“So that’s Angelica?” Naomi’s eyes followed the other woman’s hasty retreat, brows furrowed with concern. “She’s lovely. And very much surprised to see you here.”

“Yeah.” Noah scrubbed a hand over his chin, his eyes glued to his lover’s curves as she walked away from him. He couldn’t help but admire how well she filled out her gown. The fact that he knew exactly what she looked like underneath it had him imagining all the ways he’d love to strip her out of it. Except, he told himself, they weren’t going to do that anymore. Pushing his lustful thoughts aside, he turned back to his friend. “All that’s over with. She’s not who I thought she was.”

“Who you thought she was, or who you wanted her to be?” Naomi pointed an accusing finger in his direction.

“She told me she was done with Hollywood, and everything that went along with it.”

“And?” Naomi crossed her arms and tapped the ball of her four-inch heeled foot, somehow managing to still look elegant despite the spikes that would have toppled a lesser woman.

“And,” he said with a sigh, “I don’t want to get involved with someone who’s more concerned about their fans and social media followers than their friends and the community.”

Naomi scoffed. “I seriously doubt that woman gives two shits about all that. She left Hollywood for a normal life, or have you forgotten?”

“And the second they came knocking at her broken-down, dilapidated door, she opened up and welcomed them back in with open arms,” Noah countered, his voice rising in agitation.

“So what if she did? That doesn’t mean anything except she’s a single woman with a huge mortgage, mounting bills to restore that property, and the means to do so using her connections. Would you seriously deny her that?’

Was it just him, or had someone turned up the temperature in the room? Noah fingered the collar of his shirt. “That’s not fair,” he said. “Of course I want her to succeed.”

She shot him a glance there was no mistaking. Naomi wasn’t buying it for a second. “As long as you get to be the big, bad man and she’s the little woman?”

“No! Of course not. What are you even talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that while you’re a lovely, wonderful man, you’re also a bit of a chauvinist, Noah Bradstone.”

Sweat prickling his brow now, he replied, “I am not a chauvinist. What’s your problem? I thought you were on my side.”

“Oh Noah,” Naomi sighed. “I’m always on your side. And that means when you’re behaving like an ass, I’m going to call you on it. And right now, I think there’s a little bit of Neanderthal in you.”

Wordlessly, Noah tugged on his expertly knotted tie. He felt like he was choking.

Naomi swatted at his hand and took over adjusting the navy blue silk. As she did, she added, “Angelica is wonderful, but you’re scared of what you feel for her, so you’re pulling out every damn excuse you can think of why you should stay away. First it was the situation with the vines. Then it was the fact that she’s your neighbor. Now it’s the TV show.”

Naomi fussed with his tie so that he still looked presentable, but he could breathe again. As she did, Noah considered the implication of her words. She must be wrong, he thought. But then he remembered that Max and Sean had said something similar the weekend before, and he was forced to acknowledge he might be self-sabotaging. He just couldn’t figure out why.

“There, all better,” she said, leaning in for a quick hug, and Noah’s arms automatically circled her waist. With her cheek resting against his chest, she said, “Max told me your theory about the tourists and frankly, I think you’re being selfish.” She leaned away and her serious eyes locked on his. “That show filming in River Hill is a good thing, Noah. It benefits so many people. But more importantly, it benefits Angelica. We want her to be happy there. We want her to stay.”

“Why?” he asked. “You don’t even know her.”

She smiled warmly. “Because you want it, silly. You just don’t know it yet.” She eyed him speculatively for a few moments. “Although maybe you’re beginning to figure it out.”

Maybe he was.

Because if Noah took a step back and examined why he was so against her filming the festival, none of his objections actually made any sense. Sure, he didn’t want to be part of the show, but then she hadn’t asked him to. He’d just automatically assumed she was going to; that she’d use him the way so many others had tried before.

Logically, he knew that the show’s short-term success would mean Angelica’s bed and breakfast’s long-term success, but that whole thing about building her brand still niggled at him. He wanted Angelica to be above all that, he admitted to himself. But even if she wasn’t, did that mean they couldn’t be together? Was it something he could look beyond? Did he care more about that exasperating, beautiful, magical woman than he cared about his hatred for social media?

