“Pretty much everyone is watching,” Kyle said with a frown. “So could we not fight again?”
Hutch gave her a sad smile. “We’re not going to fight at all. Noelle, I’m sorry for how I acted this morning. I…turns out I’m fond of you and far more capable of feeling jealousy than I thought I was. I moved too fast, and I hope you can forgive me and we can be friends.”
Wasn’t that exactly what she wanted? So why did the idea of being friends with him feel like a letdown? “Of course. I would like that a lot.”
“Good. Then maybe the third time will be the charm.”
Third time? She supposed it was. “Friends then.”
“I’ll believe that when I see it,” Kyle said under his breath.
Hutch gave her a nod. “Friends. Now kiss me again, friend, because we’ve got a fake relationship to maintain. Let’s head back to your place and I’ll cook us all some supper and we can talk about what we learned today.”
She glanced over and most of her techs were staring into the room as though they couldn’t quite believe what they were seeing. Didn’t think she could get a date, huh? Well, she mostly couldn’t, but she’d gotten Hutch. She wished there had been a way to keep him. She brushed her lips against his and then put her laptop in her bag.
Hutch picked it up. “I’ll take this. And I think I saw some chocolate chips in your pantry. Any way I could convince you to make some cookies? I’ve got a sweet tooth.”
What else are you offering me, Noelle? Or was that sugar all I get from you?
She forced herself to smile. “I would love to. And thanks for making dinner. I appreciate it. I have a lot to tell you.”
When he handed her the braces, she took them and he fell into step beside her with the ease of a man used to measuring his gait, to adapting to the people around him.
Could he adapt to her?
He moved ahead to get the door for her, and she wondered if being friends with Hutch wouldn’t be even worse for her heart than being nothing at all.
Chapter Nine
Hours later, Hutch set the glass of wine in front of Noelle and looked to Cara, who had shown up shortly after dinner and who might be the damn reason he didn’t get cookies tonight. “You two need anything else?”
Cara was sitting across from Noelle on the couch and shook her head. “No, just some privacy, please.”
She did not like him. Noelle looked his way, though, her cheeks a bit flushed.
“Sorry.”
He leaned over and laid a kiss on her forehead. “It’s not a problem. I’m going to take that bottle of Scotch I bought and sit out on the balcony with my brother. He had a big day.”
That flush on her face had deepened, likely going from being embarrassed to a little aroused. He should be pissed that Cara had shown up, but it gave him a chance to kiss her. He’d had to pull back when the three of them were alone, had to play the nice guy instead of the ruthless Dom who’d found his sub and meant to make her his.
She nodded his way. “Thanks for dinner. It was delicious, and I’ll get those cookies going as soon as possible.”
He winked. “I look forward to some more of your sugar, baby.”
Yep, it was definitely one of the two—arousal or embarrassment—because the blush rushed down her neck, spreading almost to the tops of her breasts. “You’re a terrible man.”
Arousal won. She’d said the words with the sweetest smile that let him know she wasn’t thinking about cookies.
Nope. Tag had been right. This was far from over. Their chemistry was off the charts and still quite alive, despite Noelle’s trepidation. She didn’t think she could trust this crazy first-sight thing, so he was going to give her a whole lot more time to make the right decision. This war wouldn’t be won by him retreating.
Not that Cara looked like she was willing to come down on the side of quickie commitment. That woman was still staring a hole through him as he grabbed the Scotch and two glasses and walked to the balcony.
“He should be careful out there. I heard someone is now throwing clothes off their balcony,” Cara huffed. “There was a pair of underwear in the oak tree. What is this place coming to?”
He managed to not snort as he heard Noelle sputter.