Page 30 of Marrying a Spy

Noah said something, and they both laughed.

Sophia cleared her throat and approached the cake case. Noah glanced over at her, and his eyebrows furrowed.

“Hey,” he said as his gaze swept over her.

She tried to push out the butterflies that took flight in her stomach. “Hey. What are you doing here?” she asked. She winced at how accusatory her question sounded.

Noah glanced over at Rebecca. She nodded.

“I’ll let you two talk while I go get the cake samples.” Rebecca glanced behind Sophia and said, “Can you help me, Kari?”

“Get cake? Oh, yeah.” Kari walked past Sophia and followed Rebecca into the back room.

Sophia glanced over at Noah. “So you talked to Rebecca?” That felt stupid to say, but she wasn’t sure how to approach this.

Noah leaned against the counter and folded his arms. “Yeah. I realized I couldn’t run forever.” He hesitated. “I’m tired of running.”

The depth of his voice sent shivers down her back. Or perhaps, it was the way he was studying her that caused her to swallow.

He straightened and pushed his hands through his hair. “Sorry. I just figured Rebecca deserved something after everything she went through.”

Sophia reached out and fiddled with a stack of candles hanging from a hook on the wall. “And she forgave you?”

When Noah didn’t respond, she glanced over at him. He had a contemplative look on his face.

“Yes,” he said.

Sophia nodded as she dropped her hand. “Good for her.” Where was she going with this? Why couldn’t she just let the past go?

A worry grew in her gut. She knew that Noah wasn’t planning to stick around forever. He had every intention of leaving. Once he got what he wanted, he’d be gone, and she’d be left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart. Again.

He parted his lips and stepped forward. She could see there were so many things that he wanted to say, but fear pounded through her veins. There was no way she could listen to him tell her how much he respected her and didn’t mean to hurt her. They were words meant to encourage, but they just hurt.

And she didn’t want to hear them.

“Let’s pick out a cake,” she said, moving to slide the folder of cake designs over to him.

Noah hesitated as he glanced down and then back to Sophia. She could see the internal struggle going on inside of him.

She met his gaze and gave him a soft smile.

He swallowed, hard. And then turned to study the book she’d opened. “A cake, huh?”

Relieved, she nodded. “Yes, a cake.”

They flipped through some interesting designs that ranged from one with the Beatles dressed in tuxes to a pineapple-decorated one.

They laughed at a few racy ones and wrinkled their noses at a few stuffy ones. Sophia could feel the tension leaving her shoulders as she relaxed. Noah must have felt the same, because the air between them eased.

Rebecca walked in with a tray full of cake slices. Kari followed, eating a chocolate-frosted cupcake. Sophia shook her head as she laughed.

“Really, Kari?”

Kari shrugged. “Sue me.”

Sophia snorted. Then she nodded at Rebecca as she set the tray down in front of them.

They spent the rest of the afternoon tasting cakes. For a moment, the stress of their past faded into the background. For a moment, Sophia began to remember why she’d fallen in love with Noah in the first place.

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