Page 16 of Marrying a Spy

Her stomach twisted as she threw off the covers and shoved her feet into her slippers. She needed a shower.

She pulled open her bedroom door and padded into the bathroom. After a hot, twenty-minute shower, she flipped off the water and grabbed a towel.

It was disappointing that she didn’t feel any better after the shower than she had before she got in. The hot water normally calmed her nerves. But, then again, she had just agreed to fake a wedding with her ex-boyfriend turned spy in order to flush her deadbeat, criminal dad out of hiding.

No wonder she was stressed.

There were a few solid knocks on the door, and Sophia’s heart picked up speed. She tucked in the edge of her towel and wrapped up her hair.

After stepping out of the tub, she pulled open the bathroom door. She hoped the butterflies would stop racing around in her stomach.

“What?” she asked.

Noah’s eyebrows shot up as his gaze ran over her. She felt some satisfaction that his cheeks had a pink tint to them.

It felt good to make him as uncomfortable as she’d been last night.

“I, um…” He cleared his throat. “I need to use the bathroom.”

Sophia sighed. This was going to be hard, living together and sharing one bathroom. She walked past him, trying to ignore the fact that her arm brushed against his chest as she stepped out into the hall. “It’s all yours.”

“Thanks,” he said. His voice had turned low, almost gravely.

Heat rushed across her skin at the tone of his voice. It was so familiar—and she ached for that familiarity. But Noah wasn’t safe, and she needed to remind herself of that. Noah was blowing through town like a tornado out of hell. He wasn’t going to stick around. He never did.

So, she wrapped her arms around her chest and slipped into her bedroom to get dressed.

Once her hair was brushed and her make-up was on, she felt better. Like she could actually take on what she was going to have to do today. Plan a wedding with Noah.

Noah was sitting at the table, eating eggs when she walked in. He glanced over and pushed his chair out to stand. She raised an eyebrow as a sheepish expression passed over his face.

“Sorry,” he said as he sat back down.

Since when did he do things like that?

She tried push away the thought as she walked over to the fridge and pulled out some milk. Once she’d poured a bowl of cereal, she joined him at the table.

Noah’s hair was still drying from his shower, and he was wearing a dark-blue t-shirt and jeans. She glanced over at him, fighting the thoughts that were trying to sneak into her mind. Dark blue always did make his eyes stand out.

Blast that man.

“What’s the plan for the day?” she asked around her cereal.

Noah glanced up at her. “Well, I guess wedding planning. We’ll start with the photos for the newspaper and then…what do we need? A venue? Invitations?”

Sophia took another bite. “Yeah.” Never in her life did she think that this was how she would get married. Guilted into pretending to marry a man who’d basically told her it was her duty to do it.

As if sensing her hesitation, Noah leaned forward to catch her gaze. “It’s okay. It’s not real. And once we catch the guy your dad works for, it will be over.”

Sophia studied him and then nodded. She knew why there were doing this, she just hadn’t realized how it would affect her emotionally. Thoughts of her conversation with Jazzy entered her mind. That was probably a conversation she should tell Noah about. The lies were already starting.

“I talked to Jazzy today.”

Noah coughed and glanced over at her. “Really? What did you say?”

Sophia ran her finger over the rim of her bowl. “What am I able to say?”

Noah hesitated and then leaned back. “It’s probably best to keep certain parts a secret. The less people know, the better.”

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