Don't Let Go(98)

“Oh, thank God!” she said, coming around the table to maul us at the same time. “Oh, man, I prayed this would happen. Not that Shayna wasn’t nice, but—you’re just family. Oh, Lord, I’m so excited.”
When I laughed, she clamped a hand down on each of our arms and looked up in Noah’s face with amusement in her eyes. “Dad’s gonna shit a brick.”
“He’ll get over it,” Noah said.
“Hey, he actually hired Becca,” I said. “So maybe he’s mellowing in his old age.”
“True,” she said, pointing at me. “And—I haven’t seen the cane in action for a while.”
“Nope, the music has evidently stopped,” I said.
“It’s the day the music died,” she said, nodding to keep a straight face while I snickered.
“So can we have some chili now?” Noah asked.
“Oh, men,” Linny scolded. “We’re talking drama, and all they can think about is food.”
Not all, but I wasn’t going there with Noah’s sister. She ladled up two helpings of steaming chili and a generous handful of shredded cheese into two plastic bowls.
“Fritos?” she asked.
“Of course,” I said, while Noah declined. I shook my head at him. “Italy ruined you.”
He turned to me before he took his first bite. “Well, then you have the rest of our lives to get me back in line.”
The cold almost disappeared there for a second as those words warmed me down to my toes. The day couldn’t get any better, and I was afraid to keep thinking that. Afraid I’d jinx it. Only downside is that I hadn’t gotten to talk to Seth.”
“Your Nana was here just a little bit ago,” Linny said.
“Really?” I said. “How’d she get here?”
Linny shrugged. “Don’t know, but she’s eating like a wild boar on a tear.”
I laughed. “Probably bribing people for their recipes, too.”
“Oh, she tried,” Linny said with a wink. “But I don’t cave easily. Did you hear that it might actually snow?” she said, grinning like a kid. “Wouldn’t that be something?”
Yeah, it would be something. Especially today, but the odds of that were nearly zero. “I wouldn’t hold my breath,” I said. “We’ll just get sleet or something.”
The chili thawed me completely. Only thing better was if I could have soaked my hands in it. But it left my mouth warm and tingling with Texas spice, the way chili ought to be.
“Mmm, Linny, this is amazing,” Noah said. “I never knew you could cook like this.”
“Always thought it was the best,” I said. “Has Hayden been out yet to get some? You know he goes loopy for your chili.”
She pinked up again. “He did, actually. Came by a couple of hours ago—with a date.”
“Really?” I said, warmth flooding me again. “Good for him. He needs someone.”
Heavy music started up nearby, rumbling the very sidewalk under my feet.
“Go check out the band,” Linny said. “I heard they are supposed to be good.”
Okay, so far the carnival wasn’t a complete bust. I had to admit it. Even with the silly snowflakes hanging—wilted and floppy in some cases, spiky wooden weapons in others—it wasn’t so bad. Maybe it was the company.
Walking around hand in hand with Noah made the very air around us feel full of magic and promise. It was like being a teenager again in an old body.
We bought a slice of cake, and the look in Noah’s eyes as I fed it to him was priceless. I was pretty sure my fingers and toes had frostbite, but I no longer cared.
We reached the makeshift bandstand, which was really an oversized tractor trailer in front of the gazebo, and the band was pretty good. And when Noah grabbed my numb gloved hand and pulled me into his arms for a slow dance, I decided it was the best band ever. I’d even buy their CD. Yep, I was a teenager again.
Noah’s arms wrapped inside my coat, and his face came down to mine as I pulled him closer.
“Don’t let go,” I mumbled against his mouth.
“Never,” he said, smiling at the words, shutting me up with a slow warm kiss that moved my blood all the way to my fingertips and back again.
The whole town disappeared as the music vibrated the air and I was enveloped in everything Noah. His scent, his taste, and the feel of his body. And I wasn’t stealing a forbidden moment or taking what wasn’t mine. Noah Ryan was mine. Had been since that long ago day with the Dr. Pepper. We’d just been on hold for a while.
I chuckled as the song ended and he glanced at his watch.
“Somewhere you have to be?”
“Kind of,” he said, winking at me. “Come with me.”
He led me around more food booths, where I found Nana Mae and another lady loading up on funnel cake.
“What are you doing out here in the frozen tundra?” I asked, giving her a hug.
“Getting my sugar high on, sweetheart,” she said, nudging the other woman who had just stuffed a large doughy piece in her mouth and proceeded to laugh around it. “Trolling for old men. You know Clara Sullivan?”
“Hi, I’m Julianna White,” I said, holding out a hand and chuckling at my grandmother.
“So nice to meet you sweetie,” she said. “Mae talks about you all the time.” And then both women looked at my date.
“This is Noah,” I said, looping my arm with his. “Noah Ryan.” I looked Nana Mae in the eyes. I didn’t know what to call him, but it didn’t matter. She knew my heart.