Noah’s Journey(6)

I followed Amber from the room, even though I honestly just wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep away the day. I knew today was only going to be full of questions I didn’t know the answers to.

I haven’t had the greatest luck with men. Of course, it didn’t help that I always seemed to choose the ones that had one foot out the door before we even said hello. I’d had what seemed like a hundred short-lived relationships that always left me wondering why I wasn’t good enough to make someone stay. I put up a good front, but in reality I’ve spent my life battling myself. Always trying to be perfect so a man would want to stick around. But my lack of self-esteem always won out, making me feel unworthy, and right now it was playing one hell of dirty game with my head. I hid it well, of course. Not even my closest friends knew the fight I fought with myself daily.

The closer I got to the kitchen, the louder the men’s deep voices got. A strong urge to turn around and go back upstairs hit me. I was terrified of facing Noah and his brothers because I didn’t know what Stacey’s return actually meant for me. I knew Noah was engaged to her once, but now that he’d found out they’d had a son together, the odds of us becoming closer looked pretty unlikely.

“Move it,” Amber said as she stepped aside and motioned me toward the back entrance to the bakery. “Her being here doesn’t change his feelings for you.”

I chose not to argue. I knew it would be a waste of my time. As I stepped past her, she placed her hand on my back and nudged me forward. “I’m going,” I said as I looked back over my shoulder. She only smiled and continued to lead me toward the voices.

The moment we pushed through the door and the three Sawyer men came into view, my heart raced. They were entirely too much sexy for this small area. I had never in my life witnessed three more beautiful men.

Noah pushed off the counter he had been leaning back against and took a few steps in my direction. My nails dug into my palm as I fisted a hand and waited for him to reach me.

“Hey.” The deep, raspy tone of his voice always sent chills through me. It was as if every nerve in my body came alive whenever he was within reach. “Can we talk?”

I nodded, turned around, and began walking back toward the kitchen. Noah placed his hand on my lower back, and those chills returned and trailed up my neck, causing me to close my eyes tightly. I wanted to savor the feeling he caused from just one touch, before everything went downhill.

I stopped when I reached the counter in the center of the kitchen and placed my hands on the cold steel. Taking in a calming breath, I waited for Noah to let me down as easily as he could.

“You gonna look at me, or would you rather I apologize to your back?” The cool, calm tone of his voice washed over me, and I turned just enough to look back at him. Feeling like a fool when he gave me that sweet smile of his, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling in return.

Noah glided his hand along my waist, then gripped my hip and turned me around to completely face him. “That’s better. Not that your backside isn’t mighty fine.” He smirked as his gaze roamed over my body, making my cheeks heat. “But I’m sorta addicted to that beautiful smile of yours.”

And that comment had the effect he was hoping for as the smile spread over my lips. “There it is,” he whispered as he trailed the thumb of his other hand over my lower lip. “I’m real sorry about last night.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” I assured him, because it was true.

“I should have walked you home, sweetheart.” He gave me a guilty look, but his guilt was unnecessary.

“You were where you needed to be. I was fine, really.” He was watching me so intensely. My stomach was knotted and my heart was racing as I asked, “How did it go?”

“Crazy,” he said with a slight laugh. “Still feels surreal. I got a son I never knew existed. The entire thing causes so many different feelings to rush through me I hardly know what to think.”

“I bet,” I said. “I can’t image what must be going on inside your mind. The return of your ex-fiancée was enough of a shock, but being a father too?”

My gaze shifted to his chest, which was only inches from my face. I needed a moment to calm my nerves and my doubts. The last thing Noah needed on top of everything else was me being on an emotional roller coaster.

When his fingers came to rest on my jaw, I looked up at him immediately. “Stacey returning and the surprise of Austin have no effect on what is going on between you and me,” he said without hesitation. “At least not to me.”