Page 9 of When Love And Destiny Collide

I can't help it; I burst out laughing.

"You're adorable," I say. "I think we're going to be good friends."

"Your eyes are pretty," he says looking intently at me.

"Thank you," I say, smiling. "Your eyes are—"

"I agree," Noah's husky voice stops me in my tracks. "Your eyes are beautiful."

I look up to see him leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, watching us with a hint of amusement in his brown eyes.

Chapter 3

Noah

She never noticed me standing in the doorway, watching the exchange between her and my son. I wish I had waited a little longer before making my presence known.

Her laugh was warm and genuine. Just listening to it made me happy, and the little hiccup that escaped her lips made me smile.

Now that she knows I'm here, her laughter fades, and her smile disappears. I ignore the cool reception and approach her with my hand extended.

"Hi, Lily. I'm Noah."

She takes my hand, her warm fingers wrapping around mine. An unexpected urge to kiss her hand flashes through my mind, but I brush it aside and smile, hoping she'll let us start over.

"Hi," she says, smiling. The dimple on her left cheek appears, a reassuring sign of her sincerity.

"I wanted to—" we both say in unison. "No, you go first," we repeat, followed by some awkward laughter.

"Go ahead," she says softly.

"I need to apologize for the way I acted when we first met. There's no excuse for my behavior."

"I'm sorry too," Lily replies softly. "I could have handled it better."

A heavy silence settles in, and we're both at a loss for words.

Davey looks up at us, his curiosity breaking the tension. "Are you two going to be friends now?" he asks innocently.

"Friends?" I ask Lily.

"Yes," she nods with a shy smile.

"You have to shake hands," Davey insists, his eyes wide with excitement.

As our hands meet again, an electric current pulses through me. Is she feeling it too? Our eyes lock, holding each other's gaze a beat too long.

"You can let go now, guys," Davey chirps, snapping us back to reality.

Reluctantly, I release her hand, and we both laugh awkwardly.

What is happening? I feel like a lovestruck teenager. I'm a forty-year-old man, and she's barely an adult. This is madness!

When Sharon enters the room, Lily quickly looks away, and I feel a wave of guilt wash over me, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Jon should be here any minute," Sharon announces, "Davey, would you like to help me set the table?"

"Yeah!" Davey exclaims with enthusiasm.

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