Chapter 17

Krista spent the next three nights at Noah’s houseboat, going there as soon as she left work. The place wasn’t big enough to take more than an overnight bag with her, but it was better than making out against the wall of her townhome and hoping Joey didn’t overhear.

“Mind if I take a shower?” she asked, plopping her bag down as she walked in after her shift. She always liked to shower off any unwanted germs as soon as she left the hospital.

Noah’s gaze heated.

Krista put a hand on one hip. “Is that all you think about?”

“Pretty much.”

“I’m dirty,” she declared.

“Even better,” he growled, with a mischievous grin spreading along his cheeks.

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll only be gone a few minutes. Please.”

“Be my guest.” He gestured toward his shower as he laid back on his bed. Beauty pounced up beside him. “I’ll just be right here waiting for you,” he told her, then looked at the oversized puppy. “And when she returns, you’re being locked out.”

Krista laughed as she disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Her day had been exhausting. Acting as head nurse while Karen was out of town wasn’t exactly easy. It took away from her time caring for patients, which was her favorite part of the job. Patient care energized her. The admin part of Karen’s job drained her.

Krista stripped off her nursing scrubs and stepped into the shower stall, then squealed as ice cold water terrorized her body.

“What’s wrong?” Noah asked, barging in just like he’d done at the Sawyer cabin.

Krista screamed again. “You’re not invited!”

“You screamed,” he objected, talking to her through the shower curtain. “Besides, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

“Cold, cold, cold water! It’s c-c-cold!”

“The hot water heater must be acting up again.”

Krista dipped under the icy stream and turned the knob to cut the water off. Then she reached through the shower curtain to snatch a towel from Noah.

“Sorry about that. I hate when that happens.”

Krista wrapped the towel around her body and stepped out from behind the curtain, still shivering uncontrollably. “Does that happen often?”

“Yeah. This place is getting old, I guess. Things keep breaking down and I keep fixing ’em.”

Krista had heard Noah complain about things breaking before, but it’d never mattered until now, when she was shivering, half wet, and completely naked. “You know I’m not staying here until you have hot water again. I don’t do cold showers.”

He frowned. “Looks like I’ll be doing them, and needing them if you’re not coming around.”

She softened a bit. “You can always come stay at my place. Joey can just learn to deal with it.”

“No, thanks. Guess we’ll just have to sleep in separate beds until I can get the water heater fixed.” He grabbed the edge of her towel, teasing her. “I kind of like waking up to you, though.”

He gave a soft tug and the towel loosened from around her body. She was shivering for a completely different reason now. “I like it, too.”

He pulled the towel away and used it to soak up drops of water on her body that she hadn’t gotten to yet, his gaze dragging over her hungrily.

“I don’t have to go home just yet, you know. I think all the hospital germs have frozen off me.”

“That’s good because I can’t see your naked body and not want to completely devour you.” He dropped the towel and cupped both of her breasts in his hands. Then he pinned her against the wall again. It seemed like she was always needing a wall to hold her up when Noah was around. He kissed her until she felt like she couldn’t breathe, or wait another second.

“I want you in my bed,” he said, pulling his mouth from hers.

She couldn’t agree more. She grabbed his hand and pulled him the short distance to the bedroom. Then she turned and helped him undress. First his shirt. Next, his jeans. She tugged on his boxers as she sprinkled kisses across his chest. His shorts fell to the floor and his hard erection sprang up. She gripped his length in her hand, loving how he groaned beneath her touch. Sliding her hand down his shaft, she ran the pad of her thumb over his head.

“Need you. Now,” he said, in an almost breathless grunt. He took hold of her waist and spun her around until she was in front of the bed. Then he guided her to lie back.

She watched as he grabbed a condom from his bedside table and expertly sheathed himself.

She guessed that meant they were going straight to business. Not that she minded a quickie. Noah had made love to her for hours before. He was a giving lover, always taking his time and making sure her needs were fully satisfied. She had no complaints under the sheets.

