Forever Summer - Melody Grace Page 0,49
“Real classy.”
“I’m a perfect gentleman,” Noah protested, stroking idle circles on her shoulder. “Although, one time, I was parked with my high-school sweetheart out by the dunes—not far from here, actually. Anyway, we were … enjoying our privacy, let’s just say, when suddenly there’s a barking noise, and a golden retriever somehow manages to jump in the open window.”
“No!” Evie laughed.
“It gets worse,” he said, rueful. “The dog was one of Debra’s, and she wasn’t far behind. I was hearing about that one for years at family dinners.”
She smiled. “What happened to the girlfriend?”
“Dumped me for a guy on the sailing team,” he said promptly. “Although I’m pretty sure the endless teasing from my mom is what drove her away.”
“Her loss,” Evie said, kissing him.
“Nope, I’m pretty sure it was mine.” Noah smiled. “I was kind of a dork in high school.”
Evie laughed. “I don’t believe that!”
“Mackenzie will show you the photos. My buddy Griffin and me were into heavy metal music,” he said, shaking his head. “We thought we were so rebellious and cool. We weren’t,” he added.
Evie grinned. “I was painfully shy in high school,” she confided. “College, too. It was a good thing Jules was assigned to be my roommate or I would have never left the library. She pulled me out of my shell.”
“I don’t believe that for a second.” Noah rolled them over suddenly, pinning her beneath him. He kissed her, slowly. Savoring her taste. “You are a wild woman, Evie Baxter-Jones.”
She arched against him, wrapping herself around his body, and Noah’s pulse thundered in his veins. The kiss deepened, their mouths hungry, hands roving.
He could never get enough of her.
He gripped her tightly to him, hands sliding up her body—
HONK!
Suddenly, there was the sound of engines outside, and tires crunching on gravel. Then, a low hum of voices drifted up through the open window.
Evie sat bolt upright in a panic. “It’s the crew!”
“And?” Noah tried to tug her back into his arms, but she was already scrambling out of bed.
“You have to go, before they see you!”
Noah’s brain short-circuited for a moment at the sight of her, naked in the morning sun.
Dear God, she was stunning.
“Noah!” She grabbed a robe from the chair and belted it around her waist. “Didn’t you hear me? You can’t stay.”
“It’s your house,” he reminded her, amused by her fluster—and the adorable shade of pink in her cheeks. He propped himself up on his elbows, watching her scramble around the room. “There’s nothing wrong with you having guests. It’s the whole point of this place,” he added. “I’m your trial run, remember?”
But Evie tiptoed to the door and peeked out. “They’re already downstairs,” she said, groaning. “I gave Cooper a key.” She looked around frantically, then paused, brightening. “You can go out the window! They left the ladder up the other day.”
Noah laughed. Then he realized: she was serious.
“Do you really care if anyone sees us?” he asked, getting out of bed. He padded over to her, barefoot on the cool floor, and wrapped his arms around her. “We are grown adults,” he reminded her, with a very grown-up kiss.
Evie looked breathless when they finally came up for air, but she shook her head stubbornly. “Please?” she said. “Think about it, if you walk out the front door, every person in Sweetbriar Cove will hear about it before lunch. And if that woman from the restaurant’s already been talking about our upcoming wedding—”
He froze, imagining what his family would say. His mom would have a church booked by noon. “Good point. The window it is.”
Noah pulled on his clothes and made his way over to the window. “You’re lucky my ego can survive getting tossed aside like this,” he said, teasing, as he climbed out.
“I’ll make it up to you,” she promised, leaning out after him. “I had the best time,” she added in a whisper, her eyes bright. And suddenly it didn’t seem to matter that he was two stories up, risking life and limb with his pants barely zipped, like some kind of horny teenager sneaking out at first light.
“I have a double shift today,” he said. “But I should be done by dinnertime, if you want—”
“I want,” Evie said before he’d even finished asking.
“Pick you up at six?” Noah found his footing on the ladder and began climbing down. “You can do all that making up you promised,” he added with a smile.
Evie laughed, leaning out even farther to kiss him one last time, soft and