Page 20 of Pure Seduction (Chamberlin Brothers 1)

I flushed under his intense once-over, and when he finally brought his gaze back to mine, I shook my head.

“Be a little more obvious, why don’t you?”

He grinned unrepentantly. “Should I say I’m sorry?”

“Are you?”

“No.”

“Then I guess not. Would you like me to get up and do a twirl for you?”

“I wouldn’t say no.”

I smirked. “Uh huh. Still the same old Noah, I see. Always trying to push your luck.”

“Like you said, some things never change.”

As a waiter brought over our coffees, I took a moment to look at Noah the way he’d just done with me. Willa was right: there was something incredibly put together and sophisticated about him.

The last time I saw Noah, he’d been nothing but a boy. But now the fit of his suit and shirt showed off the powerful body I’d run into earlier, and the stubble lining his strong jaw line made me wonder how it would feel against the soft skin between my—

“Want me to stand up and do a twirl?”

My cheeks flamed at being caught, but when he chuckled, I shoved it aside and decided, why should I be embarrassed? He’d been checking me out—it was only natural for me to do the same, and this feeling of familiarity and unfamiliarity at the same time was a head trip for sure.

“I can see all that I need to from here, thank you very much.”

“Ah, well, if you want to see more, just let me know.”

I shifted slightly on my seat, that feeling of awareness from earlier returning and moving a little lower.

Knowing I needed to change the subject or risk saying something completely inappropriate, I went with the first thing that came to mind: “So, tell me about Italy. What’s it like? It must be exciting to live somewhere so glamorous.”

Noah took a sip of his coffee before he relaxed and rested his arm on the back of the chair holding my books. “It’s amazing. At first it was…hard not knowing anyone. But by the time I graduated, I’d secured a job on one of the vineyards—Sergio’s—as a ‘cellar rat.’ I worked hard and learned not only the steps of being a winemaker, but the artistry behind producing a great bottle of wine. My background helped too, I hate to admit. But Harry taught me a lot over all those summers he forced me to work. The real learning began when I got over there, and eventually I worked my way up to be Sergio’s business partner. I’ve been there ever since.”

I placed my cup down and schooled my features the best I could, trying not to show how much it hurt to hear that he’d had such a wonderful life-changing experience after he left.

It wasn’t that I hoped he’d been miserable, or that I’d wished him ill will. But after not hearing from him—not even an email—it was difficult to sit there and listen to how he’d replaced his original life with something completely new. I could only imagine how quickly he’d replaced me.

“I heard about that part. Sergio’s? It kind of became Harry’s archnemesis.”

“One of the side perks of being sent away. I made it my mission to be better than Harry, and make damn sure that he knew about it.”

“I know. It must’ve all been very exciting.” I lowered my eyes, unable to help the tears that had formed, and suddenly remembered all of the reasons why revisiting the past was such a bad idea.

I was trying to think up an excuse as to why I had to go, when Noah placed his hand over mine on the table.

“Laurel, I never wanted to leave. That was—”

“Years ago,” I interrupted, and drew my hands free. This little stroll down memory lane was bringing back all of the heartbreak I’d buried for so long.

I quickly got to my feet and smoothed my hands down the front of my dress. “I, umm, have to get back to work. We’re starting a little late today, since we’re not opening to the public. I’m sure you know—you probably spoke to Emily. But I need to get going now.”

I reached for my books, knowing I was rambling, and once I had them in front of me like a shield, I suddenly felt a whole lot better.

“I hope you have a good day. You know, better than the one you were having earlier.” Before he could get a word in, I gave a quick wave and then hurried out of the coffeehouse.

9

Noah

“ARE YOU DONE yet?”

“No.”

“What about now?” I threw a daisy over the top of Laurel’s book, and when it landed on her page, she picked it up and twirled it between her fingers.

“Still no.”

“But you’ve been reading for—”

“Ten minutes?”

That was about nine minutes more than I ever liked to read, but Laurel? That was her thing, and since I was the one who’d suggested doing our homework together, I was stuck, whether I liked it or not.

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