Page 71 of Forbidden Whispers

She opened her eyes and sat up, pressing her hands to her forehead to stop the onflow of thoughts, trying to focus on his words. Then she slowly shook her head. “No, it’s so much to take in.”

Boon’s snuffling nose poked between the seats at the sound of their voices. He whined softly and placed one furry paw onto Maggie’s arm. She turned to meet his gentle brown gaze that seemed to radiate concern and couldn’t help smiling at him. “It’s okay, bud,” she said softly, patting his head. “We’re just overwhelmed.”

“And then some,” Noah said, stroking the side of Boon’s neck. “It’s just like Eric said, it feels more like something out of a movie than real life.”

Maggie nodded, then turned in her seat to face him. “What about you, how are you feeling about all of this?”

“Me?”

“Yeah, I mean you’ve gone through a lot of abuse in their quest to escape mob life,” she said. “You were drugged, lost your memory, endured the stress of potentially being accused of murder.” She shook her head. “And all because...because I matched you up with a mafia princess.” She covered her face with her hands, her voice muffled as she spoke through them. “I’m so sorry, Noah.”

He gently grasped her wrists and guided them away from her face. His fingers trailed down to claim both of her hands. His touch was like the comfort of a warm blanket enveloping her. “Cut it out,” he said softly. “There’s no way you could have known any of this. Nobody could have known any of this!”

He dropped his gaze and they sat in silence for a long moment, but he still kept ahold of her hands. Rain droplets covered the car windows, forming blurred patterns of the outside that resembled the brushstrokes of an impressionist painting. When he finally spoke again, his voice held a strange note. “You really want to know how I’m feeling? Here it is. I’m glad Valentina is alive. I’m glad we didn’t just die in there.” Then he looked up and met her gaze, causing her heart to skip a beat. “But as crazy as this sounds, Maggie, I wouldn’t have changed one single thing about the past couple of days. Except,” his teeth gleamed as he flashed a grin in the darkness, “maybe the part where we were attacked by mobsters. But I will never regret one single second that I got to spend with you, Maggie, renewing our...relationship.”

She noted how he stumbled over that last word, and it only strengthened her resolve in enacting the decision she’d just made.

“About that,” she said, gently disentangling her fingers from his. “I agree, renewing our friendship has been great. Really great. But we need to talk about what happened earlier tonight, Noah.”

He looked confused.

She rolled her eyes. “The kiss?”

“Aaahh.” A slow smile curved Noah’s lips. “You mean this?” And before she could react, he’d leaned in and was kissing her again. This time there was no hesitancy in it. His lips moved against hers with an intensity that took her breath away and sent a surge of desire coursing through her body. Maggie’s head spun as she lost herself in the taste and touch of him. And for one blissful moment, she let her heart soar as she melted into the kiss. Her hands found their way to his broad shoulders, and he tunneled a hand through her hair, cradling the back of her head and angling her to deepen the kiss. His tongue teased at her lips, and when she opened to him, he explored her mouth with a hunger that matched her own.

But then the reality of their situation began to creep back into her consciousness. Something niggled at the back of her mind...something she was supposed to do. Or say. His lips trailed a tingling path along her jaw to her ear where he nibbled at her earlobe, the heat between them sizzling like a live wire.

“I need to...I want to...” She was losing her train of thought.

“Yes?” he whispered against her skin, sending fresh waves of sensation rocketing around her insides.

With Herculean strength, she fought for focus and lifted her hands, placing both palms flat against his broad chest and gently pushing him back. The moment his lips left hers, she felt the loss like a physical ache.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to catch her breath. Then she took a deep fortifying inhale and let it out. “Noah, I need to say something.”

He pulled back and studied her, his eyes held a mixture of desire and confusion. “What is it?”

“I’m dropping you as a client.” The words came out more bluntly than she’d intended.

Even in the darkness, she could sense his surprise. Noah frowned, his brow furrowing. “Okay,” he said slowly. “That makes sense in light of—”

“We can’t do this,” Maggie interrupted him. “Now that we know that Valentina is all right, and we have this great plan in place, it’s time to get back to reality. The fact is, I should never have kissed you. I’ve not only compromised my business ethics, but I’ve messed up the entire process for you. I’ve distracted you from your goal of finding the right woman to share your life with.”

“But—”

She held up a hand and he hesitated.

“We both know that woman isn’t me, Noah.” She shook her head and scooted back farther into her seat, putting even more distance between them. “Over the past few days, you’ve made it clear how much you value our friendship, and I don’t want to jeopardize that just because our emotions are heightened due to the stress we’ve been under. We got caught up in the moment. And if we took this any further, you’d be doing what you always do: picking the wrong woman.”

“But—”

“No buts, Noah. My mind is made up,” she said firmly. She turned to face forward and reached for her seatbelt. “Tomorrow, I’ll refer you to another matchmaker I know in Grand Rapids. With your permission, I’ll share your file with her so that you’re not starting at ground zero. I’ll also refund your money, so you won’t be out anything when you switch.”

Noah was silent for so long, she wondered if he was going to say anything at all. The car suddenly felt small and suffocating, the dampness of the rain seeming to seep through the glass.

Boon whined and poked his head through the seats again, this time his focus was on Noah. “Sounds like you thought of everything.” His voice was hoarse, scraping against the raw emotion she struggled to contain. She kept her hands tightly folded together in her lap, when all she really wanted to do was wrap them around him, hold him impossibly close, and kiss him again.

Without another word, he put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking space. She could feel the tension radiating from him like a palpable force. She knew that she’d hurt him. But better to hurt him a little bit now than to cause them both a lot of grief later.

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