Page 24 of Marrying a Spy

“You had no intention of visiting her, did you?” Rebecca had been a huge part of his life. How could he be back and not think of visiting her?

He looked at her before he shook his head. “Not really.” He sighed. “I guess I didn’t want to cause more pain than I had to.”

What was going on with him? What happened in his past? She knew all about his history with Rockport, but she knew that wasn’t what he was referring to. There was another pain that he couldn’t bring himself to talk about. And that intrigued her.

“Noah…”

But when he glanced over at her and forced a smile, she pinched her lips shut. He wasn’t going to tell her—and she didn’t have any right to pry.

Noah moved to open the driver’s door. “So if cakes are out. Maybe a dress?”

Sophia shook her head. “Sorry. No guys allowed when picking out a dress. Besides, Kari has reserved going with me. I just got off the phone with her.”

Noah met her gaze just before he slipped into his seat. She climbed in after him and shut the door. After he started the engine, he pulled out of the parking lot and started down Main Street.

“Really? No guys?”

She shook her head. “It’s bad luck. Even if the marriage isn’t real.”

He peered over at her, and she felt her cheeks flush. Why was she embarrassed to say that? It wasn’t like he didn’t know that this marriage was a sham.

His soft chuckle filled the air as he relaxed back into his chair. “Got it. Going along is a no-no.” Then he turned to her. “What about flowers? Can we do that together?”

She studied him. Part of her wanted to get as far away from him as possible. But the other part didn’t want to go home and sit alone while she waited for Kari to get done with work. So she leaned back in her chair and stared out the window.

“It’s fine. But on one condition.”

“Okay.”

“We get ice cream first.” She hadn’t realized it before, but she was starving and in some major need of sugar.

“Thompson’s Parlor?” he asked.

She snorted. “Like there is any other place we would go.”

He turned on his blinker and made a left. “Of course.”

The air lightened around them as he drove four blocks and pulled into Thompson’s Parlor. For a moment, Sophia felt calm. For a moment, this felt right. She wasn’t with Noah, the man who had broke her heart, but with Noah, the man she trusted. She wanted to let her guard down, at least for a little while. It was so exhausting to keep it propped up all the time.

So, despite her better judgement, she allowed herself to enjoy this ice cream escapade. When they went back to wedding planning, she’d return to her normal icy disposition.

When Noah put the car into park, Sophia grabbed the door handle and got out. She rounded the hood of his car at the same time he did. Out of instinct, she almost brought her hand up to grab his. Something that came as natural to her as breathing. But she stopped herself.

She had barely let her guard down, and she was already acting like an idiot. Being nice and laughing with Noah was fine. But, judging from their kiss earlier, touching him was a very bad idea.

So she grabbed onto her purse strap and commanded her hand to stay there.

Noah shoved his hand into his front pocket. She wondered if he’d had that same instinct, or if that was the last thing from his mind. She wasn’t sure how she felt about either scenario.

“Ready?” he asked.

She nodded and they walked side-by-side into the parlor. Just as they had done so many times before.

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