Page 24 of The Forever Formula
I tipped the bag quickly then, and a puff of breeze took the ash, billowing it out over the garden. I dropped to my knees and cried for the second time.
I couldn’t believe any of this was happening. A month ago, my life made sense. I worked busy, endless shifts at the hospital. I had a boyfriend ... and a Netflix account. And a paycheck.
Now I was single, jobless, and had no family. And I was out in the middle of nowhere in a rustic cabin that a week ago I could have sworn I wanted to sell and never see again. Now I was just so confused.
Megan walked me back to the cabin with her arm around my shoulders and served me a steaming cup of spiked cocoa.
After my sobs died down and I’d drunk half a cup of the cozy liquid, Megan looked me square in the eyes.
“I realized something today,” she said gently. “You need to stay here. Cleaning up and restoring this cabin could be therapeutic for you.”
She paused for my protest, but I mulled over her words. I needed direction. I needed at least one question about my life answered. It felt like she was throwing me a life preserver.
“Stay,” she said again. “There’s no reason for you to rush back to Houston. Stay and take this time for yourself.”
I nodded numbly. “You’re right. Nothing in Houston is waiting for me. Except for you, of course.”
“Girl, I can come here anytime you need me.”
Of course, she was right.
Megan patted my arm reassuringly before giving me a half smirk. “Who knows? Maybe you can see how things unfold with Noah.”
“Noah? No. What are you talking about?” I shook the idea away.
“I saw the way he looked at you.”
My brow twisted. “And how exactly did he look at me?”
“Like he might drop down on one knee any minute,” she said with a laugh.
I fixed a look of disbelief on my face. “First of all, that’s not a look. Second, the idea of being engaged makes me want to gag. I clearly didn’t get that concept right. I don’t think I’ll be trying that again anytime soon.”
Megan waved me off. “I didn’t mean elope with the guy. I’m just saying, you two have history, and something tells me it’s not over.”
“How many of these cocoas have you had?” I asked her, frowning.
“Not enough,” she said as she walked to the kitchen to get us both refills.
I could hear her moving around in the kitchen, and I couldn’t help that her words unraveled in my head like a long piece of twine. Once that thread was pulled, it would be hard to contain it neatly again.
My first kiss with Noah was at the hot springs, but the memory of our second kiss was just as good. And it was that memory that popped into my brain while I waited for Megan to return with our drinks.
Neither of us had mentioned anything after the hot-springs incident for weeks. But then one night, Noah and I sat under the stars down at the pond at the edge of his property, where fireflies danced in the air and a summer breeze lifted my hair.
I’d wondered all night if this was going to be the night he’d finally kiss me again. Then slowly, during a lull in the conversation, Noah had leaned across the picnic blanket. Without a word, he pressed his lips to mine.
The shock of his mouth took me by surprise, but I’d eagerly kissed him back.
One kiss turned into two, and then three. I remember the warmth of his tongue and how good it felt moving against my own.
“You’re perfect,” he had murmured, rubbing his thumb along the column of my throat.
Goose bumps had skittered along my skin. I wasn’t perfect, but I felt perfect in Noah’s arms.
Megan set a drink down in front of me. “I guess what I’m saying is, I would feel better knowing you were spending time with people like Noah. Jokes aside, the way he looks at you ... he clearly cares a lot about you. And I saw you two laughing. You need laughter right now. It is the best medicine, they say.”
“Maybe you’re right,” I said. “Not about Noah liking me like that, which I seriously doubt, not after all these years. But having his friendship will be a nice change of pace. He’s someone I trust with my life, you know? He’s just a good guy. I need that to restore my faith in men, after Roger.”
