Guilt speared him. He dried himself, got dressed and went downstairs. He could have breakfast first. But his usual bowl of cereal didn’t sound very appealing. And maybe it was too early to call Cait, but he doubted she was staying up into the wee hours and sleeping late these days, either.
Even if she was up, he half expected her to let his call go to voice mail. That’s what he deserved. But instead she answered, although she didn’t sound all that excited.
“Noah.”
“Ah…wondered if you have plans today?”
“Nell and I thought we might prepare some dinners for the week.”
“Could I talk you into coming to brunch instead? I make damn good waffles.”
There was a really long silence. He braced himself.
“You know, this might be a good time for us to do the smart thing and call it quits.”
He didn’t like the echo of what he’d been telling himself. “No.”
“I’d swear Friday I saw you duck into Shirley Suh’s office because you saw me coming down the hall,” Cait said acidly.
He couldn’t stand Shirley, and Cait knew it.
“I don’t ‘duck,’” he protested, knowing he’d done exactly that.
Silence.
“Hell,” he growled, goaded. “I admit, I had some second thoughts.”
“And?” Cait McAllister could be as uncompromising as he was.
Noah closed his eyes. This whole conversation was outside his comfort zone. She was outside his comfort zone. But he’d seen that he had two choices: take the chance of being hurt beyond his wildest fears or let her go.
Too late.
Every muscle in his body had gone rigid. His SUV had gone off the road and hurtled toward a tree. He had the flicker of knowledge that he might not survive the collision.
“I may be slow,” he said, “but I eventually recognized it was the boy in me running scared.” He didn’t think he could finish the thought. Say, That’s the boy who was sure even his own parents didn’t really love him. The one who’d decided never to risk putting himself out there again, yearning for something impossible.
But he didn’t have to say any of that, because Cait would understand.
“I’m done with that,” he concluded.
Control, focus, ambition had been all-important to him. Two months ago he wouldn’t have been able to imagine letting go of them, making himself vulnerable. Knowing what he wanted most was out of his hands might kill him.
“I’m…beginning to realize how much I’ve listened to the little girl in me, too,” she said, softly, haltingly.
The distress in her voice reached right inside his chest and squeezed off the blood flow for a minute.
“I would love to have brunch with you, Noah.”
God. His whole body sagged with the intense relief.
If you’re going to jump, then do it, he told himself.
“So, how would you feel about packing enough to stay the night?” he asked.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THE ALARM SOUNDED as if it needed to gargle.
Not quite awake, Cait puzzled over where she had spent the night. She hated being on the move like this, living out of a suitcase, but she had to be careful not to wear out any of her friends’ generosity. Usually she plugged in her own alarm clock, but…
The heavy, muscled arm that lay across her wasn’t part of her usual morning, either. She came awake abruptly, remembering. She wasn’t in Seattle; she was in Angel Butte. And she had spent the night with Noah, the second that week.
Colin wasn’t happy about it, although she had to believe he and Nell would like some time alone together, considering they hadn’t been married very long.
The arm tightened, and Noah nuzzled her nape. “Morning,” he murmured with a rasp that hadn’t yet cleared from his voice.
She tipped her head forward to give him better access. “Good morning.” She wriggled a little, enjoying the feel of his erection pressed against her butt. “You know we don’t have time for this.”
“Sure we do.” His big hand gently squeezed her breast, and she shivered. “I gave us an extra half an hour.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. Planned ahead.”
She wasn’t averse. His hand smoothed over her rib cage and belly and slipped between her thighs. She moaned and let him work his magic. It didn’t take long until she wanted more, but when she started to roll to face him, he held her in place and nipped a sensitive spot on the side of her neck.