Noah (7 Brides for 7 Soldiers Book 6)(26)

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."