Naomi had certainly given him something to think about.

He pulled her back to him and squeezed tight. “Thank you,” he said to the top of her head. “You’re right, I’m an asshole. I need to go make things right with her.”

He let go of his friend and was about to leave to find Angelica when his mother approached. Her eyes zeroed in on his and Naomi’s close proximity and they flashed with a satisfied gleam. Noah took a large step back, but it was too late. Bernice Bradstone had seen the easy intimacy between him and Naomi, and she was going to run with it.

“Well, isn’t this cozy?” She leaned in to place an air kiss on Naomi’s cheek. “Lovely to see you again, dear. Don’t you look stunning? You’re the most beautiful young lady in the room tonight, I’d wager.”

Naomi’s eyes flicked to Noah’s before she addressed the woman she’d known her whole life. “Thank you, Mrs. Bradstone. While I appreciate the sentiment, I’m not sure I agree.” Her eyes searched the room and landed on Angelica, who was embroiled in what looked like a heated discussion with a dark, handsome man who was at least six inches shorter than she was. “I think that honor goes to Angelica Travis over there.” Naomi tipped her chin toward the other side of the room, and Bernice’s eyes followed.

“Oh my,” she murmured. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Noah’s chest swelled with pride, but then his mother turned back to them and ruined the moment entirely. “It’s a shame about her weight though. Imagine if she were thirty pounds lighter? She’d be stunning.”

Noah’s heart kicked with rage in his chest, but he pushed his reaction deep down where it wouldn’t see the light of day. Pulling in a breath to calm himself, he held it for several beats and then exhaled slowly. He didn’t want to say something he might regret later. Not that he’d regret setting his mother straight; he’d only regret having to deal with her antics for the next month if he did so too bluntly. Her narrow-minded way of thinking about a person’s worth was one reason he’d stayed far away from the women of her social circle. With the lone exception of Naomi, they were uniformly the most vapid, soulless creatures he’d ever met. Noah often thought a lot of that had to do with being in a constant state of hunger.

With that, his mind flashed to the meal he and Angelica had shared on his back deck. Specifically, how she’d gleefully devoured her rare steak, and the seductive way her lush, full lips had circled the fork when he’d fed her a bite of Max’s sinfully caloric potatoes. And the way she’d fed him back.

Stifling a groan, Noah adjusted his stance to disguise his thickening cock and cleared his throat. Despite the impending fall out from correcting his mother, he fully intended to say something. Naomi stayed him with a hand to his arm and a quick shake of her head.

“Actually, I think she’s amazing,” Naomi said before he could speak. Then she looked ruefully down the length of her own trim body, honed to slim perfection through hours of yoga and pilates. “I would kill for an ounce of her curves.”

Bernice’s eyes flashed with momentary surprise, but then she masked her reaction. “Oh, no dear, you’re perfect as you are. Isn’t she Noah?” His mother’s tone was clear: don’t you dare contradict me.

Noah smiled affectionately at Naomi affectionately. “Of course she’s perfect, but I have to agree with her earlier assessment of Miss Travis.”

“Hey!” Naomi said with a playful slap on his arm. “None of that now.”

Noah winked, then turned to find his mother eyeing them curiously, as if she knew something was about to happen but she had no clue what. I can’t wait to see the look on her face, Noah thought, before saying with relish, “What I mean is, I would kill for an ounce of Angelica’s curves myself.”

His mother’s mouth fell open and then closed in shock, while Naomi laughed uproariously. Pushing him away, she said, “Then you better go get a move on.”

* * *

Noah’s eyes scanned the ornately decorated space, seeking out the object of his desire. A few times he spotted a flash of liquid gold moving through the crowd, but each time it had been someone else. Resigning himself to not finding Angelica in the swelling crowd, Noah gave up and told Naomi he was heading home—not to his pied-à-terre in SoMA, but to his real home. Back to River Hill. She’d kissed him on both cheeks and wished him well before returning to the side of an older man who’d just commissioned a sculpture for his home in Palo Alto.

