Page 30 of Finding Noah
God save me. “Okay, well we have to agree you’re never going to do that again. However—” I took a deep breath. “—creepoid was a creep. I'm sorry I didn't listen. Now we're going to get you a date and get you over this crush you think you have on me.” Because that absolutely felt like the right thing to do to get us out of this mess.
He cocked his head. “Noah, it's not a crush.”
Of course he just had a crush on me. I wasn’t a person someone as perfect as him could ever love.
Which is maybe why you keep picking losers.
Whoa. Wasn’t going to touch that with a ten-foot pole. “I'll find you a date.” Because this was something Icoulddo. “Now, how aboutSoren?” I laughed. “And here I thought you and Daphne would make a cute couple.”
“She’s a lovely woman…but no. Definitely not. And besides, I don't know how to date. I mean, I've only ever dated Laura. And, truthfully, that was more just going to obligatory events together. Real dating? I’m clueless.”
Okay, confirms he’s really lucky Laura ran off with the other guy. “Fine—we'll double date then.”
Again, he blinked. Sort of owlishly. Super cutely. Like he needed glasses, even though he had perfect vision.
“Are you willing to try a date with Soren? He’d be someone very gentle to start with and, who knows? Maybe you’ll hit it off.”
“I don’t think this is a very good idea.”
“Trust me, it will be fine.” I picked up my toast. “After we see Pam about the mutts, then I’ll call Soren. Now, we need to find someone else.”
“Oh dear.”
Your expression doesn’t give me much hope, but trust me…I’ll make this work.
Because I somehow had to.
Chapter Nine
Christian
The drive to the Serenity Animal Rescue in Hartsville took a bit of time. Dealing with Pam Scholls, the director, took longer. The woman was in her early fifties with blonde hair. She was also on the shorter side and truly had a…strong…personality.
I liked her.
“I called your references.” She held Noah’s gaze. “Your old boss was really sorry you left in a hurry.” She arched an eyebrow.
“That’s on me.” I raised my hand. “I just needed to get out of there. See, I was supposed to marry this nice woman—Laura. And she ran away with someone else, and everyone in town was assuming she’d broken my heart and was treating me with kid gloves. That’s so stifling, right? You know what I mean. So, one day I asked Noah that if he could do anything—live anywhere—what would he do? He said Foggy Basin and a dog training business. I said we had to leave the nextday. I might’ve implied I’d leave without him, which I totally wouldn’t have. He was between training groups, and is there ever a good time to pack up your life and move? Anyway, we, uh, did.”
“Did?” Pam blinked.
“Did move across the country. We’re from Tennessee, in case you couldn’t tell. The accent sort of gives it away. Although some people guess like Georgia or Alabama. I guess the southern accent sounds the same to everyone out here, right?” I grinned.
She glanced between the two of us, finally settling back on Noah. “You’ve taken a lease on the house for a year?”
“Yes.”
“So you’re not just going to take off suddenly and leave the dogs behind?”
“Absolutely not. Stormy is our first rescue, and I’ll admit I was thinking an older dog—like a senior—but you told me about River and Sable and…my heart kind of melted.” He shot me a look, which I interpreted asplease shut up, you’re not really helping.
Admittedly, I wasn’t a great liar, and I’d sort of told three or four half-truths in that monologue. Well, one-quarter truths. I ran through the words in my mind as Noah and Pam sorted the paperwork.
Okay. Several flat-out lies.
I winced inwardly.
But all that really mattered was that Noah got the puppies. Of course, he’d be the best owner ever—that was a given. Naturally he’d be able to give them the best home in the world—how could that be in doubt? Stormy and I were just a bonus.