Crawling over her body, he aligned their hips and pressed his erection against her. Once, twice, on the third time he slipped inside her, cursing softly under his breath. “You feel so amazing. Like coming home,” he groaned, working himself up to a pace that had her moaning his name.

He felt like home to her, too. No matter where they were. He’d always felt that way to her.

She dug her fingers in the muscles of his back as his pace intensified, leaving her to hold on, breathless and panting. Then, without warning, color burst behind her eyes and she orgasmed harder and faster than she ever had before. Noah’s body went rigid at the same time, and he groaned in pleasure. The sound of him only fueled her arousal, tossing logs on the flames that were engulfing her. They clutched each other, holding on tight, and enjoying the roller coaster of sensation coursing through their bodies.

“Damn, sweetheart,” he said, kissing her forehead before rolling off her several minutes later, “you are so hot.” He sat up and cursed again, this time not in a good way.

“What’s wrong?” Krista propped herself up and looked down. She sucked in a sharp breath when she saw the broken condom and the resulting mess. Her heart flew up in her throat. “Oh.”

“Please tell me you’re on the Pill?” He cast a hopeful glance over his shoulder.

She shook her head. “Birth control pills give me migraines. I don’t use them.”

He grimaced.

Krista crawled over to sit beside him. “It’s fine. What are the chances we’d end up…?” She didn’t finish that sentence. Pregnant. What were the chances they’d end up pregnant? There was no part of her that was scared or worried, not because the chances of getting pregnant were so low, but because this was Noah.

He got out of bed and grabbed his clothes. A frown tightened his lips as he pulled on a pair of jeans and then a T-shirt with quick, efficient movements.

Krista watched him. Waited for him to relax and smile back at her with that easygoing dimpled grin she loved so much. They’d just had sex after all. He usually held her afterward and whispered sweet nothings in her ear.

“Well, I suppose you’re tired and will be heading home,” he said, avoiding eye contact. “And I need to call someone about the water heater.”

She swallowed past the sudden lump tightening her throat and took the clothes he handed to her. So they weren’t going to talk about this. She guessed there was nothing to talk about anyway. It was a wait-and-see kind of thing. She saw clearly what Noah wanted the outcome to be, though. She understood him being a little freaked out by the situation—she was, too—but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed by his reaction as well. She’d thought that he’d changed, at least a little bit.

But maybe she’d thought wrong.

On Saturday morning, Noah headed over to the Sawyer Seafood office and met Krista inside. She and Abby had already been busy preparing the place for the Friends-and-family-giving that Krista had dreamt up at the cabin a couple weeks ago. Otherwise known as the anti-bachelor-and-bachelorette party for Jack and Grace. Noah had done his best over the last few days not to think about the other evening with Krista. He’d tried to pretend it hadn’t happened and that it wasn’t a huge cloud hanging over his head. But it was, and it would continue to hang there until Krista got her period. If she got her period. And he didn’t even know when she was supposed to get her period.

“Hey, Abs,” he said, hauling some fold-up tables into the office building. His brother Sam followed behind him with a table under each arm.

Abby looked up. “Hey, Noah,” she said, smiling easily. Her gaze slipped to Sam and her smile fell flat. She didn’t bother to greet her estranged husband. Noah wondered just how long those two were going to act this way. Neither one seemed to be interested in reconciliation.

“Hey, Krista,” Sam said, looking from Abby to Krista, who was busy moving furniture in the room.

“Hey, guys.” She pointed where she wanted the tables to be set up, then got busy draping them with white tablecloths. “We’re expecting about thirty,” she said, “so we’ll have to sit people close together.”

“Good thing we’re all friends and family,” Noah said, trying to cut the tension in the air caused by bringing Sam and Abby in close proximity.

“So what makes this an anti-bachelor-and-bachelorette party, and not just a Thanksgiving celebration?” Sam asked, setting up another table.

“Well”—Krista brought her hands together to her chest excitedly—“we have a few games that we’re going to play. And the happy couple can’t sit together. Jack is sitting there.” She pointed at one end of the room. “And Grace is sitting there.” She pointed to the opposite end.

“Why can’t they sit together?” Sam asked.

