Chapter 13

Krista tiptoed out of bed. It was unusual for Noah to still be asleep. He was a fisherman. She’d never known him to sleep past sunrise, but this morning he was sound asleep. It’d been an eventful night. She guessed she’d expended all his energy.

A blush ran over her cheeks at the thought. It was a shame they had to leave the cabin today. She envied Grace and Jack for getting to stay a solid week on their honeymoon. What better place to start a marriage?

Or a relationship.

Krista slipped her feet into a pair of slippers and shuffled down the hall to make the coffee. With a hot cup of caffeine in hand—not as good as the BB Café’s back home, but she’d trade it any day for the view—she slipped on a heavy jacket and went onto the front porch to sit in the swing. She pulled her knees up to her chest and looked out on the mountains, so large and unmovable, a lot like she’d considered Noah to have been before this trip. But she’d moved him. It’d been a magical weekend and she hoped things didn’t fall apart once they left.

Her phone buzzed beside her, snapping her out of her happy daze. She snatched it up and grinned at Grace’s name on the caller ID. She finally had reception! Trying not to move in case she lost the connection, she answered. “Hello.”

“Hi there!” Grace said. “How are things going?”

And that was a loaded question. “Great.” Krista heard the little rise in her voice.

“Was that a question?” Grace asked on a laugh. “And why haven’t you been answering your phone? I’ve been calling for the last two days.”

Krista groaned, taking a sip of her coffee. “The connection here is awful, but other than that, this place is amazing. You and Jack probably won’t want to be on the phone when you’re here anyway.”

“True. So, are you and Noah playing nice?”

“Yep.” There was that rise to her voice again. Oh, I am so busted.

“Wait a minute. What’s going on up there?”

“Well, let’s just say, Noah wasn’t as much of a lost cause as I thought.” Krista nibbled on her thumbnail.

“What? Did you kiss?” Grace asked.

“There might’ve been kissing.”

Grace squealed. “Did you do more than that?”

Krista’s gaze flicked to the front door. She didn’t want Noah to overhear her spilling the details of the last two nights’ sexcapades. “This place is so romantic, Grace. I mean, the mood is set and if there’s so much as a spark, it’s like this place ignites it.”

“And there are definitely sparks between you two. There always have been. Oh, my God. What have you two been doing up there? Did you have sex?”

Krista pulled her hand down to her lap and glanced at the door again. “Maybe.”

Grace squeaked into the phone. “Oh, my God! That’s a yes if I ever heard one.”

“But we’re leaving today and I’m not sure if the sex meant anything to Noah. I mean, it did to me, but I know him, better than anyone else probably. He doesn’t do relationships.”

“Maybe if he found the right girl, though.”

“I’ve been here all along,” Krista said. “And he never wanted me before.” She didn’t want to let her hope come crashing down around her. She wanted to believe that this thing that had started here at the Sawyer cabin was real, and that it’d continue when they got back home.

“Well, I’m thrilled for you two. Maybe we’ll have a double wedding at the end of the month.”

Krista rolled her eyes. “Not happening. Please don’t tell anyone, okay? This is privileged information.”

“My lips are sealed. And my fingers are crossed for you two. You’d be amazing together.”

Grace didn’t know the half of it. In Krista’s opinion, she and Noah already were amazing together.

A noise came from inside the house. “Oh, I have to go. Noah’s awake.”

“Wait. It’s eight a.m. Are you telling me that Noah is just now waking up? Wow, you two must’ve really enjoyed yourselves last night.”

Krista laughed. “Meet me at the BB Café tomorrow morning. I’ll dish all the details.”

“You got it.”

Krista hung up and watched the door. A second later, it opened and Noah stepped out onto the porch with mussed hair and a thick layer of stubble surrounding the lower half of his face. A few days off at the mountains looked good on him. He held a cup of coffee of his own.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked in a sexy, sleep-coated voice.

“It’s about time you woke up,” she teased, sliding over just a touch.

He sat beside her and glanced over. “I haven’t slept in this late since a few years ago when I had the flu. I like this excuse better.” He winked and her body melted into the swing.

“Me, too.”

