Page 64 of 5 Golden Flings

He was smart enough not to comment.

Leaning back against the counter, Autumn finally asked, “What are you doing here? And how did you find me?”

Mirroring her stance, Noah leaned against the island across from her. The two feet between them wasn’t nearly enough because despite her best efforts, her body started responding. Remembering the feel of his hands and mouth on her yesterday.

“It wasn’t hard. Harry told me you’d moved into a house several doors down from your parents’ old place.”

She’d done that a few years after her mom passed. By then, she’d needed her own space and it just made things easier for her and her dad to be close. Not to mention the neighborhood was comfortable and safe. She’d grown up on the street and knew just about everyone.

“That’s still pretty broad.” There were at least thirty houses.

He shrugged, not really answering her silent question. Surely, he hadn’t knocked on every door until he’d found the right one. God, the neighborhood text chain was probably going bananas if he had.

Sweetheart was amazing for a lot of things, but the speed of gossip wasn’t one of them. Everyone in town knew Noah Woodson. If he’d gone door-to-door asking for her…

Autumn closed her eyes and sighed. “What can I do for you, Noah?” she asked, without opening them again.

“What are you doing today?”

Slowly, she opened her eyes, one at a time. Surely, she’d heard wrong? Because it sounded like Noah was low-key asking her out.

“Excuse me?”

That teasing smile played around his lips again, sending a wave of heat spinning through her belly. “You heard me. What are you doing today?”

It was Sunday, one of the few days she normally had off. She’d honestly been so off-kilter last night that she hadn’t even thought about what she was going to do today. Which was unusual. Normally, she spent Sunday catching up on all thethings she ignored during the week. Errands, grocery shopping, cooking a few meals so she’d have things waiting and ready at the end of a long day.

But somehow, admitting to Noah Woodson that she had nothing more exciting than laundry planned didn’t feel right. Shrugging, she said, “I have a few things planned today. Why?”

His eyes sparkled, somehow conveying that he knew exactly what she wasn’t saying. “There’s a holiday festival in the square. I was hoping you might want to join me.”

Autumn blinked, once, twice, a third time for good measure.

“Before you say no…”

Because clearly that’s exactly what she was going to say. Saying yes would be…self-destructive.

“I just want to spend some time with you. Catch up.”

Shaking her head, Autumn asked, “Why does it matter, Noah?”

Shifting his body away from the counter and into the space between them, he said, “Because I’m realizing I made a terrible mistake.”

“You’re just saying that because I’m here and your life is falling apart. I’m easy and comfortable and in front of you at the perfect time.”

“No.” The single word was emphatic. “That’s not true. Yes, seeing you was the catalyst to forcing me to face the truth about fifteen years ago, but that has nothing to do with what’s happening in my career.”

Autumn rolled her eyes. “Please. If you weren’t reeling from the blow of being released, you wouldn’t be standing in my kitchen right now. You’d be worried about recovering from your injury as fast as possible so you could get back to your team and that field. You thrive on the camaraderie and competition of the game, Noah. There’s nothing wrong or shameful in admitting it.”

The affability on his face disappeared, replaced by glittering anger and tight lips. “You’re not wrong. I love those aspects of the game. I’m lucky, I’ve found fulfillment and success doing something I love. But I’ve also had a hole in my life that no matter what, I couldn’t seem to fill.”

The implication that her and their relationship was that hole?

“Noah, you chose your career over us.” Those words were the bald truth. “And I don’t begrudge you that decision. You did what you needed to for you and I’m very happy that it worked out well. But…you didn’t feel like you needed me in your life then, and I don’t believe for a minute that you’ve suddenly decided that was the wrong decision. You’ve had fifteen years to come to that conclusion.”

Pure frustration tightened every muscle in Noah’s body. A single hand jerked through his hair as a growl erupted through his parted lips. “For argument’s sake, let’s assume what you’re saying is true. Fine, circumstances have put us here in this spot at this moment. The life I had is over. Period. It hurts a little, but I’m honestly okay with it. I’ve had months to come to terms with the reality, Autumn. This wasn’t something that blindsided me yesterday. I knew it was coming.”

She wasn’t sure that made it any better. In fact, she thought that was probably worse. To continue fighting, day after day, to recover from an injury that in your heart you knew was going to take away the career you’d worked so hard to build.

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