of a good reason. It was too warm to wear it while we ran (plus that would make it smell like me), and I couldn’t very well tell him I wanted to keep it because inhaling his scent while getting myself off last night had given me a fantastic orgasm, so I sadly handed it over, sighing inwardly as he tossed it onto the passenger seat of his SUV.
After we finished the run, I asked him if he’d like to have breakfast with me in town. Everything between us felt perfectly normal this morning—I hadn’t sensed any of the weird tension that had existed between us when we’d said goodbye last night. In fact, I almost wondered if I’d imagined it.
“My treat,” I said, grabbing my right foot to stretch my quad. “You got dinner last night.”
“I could do that.” He thought while he stretched his calves. “But I need to drop Renzo off. And I should probably grab a shower first.”
“No problem,” I said, switching legs. “I guess I could go home and do that too. Why don’t I meet you back at your house?”
“I can pick you up.”
“Are you sure? It’s out of your way.”
Noah rolled his eyes. “Sawyer, it’s like fifteen minutes from here. Not a big deal.”
I laughed. “Okay. Text me when you’re on your way.”
At home, I quickly showered, aimed the blow dryer at my hair for ten minutes before putting it in a ponytail, and threw on jeans and a fitted red short-sleeved shirt. The top was slightly cropped, but it had a mock neck and my jeans were high-rise, and I looked at myself from all angles in the mirror to make sure I didn’t look like a belly-baring teenager. Satisfied it didn’t look too come-hither, I sat down and pulled on my sneakers.
When I got his text, I was trying to decide about putting makeup on . . . I didn’t want to look like I was trying to impress him, but I did want him to think I was cute. At least, cute enough to say yes to being my wedding date. I decided that a little makeup would be okay, but I stayed away from any bold colors. I did spritz on a little perfume, but I did that every day. So it wasn’t really just for him.
But I hoped he liked it.
When he texted again that he was in the drive, I hurried down the stairs and out the door.
“Hi,” I said breathlessly as I jumped into the passenger seat. “Thanks for picking me up.”
“No problem. You smell good.” He snuck a glance at my midriff before putting his eyes back on the road—fast. I nearly teased him about it but thought twice. And I suppose I could have been wrong. He was wearing a cap, which shaded his eyes a little.
But I hoped I was right.
“Thanks. Do you have a place in mind for breakfast?” I asked him.
“Yes, but if you have an idea, I’m open.” He circled around and headed back down the long road leading from the farm to the highway.
“If you’ve got the time, let’s drive into Traverse and hit Coffee Darling, where Frannie works. I don’t know if they have eggs and bacon, but they have amazing pastries.”
“We could do that,” he said.
On the twenty-minute drive into town, I told him all about how Frannie had gone from simply supplying pastries for weddings at Cloverleigh to running a shop out of Coffee Darling and taking over the management duties there as well while her partner took some maternity leave. “I always thought of her as such a baby, but she’s really come into her own. When I look at her now, I hardly recognize her.”
“I hear you. I can’t believe my little sister has a successful business and all those kids. She’s amazing, even if she drives me fucking nuts.”
I liked the note of pride in his voice. And the way he filled out his shirt. I couldn’t stop looking at his upper arms. He had nice thick wrists too. And he wore a baseball cap, which made him look even more boyish and cute. “That’s right, I forgot Nina took over the salon. I actually have an appointment there this week—Wednesday, I think. I hope I see her.”
“You will, she’s there every day. Unless she goes into labor before then.” He shook his head. “I’m telling you, she is massive. Big as a house.”