Page 117 of Play On

“This is gorgeous, Noah.”

“Let me show you the rest of this floor before we head upstairs,” he says. Soon I’m whisked through the boot room, the utility area, and Noah’s home gym, which is obviously suited to a professional athlete, with all kinds of cardio equipment and weight machines. There’s even a shower room down here.

Then Noah pauses outside of another door. “Now, I hope you never have to use this, but this is the panic room,” he says quietly.

My mood instantly changes to one of fear. Not for myself, but for Noah. That he has to think of panic rooms and what might happen if someone tries to breach the security system that he fortified his home with.

Suddenly the expression in his eyes changes to worry. Noah frames my face with his hands and lowers his forehead to mine. “I’m so sorry I have to even bring this up with you,” he says, his voice quiet. “I told you I didn’t want you to stay here alone, but just in case something happens whilst you’re here with me, I want you to know where this is. I don’t want to scare you, Violet. I only want to protect you.”

Protect me.

I think of how Noah has treated me the whole time we’ve been getting to know each other. He’s listened. Stopped my self-sabotaging thoughts as soon as I spoke them. Noah’s encouraged me. Laughed with me. He’s been vulnerable and told me things he has never spoken to anyone else about. He’s shared his pain with me, which is probably one of the hardest things he’s ever done.

Now he’s talking about protecting me, and his words have my heart racing inside my chest.

He’s speaking like a man who loves me, I think wildly.

And I love him.

The thought comes as easily to me as knowing how to breathe. I know it now. It’s like this moment has clicked something into my heart that allowed it to fully fall in love with this man who has his forehead resting against mine. I put my hands on his forearms and inhale his familiar scent, dizzy with the fact that for the first time in my life, I’m truly in love.

I take a step back so I can look at him, my heart feeling so full of joy, it might burst wide open.

But I’m not going to reveal my feelings just yet. Noah might need more time to say the words, or hear them, so there’s no need to rush on that front.

However, I do need to explain my thoughts on something else.

“You’re misreading my expression,” I say. “I’m not worried for myself. I’m worried aboutyou. That you must live with this worry hanging over your head, just because you play football.”

“I’m not worried about me,” Noah says instantly. “The break-ins still happen, but they are rare when players are playing at home. That’s why I don’t want you staying here when I’m travelling for matches.”

I smile up at this wonderful man I love. If we continue on our path, and we end up together, I will be staying here alone in the future, but I won’t argue with him about that now.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” I assert. “I can handle this.”

“I know you can,” he says softly. His eyes search mine for a moment, and then he clears his throat. “This is going to sound odd, but can I tell you how good it feels to have someone to worry about like this? I never thought I’d have this feeling or a person I could care about so much. But you’ve given that to me, Violet.”

My throat grows thick with emotion. “It doesn’t sound odd to me. I like that you worry about me. Because I worry about you, too.”

Noah’s hands rake through my hair. “You know what’s weird? You’ve only been here a few minutes, but my house already feels different with you in it.”

“I hope in a good way,” I tease.

“It feels like a home,” he says.

Home. I make this house feel like ahometo him.

It’s going to take everything in me not to cry.

“That makes me very happy,” I say, lifting my hands from his forearms and winding them around the nape of his neck. “Because I feel very much at home here.”

Noah’s mouth curves up in a happy smile. “Good.”

Then he kisses me, gently and sweetly. And in this moment, I know I’ve found my home—and my person—in Noah Darby.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Notting Hill

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