Buttoning his coat, Noah stepped into the foyer to find the elevator clanking shut. “Hold the door!” he called, rushing forward. He shoved his hands between the old-fashioned sliding brass bars, slipped into the ten-by-ten box, and came to a sudden stop. “Angelica,” he breathed. “Finally.”

Her eyes raked over him, and not with appreciation the way they usually did. “Hello, Noah.”

The antique elevator lurched and started moving. Setting his hand on the shiny bar skirting the box’s perimeter, Noah took a step closer. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Angelica raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Really? It looked to me like you were just fine where you were.”

“Naomi and I are old friends. She told you that.”

“Right. Old, close friends.”

Noah didn’t mistake the hurt in Angelica’s eyes, but he wasn’t going to lie to her either. “Yes, we’re close.”

“Like you and I’ve been close?” she asked, as the elevator lurched to a stop and she stumbled into his arms.

“What the?” he exclaimed, catching her and planting his feet before they both tumbled to the ground. Setting Angelica away, he turned to the electrical panel and muttered, “You have got to be kidding me.”

“I’m sorry,” she responded from behind, her voice filled with frost.

Noah looked at her over his shoulder. “Sorry, that wasn’t about you. I love it when you throw yourself at me,” he said with a wink. “I was talking about this damn elevator.” He brought his face back around and stared at the buttons in front of him. Every single one of them was lit up and blinking.

He took off his wool overcoat and set it lengthwise on the floor. Dropping down onto it, he patted the space next to him. “You better get comfortable. We’re going to be here awhile.”

Angelica jutted out her chin. “I’ll stand, thank you.”

Noah decided not to force the issue. She was wearing impossibly high heels; it was only a matter of time until they’d start to pinch, and she’d join him on the floor. He shrugged. “Suit yourself; but like I said, we’re going to be here awhile.”

“How do you know that?” she asked distrustfully, balancing on the ball of one foot and then the other.

Yeah, she’d be joining him very soon, he thought with an inward chuckle.

“Would you believe it if I told you this was the third time this has happened to me?”

“You’re kidding!”

“Nope,” he said, his lips popping on the p. “A bunch of us got trapped in here during Naomi’s bat mitzvah. And then again when I was leaving a wedding a few years back. That time, I was alone, and as you’ll soon learn, there’s no cell reception in here. God, that sucked.” He shook his head. “I don’t know why people keep having events up here when this shit happens all the damn time. They never fix it.”

Angelica’s throat bobbed with a deep swallow. “How long were you stuck?”

Noah scrunched up his face, trying to remember back to Naomi’s thirteenth birthday. “The first time, maybe an hour or two. There were six of us, and being idiot kids, we thought it was a grand old time. Naomi was pissed because she was missing her party, but the rest of us decided to use our time wisely to play spin the paperclip.”

“Spin the paperclip?”

He smiled wolfishly. “In the absence of a bottle, we got creative. Someone had one in their pockets.”

She nodded, but Noah noticed the color had drained from her face. “And the second time?”

If she didn’t like his first answer, she was really going to hate this one. “Four hours.”

She blew out a breath and her knees buckled before she caught herself. “Four hours?”

He nodded. “And I was alone, with nobody to talk to. At least this time I have you.”

Angelica closed her eyes and slid down the length of the wall until she was sitting on the floor across from him.

“Come sit with me,” he said coaxingly. “You’re going to ruin your dress.”

Angelica shook her head.

“Why not?”

“Because I’m mad at you.”

“Can I ask why?”

Her eyes slid open and she fixed him with an unreadable look. “Because you lied to me.”

That wasn’t the answer he’d expected; he’d been prepared for her to say something more about his friendship with Naomi. “When did I lie to you?”

Angelica blew out a breath. “You didn’t lie outright, I guess, but you weren’t very truthful with me either. We’ve spent hours together, getting to know one another, and you never once told me about this Noah.” She flicked her wrist up and down between them. “I thought you were this small town, salt-of-the-earth man who was more farmer than … whatever—whoever—you are tonight.”

“I am a small town, salt-of-the-earth kind of guy,” Noah protested.

Angelica raised a skeptical eyebrow. “And yet here we are.”

