Page 54 of Noel

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Mind-blowing, sanity-melting sex—but still.

I’m an adult.

He’s an adult, albeit a complicated one.

I mean the man is a super hot, scary ass bodyguard who is currently in damage-control mode—can you say swoon?

But if he’s not thinking about what happened last night right now, then neither am I.

The overhead speaker clicks, and somewhere in the distance, I hear faint Christmas music playing.

You Make It Feel Like Christmas.The Neil Diamond version.

I pause.

It’s one of those oldies but goodies.The sentiment is there, and I feel my chest squeeze.

I exhale a quiet breath and sip my coffee, letting the warmth ground me.

I don’t know how this ends.

But if there’s still room in the world for miracles, maybe—just maybe—one of them is waiting for me at the end of all this.

And maybe it’s him.

I’m trying and failing to not look back toward the hallway.To where I last saw Noel.He has work to do.

I know that.

I’m not going to sit here like some clingy mess wondering where he is.

Once more, my brain drifts.

To Noel.

From the way he held me this morning, to the ache in my chest when he pulled me in close and whispered,“It’s going to be okay,”in that sexy voice of his.

I think about the danger I’m in, and the way Noel’s voice changed when he realized someone had found me.When he realized it was personal now.

I stare out the window as snow begins falling again over the city, blanketing everything in white.

There’s something peaceful about it.Soft.Quiet.

I want to believe this will all end with a gala that goes off without a hitch, with lights and laughter and music.

But more than that, I want to believe I was put in Noel’s path for a reason.Or maybe he was put in mine.

And if there’s still such a thing as Christmas miracles, I hope to God there’s one waiting for me at the end of this mess.

Maybe it’s a second chance.

Maybe it’s more than that.

But whatever it is, I’m not done hoping.

Not yet.

Chapter17

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