“Because it’s a bachelor and bachelorette party. They can stare longingly at one another, but they have to stay apart. At least at first.”

“And the gifts make it less of a Thanksgiving gathering, too,” Abby added, not addressing Sam.

“Right.” Krista shared a look with Noah.

He’d seen the gifts she’d brought. She and Abby had made a trip to purchase lingerie and such for Grace. It was just the women who’d be gathering to watch that aspect of the party, and Grace’s mother was the only parent-figure in the group. Knowing Grace’s mother well, Krista had decided that Grace wouldn’t mind.

Noah had been in charge of the male gifts. He’d purchased some cigars for the men to enjoy while the women did their thing.

“You and Krista make a good team,” Sam said, nodding at them both. “I’m going out to get a few more tables and then the chairs.”

“I’ll help.” Noah followed him out to the bed of the truck. “So are you and Abby ever going to pretend to like each other again?” he asked, needing to think about someone else’s relationship problems other than his own.

Sam latched onto the metal tables. “She’s the one sending daggers from her eyes every time I walk into the room.”

“Have you even tried to apologize to her yet?”

“For being a good husband and making a good living?”

“For taking her for granted, working too much, and forgetting your anniversary three years in a row?” Noah took hold of the last two tables and they headed toward the building again.

“That’s not a reason to throw away a marriage. She’s the one who needs to apologize to me.”

Noah strained as he held on to the bulky tables. “For such a smart man, you’re an idiot.”

They stopped talking as they headed inside. The two women clammed up, too, but Krista’s cheeks were bright and rosy. Noah narrowed his gaze, wondering just what those two had been chattering about. Judging by the smiles on their faces, it’d been about him.

He put the tables down and gestured back toward the door. “I’ll just, uh, go get the chairs,” he said, walking fast to the exit.

“Yeah, me, too.” Sam followed him out.

“Well, if you’re not going to make up with Abby, why don’t you two just get a divorce?” Noah asked, returning to their conversation. “Then you both can move on.”

“Not a chance,” Sam said with finality. He cast Noah a look that said the discussion was over. And Noah understood. When a man loved a woman, he didn’t want to see her move on to someone else. Noah had hated seeing Krista dating Dr. Chandler Dale. It’d haunted his every thought a few weeks back. And now his thoughts were haunted by a broken piece of latex, and he felt like a jerk for being so freaked out about that. It didn’t change the way he felt about Krista. No, not even a little bit. It changed the way he felt about himself. About whether or not he felt worthy of her because if he were, he’d have held her afterward. He’d have told her it didn’t matter and that he was ready for whatever happened between them. Instead, he’d sent her home as quickly as possible and then paced a hole in his living room floor. He’d been standoffish since, making excuses for why they couldn’t be alone or have sex. Intentional or not, that was asshole behavior. He wasn’t worthy of her, but he wasn’t stepping aside, either. Call him a selfish bastard, but he and Sam were the same in this respect. When a man was taken with a woman the way they were with Krista and Abby, they stuck around, and tried like hell to be better.

Krista stood back and took in the scene that she and Noah had set up, along with the help of other friends and family. She was so excited she could hardly breathe. “Okay, everyone. They should be here any minute. Grace likes to arrive five minutes early everywhere she goes.”

Everyone who knew Grace well—which was everyone here—nodded. Krista had given everyone else an arrival time that was thirty minutes ahead of Grace and Jack’s just to make sure everything was in place when they got here expecting this just to be a simple Thanksgiving gathering of family and friends.

“Someone just drove up!” Noah’s cousin Emily announced excitedly as she peeked out the window. A hush fell over the room. Most of the people had been instructed to park down along the waterfront, so as not to tip Grace and Jack off when they pulled into the Sawyer Seafood parking lot.

Footsteps approached the front door from outside and Grace could be heard laughing, probably at something that Jack had said to her. The doorknob twisted and Krista’s breath caught in her throat. She was so excited to surprise her friend. Grace was still laughing as she stepped inside and froze at the crowd of onlookers. Her mouth dropped open, as did Jack’s.

“Surprise!” several people from the crowd cheered.