“And yet here we are,” he agreed slowly. “But I didn’t want to be here tonight. I would have given anything to be sitting on my deck in front of the fire, sipping a beer with Molly at my feet. But yes, I also come from this world. My mom is … well, let’s just say in the San Francisco socialite pecking order, she’s at the top of the heap.”

“And you never thought to mention you had this whole other life.”

He stared at her a few beats. “No, I didn’t.”

“Why?”

Noah blew out a frustrated breath. “For a long time, there’ve been expectations placed on me. From my mother, her friends, their daughters. Pretty much every woman except Naomi. Since I was eighteen, they’ve all wanted a piece of me. Over the years, I dated a few of them, but it was always the same thing. None of them cared what my interests are, what I wanted out of life. All they cared about was the size of my trust fund and the name on my birth certificate. To them, I’m not Noah Bradstone, winemaker; I’m Noah Bradstone, social stepping stone.”

Angelica’s eyes flashed with sympathy but then cooled. “I’m sorry you’ve experienced that, but that’s not me. And I’ve done nothing to give you the impression that I am.”

“Except here you are.”

Her eyes sparked with indignation. “Working,” she said from between clenched teeth. “I’m here because my producers need more advertisers. Their ad department can’t muster up the right sort of sponsorships, so they poured me into this dress and sent me along as bait instead. If I had my way, I’d be at home bundled in a robe, drinking a glass of wine, and painting my toenails while watching a Scandal marathon.” She crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed her hands over her exposed arms.

“Are you cold?”

Angelica shook her head and gave him her profile. “No.”

The goose pimples dotting her skin told a different tale. Noah gathered his coat and moved to Angelica’s side. “Liar,” he teased as he draped the wool over her shoulders.

Angelica didn’t respond to his taunt. Instead, a few tense moments passed between them until she asked, “Why didn’t you ask me to come with you tonight?”

Noah sighed, and wrapped his arm around her back. Pulling her flush against him, he kissed the top of her head. “I should have, but I’ve been confused about some things.”

“What sort of things?” she asked, shifting to rest her cheek on his shoulder.

“Things about you and me. About how I feel about you.” He chuckled. “You know you make me crazy.”

She harrumphed. “I make you grumpy.”

“Nah, I’m always grumpy.” Noah smiled and reached down to lift Angelica’s chin so their mouths were only inches apart. “But you do something to me I can’t explain. From the very first moment we met, I haven’t been able to control myself around you.” He dropped his head closer so their lips were almost touching. “You make me burn, Angelica.”

He kissed her then, and when she opened to him and their tongues tangled, Noah couldn’t remember why they hadn’t been doing this every single day. Every single hour. When Angelica’s arms came around his neck, he groaned into her mouth and took the kiss deeper. His hands roamed the contours of her body, the thin silk slipping and sliding over her skin. And when he eased her onto her back, she went willingly with a sigh of longing.

“I want you,” he told her, nipping at the spot where her neck met her collarbone. “Please, let me have you. I need to be inside of you.”

When Angelica’s thighs slid open in invitation, Noah skated his hand up under her dress to find her bare and ready for him. “You’re not wearing underwear.”

She giggled, and then gasped, when he slipped a finger inside. “Not in this dress,” she croaked, when that finger twisted and curved exactly how she liked it.

“I fucking love this dress,” he said moments before claiming her mouth again.

Angelica reached between them to undo his belt and lower his zipper. And then, her hand circled his aching cock, and she pulled him free. “I want you too,” she said, guiding him to her entrance.

Noah levered his body over hers, and then pushed in halfway and held still, luxuriating in the feel of her gripping him tight. When Angelica canted her hips and begged for more, he happily obliged. Sheathing himself to the root in one fluid stroke, he said, “I never want to be anywhere else.” He pulled all the way out and then slid home again.

“I never want you anywhere else either,” Angelica panted as she ground up against his pelvis. “You feel so good.”

“You feel like heaven,” he sighed with another thrust.

A few rolls of her hips later, Angelica’s eyes screwed shut and she arched her back. This time, when her body broke out in goose pimples, Noah knew it wasn’t because she was cold. And neither was he. He hadn’t lied before; he was burning up for this woman.

