Page 38 of The Forever Formula
It felt good, hearing that Noah would rush over to help me.
That was a trigger I knew I’d been holding on to from Roger. He’d never make time for things I needed done.
Sure, when it came to me helping him prepare to host his friends for a night of watching a football game, I’d be expected to happily agree. But when I asked him to help me clean up the house so I could host a girls’ night, he’d told me he had too much work to do, and then proceeded to play five hours of video games.
So, yeah, it meant a lot to me that I was a priority to Noah. I hadn’t been treated like that in a long time—like I was a priority. Not since I lived back here and had Grandpa Paul and the Hart family in my corner.
As promised, five minutes later, Noah was at my door. Hell, I think it might have been four minutes. I don’t even know how he got here so quickly.
His hair was perfectly disheveled, sticking up in the front. His facial hair had grown into the perfect five o’clock shadow.
“Hey, you,” he said as he pulled me into a hug.
“Hey, yourself,” I said, which was totally cheesy, but neither of us seemed to care.
We watched each other for a second, grinning like two idiots.
Damn, he’s handsome.
“So, what are we doing?”
He hadn’t even asked. I swear, that shouldn’t have shot straight to my heart, but dammit, it did. I was sorely lacking tending loving care, and here Noah was providing it to me.
“Something with water?” he said with a laugh as he took me in.
My shirt was soaked. I had been so close, I thought, to finishing finally. But when I tested it, water sprayed angrily from the handle.
“It’s this darn thing.” I sighed and gestured to the sink where a half-assembled faucet taunted me.
Noah unbuttoned the cuffs of his plaid shirt and rolled up the sleeves, revealing his thick, tanned forearms. In that moment, I wanted to say,Forget the faucet, let’s make out again, but I had to behave myself, despite Megan’s advice.
With Noah, I needed to be careful and feel him out. The last thing I wanted to do was to rush into something. I wasn’t even sure if he wanted a relationship with anyone. He’d certainly kept CJ at a distance, from what he told me.
I knew plenty of guys like that. Happy for the sex, but talk about anything more than that, and they ran for the hills.
Not to mention, I was sure I needed time alone to heal. That’s what people did, right?
Lying flat on his back, Noah inspected under the sink. “Everything looks good down here,” he called out.
“It was spraying from here.” I pointed as he came out from the cupboard.
He leaned in to investigate. “You tighten this screw?” he asked, pointing to a tiny hole in the side of the handle.
I shook my head and leaned in to examine it. “Didn’t even realize that was a screw.”
“Hand me that Allen wrench.” He nodded to Grandpa Paul’s toolbox, which had become a permanent resident of the kitchen counter.
After a few twists, Noah turned on the water and the faucet ran smoothly.
I sighed in frustration. “I was so close.”
Noah chuckled, a kind look on his face. “Was that your first time?”
“Yeah, can’t you tell?” I gestured to my shirt.
“Not at all. You did amazing. One little screw, three little turns. That’s all I did. You did the rest. Good work.”
His praise shouldn’t have mattered to me, but dammit, it felt good. I smiled at him.
