Page 88 of Play On

He clears his throat. “Thank you. That means the world to me.”

As soon as I see that flicker of sadness in his eyes, I know he’s thinking of his past. Of the family fractured by tragedy, where laughter had to be something that wasn’t experienced often.

But I see a new man emerging since I’ve met him. Noah has let down his guard with me. I’m seeing a man who is comfortable enough to show me his sense of humour, and one who is laughing a lot in my presence.

I’m going to give you that lightness that you have been missing,I think fiercely.

And I decide now is the time to have some more fun with him.

“Come upstairs with me to my room,” I say, grinning up at him. “I’ll pack a bag for the next few days. Perhaps you could even pick out my knickers for me.”

Noah’s eyes immediately shift from sad to amused. “Ooh, I’ve totally levelled up from picking out pick and mix,” he teases.

I laugh loudly at that. “See how things are progressing? One day you’re picking out fizzy cola bottles and peach rings, the next you’re deciding between lace and silk thongs.”

“Thongs?”

I step back from him but reach for his hand, lacing my fingers through his. I flash him a flirty smile. “Thongs. Among other things. So would you care to engage in a different version of pick and mix with my knickers, Noah?”

“Christ.”

I throw my head back and laugh at the expression on his face. It’s a mixture of desire, embarrassment, amusement, and torture.

God, he’s adorable. Sexy. Fun.

And I know, without a doubt, I have fallen for Noah a little bit more right here on the grounds of Wintersmith Hall.

* * *

By late afternoon, we’re carrying shopping bags back into Noah’s cottage. The blue skies have disappeared, replaced by an overcast grey sky. The scent of coming rain fills the air, minglingwith the smell of the sea, and it won’t be long before it begins to fall.

It will be the perfect night to stay tucked inside this cottage, eating pasta and sipping wine, and watching the rain fall into the sea. Perhaps we can open the back door so we can let that intoxicating air come into the cottage and listen to the sound of it, too.

And then we can make love right here in the living room.

Now I’m the one blushing as I follow Noah down the stairs to the kitchen. He didn’t take me up on my offer of a round of knickers pick and mix—he said he wants to be surprised the first time he undresses me. As I stare at his back, seeing how the T-shirt skims his muscles, and knowing I’ll be able to feel that body entwined with mine in a matter of hours?

I grow hot as I visualise sex with Noah in my head.

Then I smile to myself. I hope he likes me in my knickers.

And I hope he likes meoutof my knickers even more.

Mila races over to her dog dish, and Noah puts his shopping bags on the worktop. Then he turns around and takes mine out of my hands.

“Thank you,” I say. I move to the worktop and begin to unload them as Noah retrieves Mila’s water bowl.

“You ought to sleep well tonight,” he says to her as he rinses out her bowl and fills it with fresh water. “You’ve had a full day running with new friends.”

I grin. Mila had a very active day playing on the grounds with my dogs today.

“Who watches her when you travel for football?” I ask as I pull out a pack of spaghetti and put it aside.

“She stays with a dog sitter,” Noah says, setting her bowl down on the floor. Mila immediately goes over to it and begins to lap up water, and he comes back over to the worktop and begins unloading bags. “I take her to Samantha’s house. She watchesanother teammate’s dog, too. But nobody stays in my house when I travel. For safety reasons.”

I pause my unloading and stare at him. “What do you mean?”

Noah sets down a loaf of Italian bread and looks very seriously at me. “You really don’t follow football, do you?”

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