“I’m coming,” he said against her mouth.

She dropped her hands to his ass and pulled him close. “In me,” she said. “I want all of you.”

And so he gave her every piece of himself, including his heart.

* * *

Forty minutes later when they were rescued, Noah couldn’t help but feel disappointed. He knew it was wrong, but he’d been hoping they’d have hours alone together so they could talk. They’d only scratched the surface of what needed to be said.

Stepping out onto the sidewalk side-by-side, Angelica looked at him uncertainly. “Now what?”

He pulled her against him. “Come home with me tonight.”

Angelica chewed her lip. “I would, but I got a room. All my stuff is there.”

He looked out over the street, still full of cars at nearly midnight. “Where?”

“At the Courtyard Marriott in Union Square.” She dropped her eyes and looked away.

“Hey,” he said, touching her chin lightly to pull it up so their eyes met. “What’s that all about?”

“I’d invite you back, but you know.” She shrugged.

No, he didn’t. “Know what?”

“It’s not exactly the St. Regis,” she answered.

“The St. Regis?” And then he understood. The money thing.

“The producers didn’t spring for a hotel, but I didn’t want to have to drive home tonight exhausted, so I booked my own room. I’m on a budget, so I went with something cheap. I just figured you’re probably used to staying somewhere really nice. And expensive. And that’s not the Courtyard.” Abruptly, she quit talking and her eyes went wide with worry. “Sorry, I babble when I’m nervous.”

“Why are you nervous?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I guess I’m still weirded out about this whole thing. I thought I was fall—” she quickly cleared her throat “—getting to know one man, and now I find out there’s a whole other side of him I hadn’t counted on.”

Noah chuckled. “That’s what relationships are about though, aren’t they? Learning all about a person, knowing what makes them tick, who they are in the best and worst-case scenarios.”

She peered up at him from lowered lashes. “Is that what this is? A relationship?”

Noah swallowed. He’d never intended to fall for this woman, and yet tonight he realized he had. He’d fallen hard, fast, and deep, and he hoped she felt even an inkling of the same way about him. “It can be, if you want it.” Friends with benefits would never be enough for him now.

Angelica took a step back and he let her go. That wasn’t a good sign. She put her hand to her forehand and scanned the sidewalk. Then she touched her palm to her cheek and laughed nervously. Her eyes flicked between his, and he saw a question there, but still she didn’t speak. Shit, that was a terrible sign.

His self-preservation instincts kicking in, Noah took a step back. “Forget it. It was a silly thing to say.”

Angelica took a step forward. “It’s not silly, it’s just …”

“Just what?”

“Unexpected,” she answered. “We talked about this. Friends with benefits. I thought that’s all you wanted.”

Noah ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I thought that’s what I wanted too, but tonight changed something for me. In the elevator earlier, I meant what I said.”

Angelica’s face softened, and her eyes went hazy. “Can you give me a couple of days to think about it?”

He swallowed and bit his tongue. Noah wanted to tell her to take it or leave it—to take him or leave him. He wasn’t used to women turning him down, and the longer this conversation went on, the worse his pride fared. This isn’t about your pride, he chided himself. It was about building something lasting with Angelica, and Noah could swallow his pride in the short term if it meant claiming her as his. Decision made, he shoved his hands in the pocket of his slacks. “Sure. Take all the time you need.” He took a step back, and then another.

Angelica shrugged out of his coat and held it out. “Here, your jacket.”

He reached his arm out and a taxi crossed two lanes of traffic to pull up next to him. Noah opened the door and stepped aside. “Keep it.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, taking a half step forward.

“Absolutely.” He gestured toward the open door of the waiting cab. “Your chariot awaits.”

“I can walk,” she answered, even as she took a few halting steps toward the waiting vehicle.

Noah chuckled. “Not in those shoes, you can’t. But even if you were in flats, I’d still put you in a cab.”

“Okay, if you insist.” She brushed past him and slid into the empty back seat. Leaning forward so their eyes connected, she asked, “Are we okay?”

He smiled down at her. “We will be.”

And then he closed the door, smacked the roof of the taxi, and waved as the car pulled away from the curb.