Page 7 of Pretend and Propose

He grins. “Just waiting on the sunset.”

He’s taken off his button-down and fancy shoes and is in a white v-neck t-shirt and his slacks.

“You’re going to get grass stains on your fancy clothes.”

He shrugs. “Worth it. I’d forgotten how nice it is to lie in the grass and watch the clouds go by.”

“It’s not nice.” I laugh at his ridiculousness. “It’s full of bugs.”

He grips my ankle with one big hand and pulls. “Lay with me and see how nice it is.”

I’ve never been able to say no to Noah Brooks. As I’m squatting on my way to laying down, I notice the three necklaces he always wears are outside his shirt. One of them is beaded and one of them is some hippie hemp thing, but the third is a normal chain with a pendant. The one that made the mark on my face.

I lean closer. “I’ve never noticed this before. Is it…” It seems egotistical to say aloud what this pendant clearly is.

“A daisy.” His attention is focused on the sky, his voice flat. “So I always have you with me.”

My husband.

My heart trips and my throat tightens. I feel so much for this man it’s hard to breathe.

I lay next to him in the grass and watch the sunset in silence, just breathing in the scent of him, feeling his warmth against my side.

As the dark settles around us, his hand brushes against mine, but he doesn’t take it in his. He just rests it there, our skin touching, a small warmth in the chill.

“It’s nice to see you like this,” he says. “So relaxed. I think this break is good for you.”

It’s too reminiscent of Sadie’s criticism and my words come out snappier than I intend. “What do you mean? I always took off work when you visited.”

He lays his hand over mine and rubs his thumb back and forth over my palm. “Your body wasn’t at the office, but your mind was.”

I hiss in a sharp breath, ready for battle.

“It’s not a criticism.” His thumb, brushing over my skin, builds heat that shoots directly to my core and soothes my defensiveness. “I know how much your job means to you. You work harder than anyone I know. It’s just been a really long time since I’ve been with you when you weren’t distracted. It’s nice.”

Nice? Nice that I’m an unemployed loser? “So you prefer me lazy? Is that what you’re saying?”

He chuckles, apparently immune to my bad mood. “You couldn’t be lazy if you tried, Daisy Weston. Remember that time you took me on a tour of the city and insisted on seeing every tourist site in twenty-four hours?”

I snort. “We didn’t make it to the last three because you were too tired.”

He chuckles. “We’d been going since five in the morning and I was still jet lagged.”

“Now, you’re an expert on the city. You’re welcome.”

He wraps his fingers around my hand and squeezes. “I wouldn’t go that far. That day is mostly a blur.”

His hand over mine is making it hard for me to think. My attraction to Noah is always present when he’s around, and sometimes when he’s not. It’s a low-level buzz, like fizzy water. But when he touches me, that buzz can become almost painful, urging me to push the bounds of our friendship.

That would be a disaster I could never come back from.

I slip my hand from his and sit up, faking a yawn. “Speaking of a blur, I’m exhausted. I should get to bed.” What I should really do is get to work on the manuscripts Fernwood sent over, but I’m not going to open myself up to more criticism by admitting it.

Noah sits up, too. “The sky is clear and there’s supposed to be a meteor shower tonight.” I can just make out his wink in the dimming light. “Let me take you on a tour of the universe.”

Sadie would tell me to stay and have some fun for a change, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to resist snuggling up against Noah and pressing a kiss to his scruffy chin if I stay.

Plus, the work Fernwood sent over has to take priority. I can’t allow myself to be distracted from my goals.

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