“So, uh, we head home today.”

She nodded, feeling the regret over that fact bubble up inside her. “Yep.”

“Guess we’ll pack and be on our way in a bit. Back to reality.”

She wanted to ask him what this weekend meant for them. What were his intentions toward her? She bit her tongue. Talking about intentions and feelings was likely to send Noah running. “And we have an anti-bachelor-and-bachelorette party for Grace and Jack to plan. I think it’s a great idea.”

“Me, too. We’ve had a lot of great ideas this weekend.” His gaze ran over her, slow and easy. God, she didn’t want this trip to end.

“I have another idea,” she said, leaning into him.

His mouth quirked on one end. “Oh, yeah?”

She nodded. She wasn’t usually this bold, but she needed to make the most of their time here at the Sawyer cabin. In case that was all they had. “I need a shower.”

One of his eyebrows lifted. “What do you know. I happen to need a shower, too. Perhaps we could conserve water.”

She nodded and stood from the swing. “That was exactly my idea.”

“Great minds.” He followed her inside, locking the front door behind them.

They hurried through the living room and tumbled into the master bathroom, running their hands over each other. Krista had meant what she’d said to Grace. The mood here was magnetic. Half due to the mountains, half due to the man currently stripping down in front of her. She lifted her T-shirt off and his gaze lowered to her bare breasts. Then she shimmied out of her yoga pants.

“You are the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen,” he said, and that thrilled her. She’d seen him with so many beautiful women over the years, years when he’d looked at her with nothing more than neutrality in his eyes. Now he was looking at her with fiery desire. As if he wanted to eat her up.

The thought of that made her step toward him. “I’ve never made love in the shower,” she confessed, kissing his mouth. There were so many sexual things she’d never experienced that she wanted Noah to show her.

He cupped the bottom of her chin gently, and held on to her and the kiss. “Well, then, let me be your first,” he said before crushing his mouth against hers.

The sign read: WELCOME TO BLUSHING BAY. Noah had never been more relieved—because his right leg was falling asleep from the six-hour drive—and more bummed at the same time. Because he’d be dropping Krista off at home in a few minutes. He couldn’t even try to go inside. Joey might be there.

Krista stirred in the passenger seat. She’d been asleep for the last few hours, which Noah was thankful for. He needed time with his thoughts. Not that time had helped anything. He still had no idea what he was going to do next where Krista was concerned, if anything. Maybe what happened at the Sawyer cabin stayed at the cabin. The thought of that made his chest ache.

“Where are we?” Krista asked, breaking into a large yawn. She stretched her arms over her head and looked around. “Oh. Home.”

Noah glanced over just in time to see her frown. “What happened to ‘there’s no place like home’?”

She shrugged, hugging her arms around herself. “I love home. But I really needed this break.” She blew out a breath. “Tomorrow is back to work where Karen will stare down her nose at me even though I’ve earned that head nurse position. I’ve been there the longest and I work the hardest.”

“So relax. You always get what’s coming to you. I believe that.”

“Like you? You deserve to be head of the Summerly. I always knew you’d make a great captain.”

Noah nodded. “I never would’ve made it if Jack hadn’t decided to quit the business. The position is only mine by default. Not because I earned it.”

Krista reached over and gave him a shove. “Stop that. You never give yourself enough credit. Even in school.”

He laughed under his breath. “Maybe because I was the one voted least likely to succeed.”

“That was a joke and you know it.”

He nodded. But it hadn’t been a joke to him. He was the joke. He was the youngest of the Sawyer brothers. Sam was the smart one. Jack was the hard worker, competitive down to his core. Noah was the one who’d managed to rip the family apart, starting with his mom dying in childbirth. That wasn’t his fault; he knew that deep down, but he still felt responsible. Joking around became his armor growing up. It kept people from seeing his pain. And because he was such a jokester, no one seemed to expect much from him. So he’d given everyone exactly what they expected. “I make a decent captain,” he admitted.

“My brother thinks you’re pretty great.”

“Yeah?” A smile lifted on Noah’s face. “He’s a great co-captain. Gotta say, his cab breaking down was one of the best things to happen to me in a long time.”

