help?"
She made a face.
"That's your no-thank-you you're-never-living-the-casserole-down face?"
"And I nailed it too." She made the same spatula gesture
He pretended to glare out the window at the next-door neighbor. "Lainey had told me I could trust whoever that is."
"Oh, you can trust Mrs. Eller."
"Uh-huh."
"But you can also trust her to call 9-1-1 if there is even a question that the authorities might need to be involved." Teagan puttered about the kitchen. "If you think about it, that's not so bad of a quality to have in a neighbor."
Noah fake grumbled. "Don't most nosy neighbors knock on your door with a Bundt cake?"
"She probably had the Bundt cake ready when she saw your house burning down."
Noah grabbed a hand towel and playfully snapped Teagan's wrist. "This is how rumors start."
She stole the towel and tossed it on the counter.
He chuckled. "What are you making, anyway? Chocolate milkshakes?"
Teagan busied herself. "A Lainey favorite."
Noah picked up the carton of ice cream. Except it wasn't. "Hold on. What is this?" Coconut milk frozen dessert. Chocolate flavored. He cocked his head, confused. "Coconut milk frozen dessert?" He set the carton down, inspecting the one next to it. Almond milk. Chocolate. "Milk? From almonds?"
"I'm making milkshakes."
"You need ice cream to make milkshakes."
She stopped giving another look that he was going to have to master one day and set up the blender. "Don't knock it until you try it. The kids love it."
Maybe the kids needed a taste test. "Almond milk?"
"And it's far healthier than regular ice cream."
"Regular ice cream? Babe, they don't even print ice cream on the label. Frozen dessert."
"Now wouldn't be the right time to work babe into the conversation, hot stuff." Teagan removed the lid from each container. "Besides, I prefer the coconut ice cream over regular stuff."