He pulled into her driveway and thought of his school friend Kent Barclay who’d lived in the house when they were kids. His dad had split the year after Noah’s dad left. They’d had that in common. Kent had once joked that Noah’s dad had given his father the idea to cut and run. Noah wondered where Kent was now and whether his family still owned the house.
A light was on over the front door. Did that mean Noah was supposed to go to the door to get her?
No, that would make this too much like a date, which it was not.
Noah didn’t date anymore. He hooked up once in a while with a friend from high school who’d been through a nasty divorce—weren’t they all bad?—and was now a struggling single mother to three kids. Glenda was a nice person, and they had fun in bed together every couple of months, but that was all it would ever be, because neither of them wanted anything more than the physical release.
Wanting more led to ruin, which they’d both learned the hard way.
He was about to beep the horn to let Brianna know he was there when the door opened, and she appeared in the doorway, framed by the glow of the outside light.
She flashed him the one-minute sign and turned away from the door.
Her sidewalk was framed by three feet of snow on each side from four different snowstorms. This time of year, the snow tended to pile up, one storm on top of the other. Noah wondered if she shoveled her walk or paid someone else to do it.
People who hadn’t grown up in Vermont tended to be overwhelmed by the amount of snow they got. His brother’s fiancée, Emma, and her sister Lucy, married to Noah’s cousin Colton, had grown up in New York City. He’d heard Emma say once that she’d had no idea it was possible to get as much snow as they got in Vermont and not be buried under it. She said she had dreams about being stuck under a ton of snow and trying to find her way out.
“I’d come looking for you,” Grayson had said with the goofy, lighthearted smile he wore all the time now that Emma and her daughter, Simone, were in his life.
Noah was glad Gray was happy. He’d shouldered far more than his share of the load after their dad left, and he deserved to find someone who made him smile all the time.
However, Noah was never going down that road again. He was happier alone, and he was okay with that.
Brianna came out of the house and turned to use her key to lock the dead bolt.
Back before their pristine state had become a hub for heroin, oxy and other drugs, no one had ever locked their door. Now, he never left home without locking up and was glad that Brianna did, too, although that had probably become a habit after living in Boston.
He didn’t like her very much, but he certainly didn’t want anything to happen to her.
She walked slowly and carefully down the sidewalk to the driveway.
Get out and get her door for her.
His grandfather’s voice was so deeply ingrained in him that Noah couldn’t help but want to heed the directive from Elmer.
I’m not getting the door for her because that’s date bullshit. This is not a date.
Because his grandfather had raised him to be somewhat of a gentleman, Noah leaned across the bench seat to open the door for her. When he realized she was almost too short to use the step to get in, he offered her a hand that she gratefully accepted.
The second his hand connected with hers, a jolt of energy traveled up his arm, and he immediately understood he’d made a significant error by touching her. He let go the second her ass connected with the seat.
It took about three seconds for the captivating scent of woman to overtake the small space.
Great.
If only it weren’t so butt-ass cold, he’d put down the window to flush out the extremely appealing scent. But since that wasn’t feasible, he had to live with it and the fucking boner that Brianna’s nearness had caused.
“Thanks for picking me up. I’m not a big fan of driving around here in the dark, with the moose that stands in the road and the various life-ending drop-offs.”
“You heard about the moose, huh?”
“Uh, yeah, like on day one. Wasn’t it your cousin’s wife who hit him?”
“Yep. Cameron met Fred about one mile into the town of Butler. Will found her knee-deep in mud with her face and car smashed up, and the rest, as they say, is history.”
“I can’t believe she stayed here after that.”
“I think she stayed for my cousin, but you’d have to ask her that.”
“Nothing could keep me here after this job is finished.”
“Is it safe to assume you don’t like our little corner of the world?”
“Very safe to assume. The snow is ridiculous, there are moose in the road, every mile you drive is like a video game—and not the fun kind where you can crash into stuff and walk away unscathed—there’s nothing to do, and the people are grumpy.”
“All people or one in particular?”
“One in particular. Unfortunately, the one I’m forced to spend the most time with.”
Noah winced even as he tried not to laugh. He had to give her points for putting it right out there. “Well, other than the grumps, Butler is a great little town, especially this time of year. People come from all over to ski on Butler Mountain.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught her wrinkling her nose. “I’ve never understood the attraction of spending hours in the cold to sled down a mountain standing up.”
“Have you ever done it?”
“No, because I hate being cold.”
“If you dressed properly, you wouldn’t be cold.”
“Yes, I would. I’m always cold, which is another reason why Butler and I don’t get along.”
“What’re you wearing for underwear?”
“Excuse me?”
Noah laughed at her indignant tone, and yes, he was aware that he’d laughed twice since she got in the car. He hadn’t expected to find anything about this evening funny. “I meant long underwear. What kind is yours?”
“The usual thermal stuff, not that it’s any of your business.”
“Granted, but they sell this silk stuff at the store that’s a thousand times better than the thermal stuff. I’ll get you some.” The words were out of his mouth before he could weigh the impact of offering to buy her underwear.
You don’t like her, remember?
Trust me, I remember, but that doesn’t mean I want her to suffer in the cold if she doesn’t have to.
Shut up.
You shut up.
No, you.
There, she had him arguing with himself. He couldn’t help but think she’d enjoy knowing that. Not that he planned to tell her. He’d already said more than enough in the first ten minutes.
“I don’t need you to get it for me. I’ll get it.”
“Sure, whatever works, but you’ll be much warmer with that.”
“Thanks for the tip.”
“You might want to invest in a long coat and better boots, too.”
“What’s wrong with my coat and boots?”
“Your coat is too short, and your boots are for style, not function. Winter is serious business up here. They can fix you up with everything you need at the store. Not that I’m plugging the family business or anything. Full disclosure, I have no stake in it.”