been transferred temporarily to White River. I’ll be running the division office out of Crimson for the summer.”
“Oh.” Her step faltered, and he glanced at her. “That will make your mom happy.”
“But not you?”
Her smile didn’t meet her eyes. “I’m swamped at the bakery right now and helping to coordinate the bake-off for the Founder’s Day Festival.”
“Plus you have to make time for dating all the men being offered up.” A horn honked and he waved to one of the guys he’d been friends with in high school as a big black truck drove by.
“No need to make it sound like they’re lambs being led to the slaughter.”
“Marriage and fatherhood...” He gave a mock shiver and was rewarded with a hard punch to his shoulder. “I’m joking. Any guy would be lucky to have you.”
She huffed out a breath and increased her pace, flipping her long dark hair behind her shoulder. Now it was Noah’s step that faltered. The thought of Katie Garrity belonging to another man made a sick pit open in his stomach. He wasn’t lying when he said any guy would be lucky. Katie was the kindest, most nurturing person he knew.
Now, as he watched her hips sway in her jeans, he realized she was also gorgeous. The pale yellow sweater she wore hugged her curves and its demure V-neck highlighted her creamy skin. For so long she’d been like a sister to him, but the way his body was reacting to her all of a sudden made his thoughts turn in a totally different direction. He shook his head, trying to put brakes on the lust that rocketed through him. This was Katie-bug.
She wanted more than he was willing to give.
Deserved more, and he’d do well to remember that.
“Are you staying at your mom’s farm?” She turned, her brows furrowing as she took in his expression.
He quickly schooled his features and took a few steps to catch up to her. “No. Tonight I’m using the garage apartment at Logan and Olivia’s place. I have to spend a few days out on the trail starting tomorrow to get caught up on things in this section of the forest. There will be no nights away for me once Mom has the surgery. When I get back from this survey trip, I’ll move out to the farm but...”
“You haven’t stayed a night at the farm since your father died.”
There were good and bad things about someone knowing you so well.
“Every time I’m there it reminds me of how much I failed him when he was sick.”
“You didn’t—”
“Don’t make excuses. I couldn’t handle watching him die. I spent as much time away from home as possible our senior year.”
“You were a kid.” They turned down the tree-lined street where Katie lived. Noah had been to the house only once since she’d inherited it from her grandmother. That spoke poorly of him, he knew. He’d been a lousy son and was quickly realizing he was also a lousy friend.
“Bull. Emily had just turned sixteen when he was diagnosed. She was there, helping Mom with his care every step of the way.”
“You’re here now.” Katie turned down the front walk of a cute wood-shingled bungalow and Noah stopped. He barely recognized her grandmother’s old house.
Katie glanced back at him over her shoulder and seemed pleased by his surprise. “I made some changes so it would feel more like mine.”
The house was painted a soft gray, with dark red shutters and a new covered front porch that held a grouping of Adirondack chairs and a porch swing painted to match the maroon trim. “I like it. It fits you.”
A blush rose on her cheeks. “Thanks. I hope Gram would approve.”
“In her eyes you could do no wrong.” He followed her up the steps and waited as she unlocked the front door.
“I miss her,” she said on a sigh then crossed the threshold into the house. She pointed toward the cozy family room off the front hall. “The DVDs are in the TV cabinet. Will you set it up while I get snacks together?”
Noah felt his remaining tension melt away. There was something about this house and this woman that put him at ease. Always had.
She made hot chocolate to go with the Christmas theme of the movie and brought in a plate of the bakery’s famous chocolate-chip cookies. They watched the movie in companionable silence. It was nice to forget about his life for a couple of hours. “I can’t even count the number of your grandma’s cookies I ate that last year of high school.” On the screen, Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf was working his magic in the movie’s department-store Santa display.
Katie gave a small laugh. “Every time you and Tori had a fight, you’d end up here or at the bakery.”
Noah flinched at the name of his high school girlfriend. The girl he’d expected to spend the rest of his life with until she broke his heart the weekend before graduation. “It made her even madder. Since the two of you were such good friends, she felt like you belonged to her.”
“I’d get in trouble for taking your side. Tori and I lost touch after she left for college.” Katie used her finger to dunk a marshmallow in her mug of hot chocolate. “I’ve heard her interior-design business is successful. Someone said she was working on a project in Aspen this summer.”
“Huh.” That was all Noah could think to answer. He’d purposely put his ex-girlfriend as far out of his mind as possible for the past decade. Now, watching Katie lick the tip of her finger, he could barely even remember his own name. He concentrated on the television, where Santa’s sleigh was flying over the rooftops of New York City.
When the movie ended, Katie flipped off the television. His whole body was humming with desire, inappropriately directed at the woman next to him, but he couldn’t seem to stop it. He didn’t move, continued to watch the dark screen that hung on the wall above the antique pine cabinet where the DVD player sat. Clearly misunderstanding his stillness—maybe believing it had something to do with memories of Tori or thoughts of his mother—Katie scooted closer and placed her fingers on his arm. That simple touch set him on fire.
“If there’s anything you need, Noah,” she said into the quiet, “I’m here for you.”
He turned, studying her face as though he was seeing her for the first time. The smooth skin, pert nose and big melted-chocolate eyes. Her bottom lip was fuller than the top, and there was a faint, faded scar at one edge from where she’d fallen out of bed as a girl. That was what she’d told him when he’d asked about it years ago, but now he wanted to know more. He wanted to explore every inch of her body and discover each mark that made her unique.
As if sensing his thoughts, she inhaled sharply. His gaze crashed into hers, and her eyes reflected the same flame of desire he felt. Had it always been there and he’d been too blind to notice it? Now he couldn’t see anything else.
But this was Katie, and her friendship meant something to him. More than any of his casual flings. She mattered, and despite his raging need for her, Noah didn’t want to mess this up. Which was how it worked with him—as soon as a woman wanted more than he was capable of giving, he bailed.
