So, yeah, he needed to be thinking about his next step, which brought his mind immediately back to Julia and how he could possibly keep her in his life.
Noah had the barbecue flaming, the music cranked, and three of his five buddies coming tonight, already slamming around the beta snowboarding game Guru had sent over. But still no Julia.
He slid his parka over his shoulders and stepped outside to check on the briquettes in the grill on his patio, but his gaze spent more time searching the guesthouse for signs of her. The distant sound of laughter and his front door slamming made him look at his watch.
The glass door behind him slid open, and he glanced over his shoulder to see Finn come out with a beer in hand.
“Dude, you’re supposed to be relaxing,” Finn said. “You’re worse than a teenager on prom night. She’s probably trying to avoid this ugly crowd as long as possible.”
Noah shook his head. “This ugly crowd was her idea.”
“Her idea was for you to relax. She’s rewarding you for a job well done. Give the woman what she wants, for God’s sake.”
Noah grinned down at the briquettes as he moved them around to even out the burn. He was certainly giving her everything she wanted in bed; he made sure of that. But when he thought about her beyond the bedroom, his smile faded. She’d been acting strange all day. Nervous when they’d woken late, insistent when they’d visited the old school, edgy as they’d prepared for the party.
For the first time in weeks, he couldn’t read her. And it unsettled him.
“I can see why you’re into her, man,” Finn said. “Sure as shit don’t blame you. But watch yourself.”
Noah turned his head to look at Finn, whose gaze was trained on the guesthouse. “What does that mean?”
“She’s not the trash you’re used to. And you’ve gotten in pretty deep.” He met Noah’s eyes deliberately. “She’s leaving in a few days, dude. Then you take off on a world tour for two months, where you have to be one hundred fifty percent in your head. You’ve missed eighty percent of the season. You can’t afford to be distracted by anything if you’re going to pull yourself out of the hole.”
The swell of emotion burst, and his shoulders deflated. Finn was right. But the warning came too late. Noah was already having a hard time imagining his life without her in it.
“I’m good,” he lied. “Thanks for the reminder.”
“Got your back. Carpe diem, right?”
Since they’d met as kids, that had always been their motto. Noah nodded, smiled. “Right.”
Finn shivered dramatically. “Freezin’ my balls off out here. Come in and kick Mercer’s ass on your game so I don’t have to listen to him gloat over me all night, would you?”
“Sure thing.”
But Noah continued to hover over the grill after Finn disappeared inside. He stared down at the glowing coals and followed the slow crawl of white edges as they closed in on the black square.
The only solution Noah could see would be taking Julia on the road with him for the rest of the season. And wouldn’t it be so damn cool to actually experience the places he boarded with someone he loved?
Loved.
A trickle of fear coursed down his chest but dissipated in milliseconds, replaced by joy. A bright, burning streak of joy.
Noah took a deep breath and tried to regulate the flash of emotion. But when he looked up, Julia was walking toward him, all bundled in her parka, her shiny hair flowing around her face. She grinned and waved, and his heart squeezed hard.
Fuck him to hell and back—he was in love with her.
“Hey.” He shoved the foreign idea aside. “Did you fall asleep?”
“No.” She broke his gaze and looked down at the grill. “Research. You know how I lose track of time.”
She started to step past him toward the back door. Noah closed the grill and followed her inside, where ear-splitting screams—one of triumph, one of defeat—came from the living room.
Julia grinned over her shoulder. “Your game?”“They haven’t turned it off since they got here.”
He slipped her jacket off and tossed it over the breakfast bar, then slid his hand up her arms when what he really wanted to do was curl her into him. “Hey,” he said softly, drawing her attention. “Are you okay?”
She turned toward him, smiling. “Sure, why?”