Page 64 of The Workaholic Down the Hall

Noah studied my face and sighed like he could read my mind. “I'll help out and so will May and George, even Cody and Carrie. We won't let all this fall on your shoulders.”

I nodded, but I hated how much I'd come to depend on him. He was supposed to be getting free from duty, from taking care of other people, instead he was taking care of more people. “I think it'll be easiest if I pack everything in my suitcases and we carry it up that way, rather than making a million and one trips.”

Noah nodded and we got to work. It took us over an hour and I had to stop midway through to nurse Sophie. Once everything was moved, Noah stopped me in the room I'd moved into. “Promise me you'll ask for help if you need it, that you'll let me help.”

I wanted to brush off his offer, but he looked deadly serious, and I'd be stupid to turn down help now that his mother was living with me. “I promise.”

Nora smiled when Noah and I walked into the living room. Sophie was in her grandmother's arms, sleeping now. “Did you get everything moved okay? I'm so sorry to make you move out of your own room.”

“It's totally fine,” I said. “Not a big deal. Really.”

“Well, it's a huge deal to me.” She shook her head. “So stupid of me to get hurt when I have a house full of guests. And when you need May and Noah here to help you.”

“I have you here, now,” I said, trying to look on the bright side. “I'm sorry, Nora, that I haven't been in touch since the delivery.”

She smiled. “No, dear, I'm sorry. I've been so busy at the inn and I haven't made time to visit. Honestly, I was embarrassed about the way I acted during your delivery. My own mother-in-law was a menace with the way she always told me I was parenting my children wrong. I swore I'd never do the same thing to my own daughter-in-law and then…Well, I did it.” She sighed and patted my hand. “You must understand, dear. I only did it because I didn't want to see you in pain. It was no reflection of my opinion of your judgment or your choices.”

I smiled back, feeling hugely better about her staying with me. “I can understand that. I know how much you care about me and Sophie.”

“And if I ever forget and try to Monday morning quarterback your parenting skills, you tell me to go to hell.”

I laughed. “I'll try to word it more nicely than that.”

“Don't bother trying to be nice,” Noah said. He took a seat in one of the easy chairs near Sophie. “May tried to tell her nicely to wait for George to put up the Christmas lights and look where that got us.”

Nora grimaced. “She was not nice at all. She told me I was too old to be getting up on a ladder and, well, I had to prove her wrong, didn't I?”

I laughed and Noah groaned. “Well, I hope you've learned your lesson, Mother.”

“Of course, dear,” she said. But she winked at me.

Noah stayed until after dinner and we had a lovely time. Nora insisted on watching a Christmas movie to get in the holiday spirit and Sophie slept through it on Nora's chest. Noah left after the movie and I was glad. I really was glad. He needed to have his own life, separate from me and Sophie.

“I'm heading to bed,” I told Nora after Noah had left. I wanted to get Sophie and myself to bed before she woke up.

Nora handed Sophie over to me. “He's happier now, don't you think?”

“I guess so.” I knew she was talking about Noah and I didn't just guess he was happier. He seemed more relaxed than I'd ever seen him before, he smiled more, and he'd been more willing to talk about himself and what he wanted. That night over dinner, he'd even talked about his dad. He and Nora shared good memories of the man and debated how he'd feel about his company being sold to Alex Owings. It was a side of Noah I'd rarely seen before and it made me fall even harder for him.

“He's done all this for you, you know,” she said.

“I hope that isn't true. He deserves to do something for himself, to find his own happiness. Besides, he told me he didn't enjoy being a CEO.”

Nora smiled. “Maybe. But I think you showed him what it was to be happy, you helped him to see what was missing from his life. You can't deny he moved to Catalpa Creek for you.”

I didn't want Nora to get any ideas about me and Noah, she tended to do things like kidnap people when she got ideas. “He moved here for Sophie. I'm glad he's here and that he has time to spend with her, but he's not here for me.”

Nora frowned. “I understand my son hurt you in some way, Aubrey, but he's trying to make it right. He's trying to be here for you in the way you need.”

“Nora, I know you've got some grand vision of Noah falling in love with me and us being a family, but he had years to fall for me and he never looked at me as more than a friend. I've accepted that's all we'll ever be, you should do the same.”

“Don't push him away. If you push too hard he might not come back.”

I sighed. I was tired and I just wanted to go to bed. “I learned a long time ago that we can't make people love us, no matter how hard we wish for it.”

Her expression softened and she looked at me with my least favorite emotion, pity. “Just give him a chance, dear. Listen to what he's offering with an open mind.”

“Okay,” I said, lying through my teeth. Sophie fidgeted in my arms. “I really should get us both to bed.”

---