Page 12 of Won’t Let You Get Away

“At this point, there isn’t an opening on my schedule for the next month.”

“Damn, that’s insane. Did you list that assistant opening today?”

He hums in acknowledgment. “Yeah, but I doubt I’ll find anyone soon.”

We pull into the Jones’s long driveway, and I raise a brow at the moving truck taking up space behind Tommy and Tucker’s cars.

“Who did you guys say was coming tonight?”

“Her oldest daughter is moving into the cabin at the back of their property, and the middle helped her drive the truck down.” Connor puts the car in park, hopping out and grabbing the flowers from the backseat.

“That’s right.”

Tommy greets us at the door before either of us have a chance to knock. “Perfect timing,” he says with a crooked smile on his face. “Ma was just asking about you guys.”

Tommy is a good kid, looks exactly like his father—brown hair and a boyish charm that I can’t remember ever having.

“Come on in.” He claps me on the shoulder and holds the door open for us. “The Dawson boys are here, Ma!”

Their modern ranch home has an open concept that I remember Connor once describing as a Pinterest perfect farmhouse.The stairs by the front door, leading to the bedrooms on the second level, block the kitchen from the entryway.

We line our shoes up next to the others on the mat as Pa laughs loudly in response to one of his girls.

Connor follows behind Tommy, greeting Ma and offering her the flowers. From where I stand, I can see Pa Jones standing atthe end of their giant kitchen island, grinning like I’ve never seen before.

He looks over at me, the smile stretching impossibly wider. “Noah! I’m glad you were able to make it!”

“Wait, what?” a familiar voice calls out.

My heart pounds in my chest and my feet carry me to the kitchen on their own. I halt and stand frozen. All thoughts leave my head, as I convince myself that I’m hallucinating. The laughter and voices fade away as a face that haunts my dreams stares back at me.

Bri gasps and her jaw goes slack. A ceramic bowl slips from her hands and shatters on the floor.

My body doesn’t even flinch, and my stunned gaze remains fixed. All I can do is stare back into her beautiful brown eyes and drink in the sight of her.

SABRINA

Pregnancy hormones must be messing with my brain. There’s no other explanation for why I’m seeing Noah standing in front of me. I blink rapidly, hoping to dispel the hallucination, but he remains—just as handsome as I remember.

His brown hair is longer now, curling at the edges. Dark facial hair has grown out a bit, but it’s still well groomed. Memories of what it felt like to have his beard against my skin sends a shiver up my spine.

I push the thought away and admire his sculpted arms, straining against his flannel shirt. For a moment, I’m not even annoyed by my mind’s trickery.

Only when my mother grabs my hands and pulls me back do I finally look away.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

“What?” I ask, suddenly realizing that everyone in the room is staring at me.

“Go sit down and I’ll clean this up,” Tucker says with the broom already in hand.

I follow his gaze to the broken glass and chips scattered on the floor.

“Oh shit.” I gasp, reaching for the broom to help clean up.

“Watch your language,” Ma scolds, holding onto me as Tucker starts to sweep up the mess.

“I got this, Sassy,” he reassures me.

---