Page 105 of One Last Time
Finn shrugs, giving me his typical ten-year-old response. Heaven forbid I interrupt his video of a grown man yelling at hiscomputer.
The doorbell rings, stopping our conversation, which was apparently over anyway. Aubrey runs to the door, and I’m right behindher.
“Noah!” she screams and throws her arms aroundhim.
“Hey,cutie!”
Noah hoists Aubrey into his arms, and my heart races at the sight. It’s been seven days since I’ve breathed the same air as him. Seven days of longing to touch him, and he’s standing in my doorway. However, we have an audience, so as much as I’d like to kiss him breathless and possibly naked, Ican’t.
“Hi.” I smile and lean my head on the edge of thedoor.
“Noah! Guess what?” Finn comes barreling toward him. “Harry Potter is on allday!”
“No way!” Noah grins. “Can I watch it withyou?”
“Duh! That’s why I’m telling you,” Finn says as if Noah’s missing thepoint.
I guess my boyfriend got taken away from me—by my kids. Aubrey takes Noah’s cheeks and forces him to look ather.
Her eyes go big, and she squishes his face. “You have work to do,Mister.”
I giggle, and Noah tries to talk with her still pushing his cheeks. “Ido?”
“Yup! The animals arehungry.”
“Aubrey, they’re stuffed animals! They’re not real!” Finngrumbles.
“Okay, guys.” I put a stop to the fight that is about to begin. “Let’s let Noah in the frontdoor.”
He puts Aubrey down, and she props her hands on her hips, staring up at him. “I’ll go get them ready for theirfeeding.”
Noah squats, taps her nose, and smiles. “Sounds like a plan. I wouldn’t want them to behungry.”
I roll my eyes as she sways her hips. Such a flirt even at six. After she runs off, he moves closer to me, looking even better than I remember. His hair is shorter, but his beard is much thicker, and I like it. Noah shifts his weight at the same time I do. My pulse is racing, making it so I have to grip the door in order to stop myself from attacking him. “Hi.” I breathe theword.
“You said that already, Mom,” Finn says from behindme.
Damn it. I forgot he washere.
The corners of Noah’s mouth lift. “She did,” he agrees. “Maybe her memory is slipping in her old age, huh,Finn?”
“Probably!” Finn laughs. “The other day, she couldn’t find her keys for an hour. They were in thefridge.”
“Traitor.”
Noah laughs and brushes his fingers against mine. “We’ll say hi againlater.”
Oh, he’s damn right wewill.
He’s the gift you’ve prayed would be sitting under the tree on Christmas morning. He’s what I want to unwrap and play with, but I have towait.
Chapter Thirty
Noah
“What the hellcould you possibly want?” I say as I answer the phone at five in themorning.
“We have problems.” My publicist clears histhroat.