Grace looked around the room, her questioning gaze finally landing on Krista. “Did you do all this?”

“This is not a bachelor or bachelorette party,” Krista announced. “This is a Friends-and-family-giving, anti-bachelor-and-bachelorette party. Wow, that’s a mouthful.” Krista giggled and stepped over to give Grace and then Jack a hug.

“You and Noah duped us.” Jack pointed a finger at them. He was wearing a large grin, though. “That is serious couple stuff.”

Noah shook his head. “You’ve always been so easy to get one over on.” They hugged and then others in the crowd started pulling Grace and Jack in different directions.

“We don’t even get to sit together?” Grace balked, taking her seat when Krista finally directed her over.

“Nope. It’s the women on one side and the men on the other. We have serious pre- and post-wedding stuff to discuss.” Krista gently pushed her friend down in her chair at one end of the table. “No men allowed.”

“You shouldn’t have,” Grace said quietly. “You didn’t need to go through all this trouble—”

Krista held up a hand and cut her off. “Shush. You’re one of my best friends. I love you and you finding a happily-ever-after deserves to be celebrated.”

“I’ll toast to that!” Abby set a glass of wine down in front of Grace, then poured a glass for Krista. She held up her own.

“Well, okay then. I guess we’ll toast.” Krista laughed, holding her glass against the other two.

“This may be the first of many toasts,” Abby said. “I’ll need alcohol if I have to stay here in the same room with Sam for several more hours. I’m doing this because I love you,” she told Grace.

“I’m honored.” Grace beamed at both of her friends. She really did look happy and in love, and Krista understood because she felt the exact same way about Noah.

“To happily-ever-afters,” Krista said.

“Hear! hear!”

Krista paused before drinking, the broken condom situation back at the forefront of her mind. If she was pregnant, then she should avoid alcohol. But if she wasn’t pregnant it would be fine, she told herself, taking the smallest of small sips. Because what if she was? If she and Noah were pregnant, then they would deal with it. They’d be a team just like they’d been for this event, which was going off without a hitch.

After more drinks and laughter, everyone sat down to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving feast together, followed by the traditional bachelor and bachelorette festivities that most brides and grooms enjoyed.

Krista couldn’t help stealing glances to the other side of the room to see what Noah was doing. And most of the time he was sneaking glances right back at her.

“You two can’t keep your eyes off each other, can you?” Emily whispered beside Krista. “I think it’s terrific.”

Krista pulled her lower lip between her teeth. She really liked Emily Sawyer. “We’ve been seeing each other for a couple weeks,” Krista shared.

“How about your entire lives?” Emily laughed while shaking her head. “Glad you two finally caught up with your feelings.”

“Yeah.” Krista had never been the one who’d needed catching up, though. She’d always known how she felt. She’d just been waiting for Noah all this time.

Abby tapped her wineglass and stood up. “Toast time.” She looked at Krista and Grace. “Yes, I know. This is toast number two for some of us. I just want to wish Grace an unforgettable wedding day. May it pour down on your big day.”

“Pour down?” Grace frowned and stole a glance at Jack across the room.

“Rain on your wedding day is good luck,” Krista said.

“Exactly. It didn’t rain on my wedding day,” Abby added, “if that tells you all anything.” Her gaze rolled in Sam’s direction. If he was listening, he wasn’t showing it. The men had other things going on at the other side of the room. Instead of wine, they were enjoying their beers, laughing and leaning back in their seats as if they’d eaten way too much. And they probably had. Even Krista’s pants were fitting snugly after all of Abby’s delicious catering, and they hadn’t even served dessert yet.

“May it pour on your wedding day,” Abby said again, with a slight slur as she addressed Grace.

All the women agreed, even if deep down none of them would’ve wanted a soggy wedding day of their own. If it brought good luck, however, then Krista guessed it was worth it. She toasted and cautiously took another half sip of her wine.

After cake and gifts, the crowd started to disperse. Krista finally made her way back to Noah, like she’d been waiting to do all afternoon.

“A success.” She sighed.

“Yes, it was. You’re amazing.”