“One of?” she asked.

“Well…” She was fishing and it made him smile. “This weekend was also one of the best things to happen to me.”

“For me, too.”

Noah pulled his Jeep into the parking lot of her townhome and parked beside Joey’s truck. If Joey weren’t here, Noah would be fishing to go inside and see if the sparks between him and Krista still existed in Blushing Bay.

“So, uh, what happens next?” she asked as they sat in front of her home.

“Next? Well, I, uh…What do you think should happen next?”

Her gaze narrowed on him, telling him he better have a game plan.

Crap. He was already screwing things up, and he had no idea what to say or do.

Don’t screw this up, Noah.

“Next, I think we should go out. On a date.” He looked over, relieved to see that Krista was smiling again. “And I’m not talking about Wednesday Wings. I reserve that night for my best friend.” Her smile grew wider and he felt like some kind of hero. “How about tomorrow night?”

She cocked her head. “I would love that actually.”

“I’ve recently learned all about romance, so, uh, this can be a test of sorts.”

And a test to see if this thing between them floated or sank.

Krista nodded. “It’s a date. I can’t wait.” She went to reach for the door handle, but he stopped her with one hand.

“You’re not going to go inside and tell Joey all about, are you? Because well, uh…when we were kids, he said he’d give me a beat-down if I ever made moves on you.”

Krista’s mouth dropped open. “I didn’t know that.”

“Not that I was ever scared of your brother, but we do work together now and it could be awkward on the boat this week if you tell him we had sex all over the Sawyer cabin. With spiked condoms.”

Krista held her belly as she folded forward and laughed. “I would never tell my brother that. We don’t share those kinds of details.”

Noah nodded, wanting so badly to kiss her right now.

“Is that why you never made a move on me?” Krista asked.

Noah thought she looked a little hopeful, like she wanted his answer to be yes. Joey’s threats had never factored into his avoidance of her, though. It was all Noah, because he’d known that deep down he was just a screw-up like everyone thought. And Krista was the one thing in his life he couldn’t afford to screw up. So what the hell was he doing now?

“Maybe,” he responded, knowing there was no maybe about it. Maybe, for once in his life, though, he could do something right. He wanted this thing with Krista to work. Their trip had been near perfect, and he didn’t want it to end.

Leaning over, she pressed her mouth against his in a sweet kiss. “I can take my brother if it comes to it.”

Noah grinned. “I’ll help you with your bags.” He walked around his Jeep, retrieved her luggage, and carried them inside for her. He could hear the shower running down the hall, where he presumed Joey was. Good. There was at least time to steal another quick kiss.

He leaned in and slid his hands from Krista’s waist to her bottom. Then he pulled her in for a taste. Question answered: Hell, yeah, the sparks had followed them back to Blushing Bay. He was so hot for this woman, they could practically set the town on fire.

Krista bit down into her muffin and closed her eyes.

Grace was seated across from her at the Blushing Bay Café with an expectant look on her face. “Spill already! What happened?”

Krista opened her eyes and turned to glance around, making sure there was no one around that shouldn’t hear the details she was able to let loose. “Okay. It was incredible,” she finally said, pulling her coffee to her. “I mean, the cabin is awesome, but as soon as we got there it was as if all the sexual tension between us shot through the roof. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other.”

“Oh, my God, Krista. This is awesome. So you two slept together?”

Krista nodded. “More than once. And he cooked me a candlelit dinner.”

Grace clasped her hands at her chest. “Aww! This sounds serious. Do you think you guys will continue seeing each other? I mean, as more than friends.”

Krista picked off a piece of her muffin. “We have a date tonight.”

“An actual date? Wow. You might just be the one to get Noah to settle down.”

“Am I being stupid to think that’s possible? I mean, you and I both know Noah.”

“Maybe after almost thirty years, he’s finally growing up.” Grace chuckled as she chewed her breakfast. “I don’t think it’s stupid at all. I think you should go for it. You two would make a great couple.”

Krista grinned. “So, moving on, I stocked a drawer at the Sawyer cabin with all kinds of kinky things that you and Jack might want to try.”

