Page 28 of Shared By the Mountain Men

I took a sip, which turned into a longer sip. “Okay, this isdelicious.”

“If you finish it before the tour is over, I’ll make us another round,” he promised.

A second drink. That felt like an opening. The night didn’t have to be over soon.

Or was I over-analyzing things?

He showed me the downstairs rooms in more detail, then led me up the stairs to the second floor. “This is my bedroom,” he said, flicking on a light. But he stayed in the doorway, basically blocking me from going inside. Keeping his intentions pure.

“It’s big,” I said, cringing as the words left my mouth.

He didn’t pick up on the double entendre, though. “More space than I know what to do with.” He left the light on and moved farther down the hallway. “There’s a guest bedroom here.” We continued walking. “This is technically my office, but I don’t use it for any real work.”

Then we came to the end of the hall. “And this is my hobby room.”

He walked right inside, inviting me to follow.

My jaw dropped. Most of the walls were covered in framed maps—at least thirty of them. Large and small, square and rectangular, most of the maps looked like antiques on faded yellow paper.

“You like maps?” I asked. “Sorry. That’s obviously a dumb question.”

Noah chuckled. “I like them more than most. I could have been a cartographer in another life.” He reached out and touched the edges of an antique map of the Colorado Rockies. “There’s something so pure about exploring a new area and capturing its essence on a page. The rivers and valleys, the hills and peaks. Recording information for people to use in the future. I love being a doctor, but if there were a way to make money drawing maps, I would jump on the opportunity in a heartbeat.”

I leaned close to the map, putting myself in his physical space. I imagined I could feel his body heat, and my own skin warmed at almost brushing against him, but then he politely stepped to the side.

“Let me show you the model airplanes,” he said, walking over to a nook next to the window. Airplanes of various sizes and colors were positioned on stands and in glass protective cases.

As I joined him, I began doubting everything. What if he really did invite me back here to show me his hobbies? What if he had no ulterior motive like I’d assumed? I didn’t want the night to end with a kiss on the cheek and a friendly goodbye.

I wantedmore.

Sipping my drink faster, I pretended to care about his model airplanes. He was passionate about them, which I found sexy in a man, even though the hobby itself didn’t interest me. And he was a freaking doctor. He was allowed to geek out about something like this and it didn’t affect his attractiveness at all.

If anything, now that we were in his house I found himmoreirresistible than before.

“I know it might seem childish, but it’s a fun little hobby that helps me relax. Especially if I’ve had a tough day at work,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s childish at all. Everyone’s allowed to have their guilty pleasures, with or without the guilt.” I playfully prodded him with my glass, and decided to give him an opening. “But are you sure this wasn’t just the pretext to get me to come home with you?”

“I promise,” he said with a smile, “it wasn’t.”

He didn’t take the bait. That was supposed to be the part where he admitted hewasjust trying to get me to come home, and that we would now enter the clothes-off phase of the date. The old Melissa would have given up right then and called it a night.

But I didn’t want to go home. I wanted more from this night, to explore the chemistry I was feeling.

I wanted to feel like my life was movingforward,and not just running from the past.

His blue eyes were sparkling in the light, more gorgeous than I could stand, so I decided to push a little harder.

“What if I was hoping it was?”

13

Noah

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to get out of this date. Inviting Melissa out to dinner was a spur-of-the-moment decision after a wonderful lunch. I’d been enjoying her company, and I wanted more of it.

But now that we were back at my place, I was having second thoughts.

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