She sat down beside him in an empty chair. “You helped. Don’t give me all the credit.”

“But you dreamt up the plan, and it went off without a hitch. You bring things together, Kris. People together. A lot of people would’ve taken Grace and Jack at their word. They said they didn’t want a party, so they wouldn’t have gotten one.”

Krista leaned against him. “But they would’ve regretted it when they were ninety years old in their wooden rocking chairs.”

Noah turned to look at her, his gaze unwavering. His voice lowered. “You amaze me.”

There was so much punch in those three words that she stilled and forgot to breathe for a second. They weren’t the three little words she wanted to hear from him, one day, but they felt similar. She swallowed and started to shrug it off, but nodded instead. “Thank you.”

“I don’t know what I did to have you as my best friend all these years, and now so much more, but I don’t want to mess this up.”

And those words had punch, too. “So don’t,” she said.

The corner of his mouth twitched. He reached for her hand and took it in his own. “Looks like all the guests are venturing off. Care to walk along the waterfront with me?”

She stood, keeping his hand. “After that huge meal, I think a walk is definitely in order.”

They strolled along the shoreline, up to the Blushing Bay pier and walked along, weaving between kids and couples, older folks with baseball hats shielding their eyes. They didn’t let go of each other’s hands until Noah stopped in front of their favorite ice cream shop.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Krista looked at him in disbelief. “No. We just had a pre-Thanksgiving meal—kind of. There is no way you are talking me into stuffing my belly with ice cream, too.”

“Hot chocolate?” he asked.

“It’s not that cold outside.” She placed her hands on her hips. “But, I guess a peanut butter smoothie would hit the spot.”

“That’s my girl.” Noah reached for her hand and tugged her in the storefront. As he did, she went to reach for the fishing hook charm on her necklace out of habit. Her feet rooted to the pavement.

“Oh, no.”

Noah turned back. “What’s wrong?”

“My necklace.” Krista spun around searching the ground, hoping she’d spot it. She pulled the front of her top out to look down her shirt. No sign of the golden fishhook that Noah had given her when they were mere kids.

Noah mimicked her actions, retreating several steps and searching the path that they’d just walked. “Maybe you lost it at the office. Once we start cleaning up, we’ll probably find it.”

Krista nodded, trying to stay calm. The necklace was one of her favorite things. She couldn’t lose it now. It was a part of her in some way. “Let’s go back now. I need to find it.”

“Sure.” Noah grabbed her hand again and pulled her along, retracing their steps. When they got back to the office, Krista rushed inside and started tearing the place apart, searching.

“What’s wrong?” Abby asked, hoisting a tub of dirty dishes to take back to The Landing.

Noah lifted the tub from her hands. “I’ll take these to your catering van.”

“Thanks.” Abby looked at Krista again. “Did you lose something?”

“My charm. The lucky fishing hook that Noah gave me when I was in the hospital as a kid. I need it.” Tears threatened behind her eyes.

“I’ll help you.”

Together, the three of them searched the entire office, twice, to no avail. Giving up, Krista finally plopped down in one of the chairs.

“I’ll give you another fishing hook,” Noah promised. “I have about a million of ’em, you know.”

The disappointment was thick. The loss felt foreboding somehow. “It won’t be the same.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing.” He reached for her hand and pulled her up against him. “Because you and I aren’t the same anymore. Our relationship has changed from friends to friends with benefits.”

Krista’s jaw dropped.

“And more.” He ran his index finger over her chin. “How about I take you back out for that peanut butter smoothie now?”

She hesitated. She didn’t want a smoothie anymore. All she wanted was her lucky charm back. “Okay.” She pulled in a breath, missing the weight of the hook on her chest and fearing it was lost forever. She was sentimental with a lot of things. This was one of them. “Or…”

“Or?” He looked at her questioningly.

“Or you could take me back to your place. What I really want right now is to be held.”

She didn’t miss the fact that he hesitated. He’d pulled away from her physically ever since the condom had broken. It’d only been a few days, but she’d noticed and it hurt. Maybe she’d lost more than her lucky charm this week.