Lily sat at her desk, a ridiculous smile on her face, and got busy on the hundreds of things that had been pushed aside on Friday. They ordered lunch in and Lily devoured a Cobb salad while poring over spreadsheets and construction schedules. She had calls with two contractors, scheduled meetings for Noah and Sawyer. Six o’clock arrived in no time.
Noah had reserved a corner booth and had champagne waiting at a bar a few blocks from the office. It was a hot spot on weeknights for the after-work crowd, and the place was bustling with people. Lily, Noah and Sawyer were getting settled just as Charlotte joined them.
“I’m only here for a minute.” She plopped down her enormous handbag and took the seat next to Lily, who was left shoulder-to-shoulder with Noah. “It’s too depressing for me to be around people drinking right now. I would kill for a glass of wine.”
Lily laughed. “I bet. Only a few more months to go, though, right?” Pregnancy was a life event that seemed so far off for Lily that it might as well be her retirement.
Charlotte smoothed her hands over her belly. “Yes. And it’s all worth it. Doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy making others pity me.”
“Not gonna happen tonight, Charlotte. There’s too much to be happy about. We ordered you a glass of ginger ale. Hopefully the thought of all that money will make it tolerable,” Noah said.
Right on time, the waiter delivered Charlotte’s drink. She raised the champagne flute. “To Locke and Locke. And Lily. And Lyle Hannafort. That’s entirely too many L names for one toast, but I couldn’t care less.” She grinned as glasses clinked and they took their celebratory sips.
“Well, that’s it for me.” Charlotte pushed her drink to the center of the table.
“I thought you were kidding,” Noah replied.
“I have a super-hot husband waiting for me at home and he’s ordering a pizza. No offense to you guys, but that’s way more tempting.” Charlotte popped up from her seat and hooked her handbag on her arm.
Sawyer finished his drink. “Hold on. I’ll see you out. I need to go meet Kendall.”
“Bye,” Noah said, seeming annoyed.
Charlotte leaned over the table, looking both Noah and Lily directly in the eye. “If you’re staying, be sure to put on the Lily-and-Noah show. You’re out in public, and it’s only a matter of time before news of the big wedding gets out. If anyone has loose lips, it’s Marcy Hannafort.”
“Yep. Of course.” Lily watched as Noah slipped his hand on top of hers. Lord help her, she would never get accustomed to his touch. His skin against hers would always awaken every nerve ending in her body.
“We’re big kids, Charlotte. We’ve got it under control. You can go now.” Noah took another sip of his drink.
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Bye.”
“Do you ever get tired of taking orders?” Noah asked. “Because I do.”
“Your sister has a very defined idea of the way things should be done. I get that. I’m the same way.”
“It’s not just Charlotte. Sawyer does it to me all the time.”
“So tell them to stop.”
Noah shrugged. “The thing is, most of the time they aren’t wrong. And if I had told them to stop when they suggested our engagement…” He cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun at the wedding.”
Fun. Was that what Lily was to him? It was hard to imagine she was anything more. Not that she had any right to be disappointed about it. She’d eagerly grabbed her chance to be with Noah, to have that heavenly taste of him, no strings attached. “It was fun, wasn’t it?” She drew her finger around the rim of her glass. She knew her voice shouldn’t be so flirtatious, but now that she’d finished her first glass of champagne, she had no need for defenses. Not with Noah. They’d had major good news today. He was in a great mood. She had her nest egg secured.
“My favorite kind of fun.” He put his hand on hers again. His fingers slipped between hers, gently spreading them apart. Down and back he rubbed, going deeper with his touch on every pass. Lily stared at their hands and nearly gasped from ecstasy. “I know we said Florida was the end of it, but maybe we should try to get everything we can out of our arrangement.” He turned toward her, dropped his chin and nuzzled the spot behind her ear with his nose. His warm breath skimmed the length of her neck. The scruff on his cheek scratched at her skin.
“What did you have in mind?” she asked.
He laughed quietly in response, but she didn’t think it was that funny. She wanted to hear him say the words. “This.” He kissed the delicate skin beneath her ear. It took every ounce of self-control not to push him back against the booth, straddle his lap and pop the buttons off his shirt. He kissed her cheek, then moved to the corner of her mouth. The anticipation was killing her. “And this.”