When in Rome(90)
I take one step toward her. “Get out.” Before I throw something at you.
Her nostrils flare once, and then she turns around, chin held high as she leaves the kitchen.
“Actually, wait, Susan!” She turns around hesitantly. “Send me Claire’s number the moment you’re back in service. I’ll be hiring her immediately as my own assistant.” I have no doubts now that Claire was fired because of what she uncovered about Susan. And I could really use her help now as I begin the process of finding a new manager before the tour starts.
Susan rolls her eyes and then walks away, muttering, “Go to hell, Amelia,” before the door shuts behind her.
Well, at least I know she does remember my name.
And then she’s gone. Only when I see her disappear past the window do I spin around and sag right into Noah’s chest. He wraps his sturdy arms around me and holds me close, pressing his lips to the top of my hair. “You were incredible.”
I’m trembling now and my legs feel like they’re going to give out. The adrenaline is wearing off and I’m left feeling raw.
“I’ve got you,” Noah says, scooping me up and carrying me back to his bed where he lays me down gingerly.
“She’s wrong, you know?” I say, looking up at him with wide eyes. “We’re going to be great together.”
He tucks a blanket around me and kisses my forehead, lips lingering in a soft, delicate press. “I know.”
Noah climbs on the bed beside me. He sits upright against the headboard and retrieves a book from his side table, and then he does the most incredible thing: he reads aloud to me. All week I’ve asked him to and he said no. But now he is, and his voice is rumbly and comforting in the most perfect way.
My heart quivers and I press a kiss to the outside of his bicep. His eyes glide like a smooth caress over my face and my hair and my neck until he focuses his gaze on the book again and continues reading aloud from his boring, nonfiction biography. It’s wonderful. I wouldn’t change a thing.
We have so much to talk about, so many decisions to make, but instead, I let myself rest in this moment and lean my head back against the pillow, smiling as I run my fingers up and down his arm while he reads.
Maybe he won’t have to have a Gregory Peck face after all?
Chapter 35
Amelia
I step out of the bathroom and go into Noah’s room, where I find him lying on his side on the bed, a Scrabble board laid out in front of him. We’ve been playing a lot of it together over the last week, as well as having drinks at Hank’s last Friday, where I managed to not accidentally take a sleeping pill and pass out, a hearts tournament with his sisters on Saturday night at The Pie Shop, reading his terrifically boring book together in bed every night, and then not reading together in bed at night.
After I fired Susan, Tommy called and said my car was fixed and ready to go. But I wasn’t ready yet, and neither was Noah, so we decided I would stay until I needed to leave to get ready for the tour. Unfortunately, that day is tomorrow. But I was given one more incredible week with Noah, his sisters, and this kooky town, and the memories from it will get me through the next nine months. My mom and I have also talked on the phone more. She’s going to meet me a few days before the start of the tour to help me pack and officially reconnect.
Things have been a little different with Will always hovering nearby when we go out, but it surprisingly hasn’t been that strange. Paparazzi lingered in town the first few days after the big incident, snapping pictures every time I went anywhere in the town; but soon, when they realized this sort of life is way too slow and boring to most people, they vanished. I’ve had my privacy back.
What I thought would be a problem for the town ended up being the highlight of their year. The moment a paparazzo was sighted, everyone transformed into peacocks, flaunting random talents and trying their best to get their picture taken. Mysteriously, Phil’s hardware sign has crept closer and closer to The Pie Shop each day, where photographers have been known to lurk outside, always advertising a new sale.
And no one seems to mind Will hanging around. Actually, everyone seems to love him. It’s a little unconventional that he’s become our third roommate and taken over the room I had been staying in, but he holes up in his SUV, surveying the driveway until late at night, and then comes in to sleep for a few hours before he’s out with the sun again. Mabel keeps buying him pies because she thinks he needs more calories to support all his muscle. I think she has a crush on him. When I come back after the tour like Noah and I have discussed, we’ll have to figure out a more permanent solution for security. But right now, Will is not in this house, and that’s all that matters.
“Thief,” Noah says when he notices what I’m wearing. I stole his hoodie again and I’ll never give it back. Underneath, I’m wearing a delicate pair of sleep shorts. Noah notices—or rather notices the lack of clothing on my legs. He smiles to himself and aims his gaze back to the board, dumping out the tiles before sitting up and perching on the edge of the bed.
“More Scrabble?” I ask, stepping between his legs. He puts his hands on the backs of my thighs and looks up at me with a gaze so reverent I feel outrageously beautiful even in my wet hair and his oversized hoodie.
“I just thought since it’s your last night in town, you might want to play one more time,” he says, and I don’t like the sudden sadness that statement has introduced to the conversation.