Take Me Away (Southern Bride #6) - Kelly Elliott Page 0,24
But when I opened my mouth, the truth poured out. “I saw you sitting outside of the café.”
He frowned.
A nervous laugh erupted as I shook my head. “This is going to sound crazy, but then again, you were sitting there waiting for me, so maybe it’s not that crazy.”
“Go on,” Nolan prompted with a slight smirk.
“You got up and started to leave and I panicked. I grabbed my purse and followed you.”
His brows lifted while his eyes widened.
“I know!” I said with a disbelieving chuckle. “I think at the time I thought I might have known you, but I just had to find out for myself.” I tried to make that sound more plausible than ‘The moment I saw you I wanted to know what you would feel like inside of me.’
“Um, anyway, I saw you hand the cart attendant money and I assumed, or, maybe hoped, that when I got those flowers that they were from you.”
His eyes lit up, and when he smiled I had to suppress a moan. “They were from me.”
“Why didn’t you put your name?”
He didn’t answer me at first, only shrugged. Then he said, “I knew you wouldn’t know who I was, so there wasn’t a point.”
That made my mouth fall open, but instead of questioning him, I jumped when Liliana came running into the room. “Mommy! Nolan is eating the cake,” she exclaimed.
“Oh my gosh! What?” Saryn shouted as she ran out of the room.
“Oh shit,” Truitt said. He followed his wife and then turned back, grabbed two trays of food, and yelled, “It’s okay! I bought a back-up in case I dropped that one!”
I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched them dash away. I turned back and looked at Nolan who was smiling and looking at their retreating bodies as well.
It gave me a moment to really take him in without those intense blue eyes on me. I groaned internally when I realized my mystery man had blue eyes too. Had I seen his eyes that day in Paris? No, impossible. I had remembered them. Oh Lord … I had remembered him without even realizing it.
Those eyes. Lord above, those eyes. They were so blue they reminded me of the Mediterranean Sea. He turned back to me, and I fully took in his face. He had the slightest bit of facial hair coming in and my mind instantly wondered what it would feel like on my skin…and I swear I felt like I already knew the answer to that question in the dark recesses of my closed-off mind.
I looked away before my thoughts went anywhere else. What in the world was wrong with me? I knew we weren’t strangers, if I were to go by my dreams. Yet, I still didn’t know Nolan. At least, I didn’t remember knowing him.
“That boy’s a chip off the old block,” Nolan said.
“I’ll have to take your word for it. I don’t really remember Truitt at all.”
That caused him to look surprised. “Really?”
I shook my head. “High school, college, right up until the accident, I don’t have many memories.”
“You remember Saryn?” he asked, with almost a bit of hurt in his eyes.
“Yes, but still, only bits and pieces. Mostly of us at the riding stables. When she reached out to me a few years ago while I was living in Paris, I admit I had to think long and hard about who she was.”
He nodded.
I had to fight to keep from reaching out and touching his cheek. “I didn’t remember you at all when I saw you in Paris, but I knew in my very soul that we had a connection. When did we meet?”
Nolan looked down and frowned. It was like he was trying to decide if he should tell me or not. The internal war he fought was clearly evident on his face. Then he met my gaze. “We met in high school.”
My chin lifted and I said, “Ahh, I moved here my freshman year.”
“Yes.”
“You and Truitt grew up together?” I asked.
“Yes, and Saryn. Her brother Ryan is one of my best friends too.”
I chewed nervously on my lip. I really hoped Saryn kept that memory I shared with her yesterday to herself. I didn’t think it was the right time to admit to anyone my suspicions about my relationship with Nolan. There was a reason everyone kept it from me. Instead of being angry, I was now more curious than anything.
Suspicions? That made me laugh on the inside. Clearly this man and