Grace’s eyes lit up. Now she was the one glancing around the café to make sure no one was overhearing. “I don’t know if he’ll be game, but a little honeymoon experimentation would be fun.”

Krista giggled. “I’m sure you can convince him. But you might want to make sure you have condoms when you go.” Because she and Noah had used those for themselves.

Grace’s eyes rounded. “Oh, my God. Did you two use an entire box of condoms?”

“Not an entire box.” But they’d come really close.

“Well, safety first. And who knows. Maybe Jack and I don’t need condoms on our honeymoon. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to come home pregnant. I’m not getting any younger.”

Krista grinned past the feeling taking hold in her chest. The one she’d been feeling for a while now. She was being left behind. Babies naturally followed marriage for most couples. She wasn’t getting any younger either, and she wanted those things for herself just as much as the next girl. “A baby Grace or Jack would be amazing,” Krista offered, feeling guilty that she was slightly heartbroken over the idea of being left out of what seemed like a secret club of women.

Grace got a dreamy look in her eyes. “Jack is awesome with kids. He’d be a natural in the role of dad.”

“Noah, too.”

Grace looked up. “Whoa. Did you really just say that?”

Krista slapped a hand over her mouth. “I didn’t mean to say it out loud.” She sighed. “We’ve only been together for one weekend. Talking like that is crazy and foolish. Forget I said it.”

Grace pressed a hand to her chest. “I started having thoughts like that about Jack almost immediately after finding each other again, too. It can’t be helped when you’re in love.”

Krista didn’t deny it. Why should she? She’d been in love with Noah from the beginning of time—and waiting for him to catch up. “So,” she said, switching subjects, “Noah and I have decided to put on a Friends-and-family-giving next weekend.”

“Your first couple event already?” Grace popped the last piece of her muffin in her mouth. “Count Jack and me in. Should we bring anything?”

“Just yourselves. We’re having it at the Sawyer Seafood office since neither of our places is big enough.”

“Perfect. Speaking of the office.” Grace stood. “I have to get to work.” She stepped over and gave Krista a hug. “Thank you for prepping the cabin for Jack and me.” Pulling back, she grinned. “Not that I think it was a huge hardship on you two.”

Krista shook her head. “Not at all. I would’ve done it for you no matter who I got stuck up there with for the weekend.” But she was awfully glad it had been Noah, and despite her reservations, she was cautiously excited about the new path the weekend had set for them.

Krista spilled out of the elevator five minutes late for work. Crap. And Karen was waiting at the nurse’s station for her, eyebrows raised. Double crap. “Good morning, Karen. Got stuck in traffic,” Krista said, laughing nervously under her breath. She put her things down and sat in front of a computer to check her patients’ statuses.

Karen didn’t budge.

“Everything okay?” Krista asked, glancing over.

“We have a few new intakes. Your friend Adam is back.”

Krista froze. “Adam? Why, what happened?”

Karen gave her a knowing look. She pointed a finger. “That right there is the reason I told you not to get too close. You’ll burn out if you offer pieces of your heart to every patient who enters this floor.”

Krista resisted rolling her eyes. She was growing so tired of this conversation. “I’m just concerned about a patient of mine.” She logged into the computer and scrolled through the alphabetized list of patients until she found Adam’s name. Her breath slowly expelled as she read through his most recent data. “It’s just a small respiratory infection. He’s fine.”

Karen placed a hand on Krista’s back. “Are you?”

“Of course. I care about him just like I do all my patients.” And how could any nurse not care with the same vigor? She’d burn out faster if she walked this floor and operated with a cold, guarded heart. Maybe that was the reason Karen was so eager to be done with this place.

Karen frowned. “Okay. Well, I’m off, too. And I’m actually taking some of my vacation time before I retire. I thought I’d put you in the role of head nurse for the next few days while I’m gone. Are you up for it?”

Krista sat up straighter. She nodded without hesitation. “Of course. I’d love to.”

“Good.”

Karen started walking away and Krista plowed a small elbow down by her side. She’d save the victory dance for later, and maybe she’d celebrate this small step forward with Noah on their date tonight.