Page 3 of Coming Home

“These?” His lips tugged up with devilish delight as he flexed his forearms before capturing Elle’s mouth in a slow kiss.

“Sister present!” Nat groaned, covering her face with her hands. “Goddess, between our parents’ eye-banging at the clinicandyoutwo, I’m going to need a whole lot of therapy and alcohol to get through tonight.”

“Mom and Dad eye-banging? Well, that killed the mood.” He winced, looping an arm around his fiancée’s waist.

“How do you think I feel? They’re in their sixties and are gettin’ busy more than me.”

“There should benogettin’ busy, young lady, especially while you’re staying at the Little Red Barn.” Clayton’s mouth formed a wry grin.

At the end of May, Nat moved into Clayton’s renovated barn turned Airbnb living space. The former occupant had been Elle, who’d rented it for a month last summer. Of course, her residency in the actual barn lasted barely two weeks. Upon her return to Perry, she and Clayton quickly dove into their love cocoon. In December, she moved back to Perry and officially into his farmhouse. After that, Clayton no longer listed the red barn, despite the demand for chic country spots. With Elle living with him, the overprotective Clayton didn’t want “strangers” staying on the property.

Thank the goddess, because the Little Red Barn was a far better alternative for Nat than moving back into her childhood bedroom. It allowed her to settle into life in Perry while deciding whether she wanted to buy a house or continue to rent. She insisted on paying rent, even if Clayton had yet to cash her monthly checks.

“Can I remind you of the things we’ve done on the counter of the Little Red…” Elle’s words were stopped by a red-faced Clayton placing a hand over her mouth.

“Gross! This is why I insisted on having that place professionally cleaned before I moved in,” Nat grumbled.

They tried to cover their blushes with apologetic smiles.Triedbut didn’t necessarily succeed.

She motioned for them to scoot. “Go mingle.”

She was always going to indulge in little sister teasing and groaning at Clayton and Elle’s inability to keep their hands off each other, but happiness spread in her chest as she watched them melt in each other’s embrace as they accepted congratulations from their guests.

“They’re so happy.” A deep baritone murmured into her ear, and the scent of fresh pine, reminiscent of a Christmas tree farm, swirled around Nat.

“Yeah.” She turned, facing the calm waters of Noah’s eyes.

With an unabashed grin, he claimed the stool beside her at the farm barrel-turned-high-top table. Embers sparked in the mere inches between them. Like the flick of a match, that heat tiptoed up her body and ignited tiny crackling fires at every nerve-ending.

“It’s weird. This will be my second best man speech for Clayton, but I’m more nervous about this one.”

“Why?” Head tilted, she gripped the pint glass, thankful the condensation on the surface cooled the heated charge zipping through her with his proximity.

How did Noah still have this power over her? The schoolgirl crush she’d had on her big brother’s best friend should have faded with adulthood. With every boyfriend. With every bad Tinder date. With every one-night stand after too many tequila shots.

“This one counts.Reallycounts. This one will be forever. I think I knew, even before standing next to him at the church when he married Marianne, that she wasn’t his soulmate. Who knew his soulmate was the girl he’d had a crush on since he was fourteen?”

Her smile bloomed large. “You knew. You always knew.”

Most people only saw the amiable businessman, good-looking former high school football player, or modest veteran.Just like Nat, he fit in a single box in Perry, but she knew there was far more to him.

Most people never realized that Noah saw much more than what was visible. He was the first one to see the love Clayton had for Elle when it was merely a crush stoked in the flames of secrecy within his teenage heart. He was the first one to see the seeds of love growing inside Elle when she’d reconnected with Clayton last summer. Behind the scenes, he’d gardened that budding romance, helping them bloom with each other.

“Don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation to protect.” A self-deprecating lilt filled his voice.

“And what’s this reputation we’re protecting?”

He cocked his head to the right, his lips curved up in a playful smirk. “Well, Clayton is the perceptive one who sees everything. I’m the smiling best friend who’s good with fluffy social interactions. The good-time-guy.”

“You’re not a ‘good-time-guy’,” she scoffed, making air quotes with her hands.

“Are you saying I’mnota good time?” he said with mock dismay. “Here I thought you enjoyed being around me.”

Goddess, did she ever, but he was more thanjustthat. The idea of him not seeing that, even in jest, caused a fury in her belly. “You’re more than just a welcoming smile with funny anecdotes at parties.”

He nodded, a small smile on his face.

“But I’ll keep that to myself. Your secret’s safe with me.” She winked.

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