If anything, he’ll shine bright because he has us and not to mention, the love of a strong, beautiful woman like Tully who would go to the ends of the earth to help him through it.
He’ll be alright.
Finding out that Rocko has now taken Noah’s place…that was a whole other story. Tully has never been so happy to have dodged a bullet.
I bring my car to a stop beside Noah’s Camaro and launch myself out the door with my acceptance letter firmly clutched between my fingers.
Noah starts making his way towards me. “What are you do-”
I crash into him, throwing my arms around his neck and jump right up into his arms. The breath is knocked out of him, but he catches me with ease. I crush my lips to his and devour him as I hear Ari groaning behind me in disgust.
When I finally pull back and allow Noah to breathe, he grins at me with a sparkle in his warm eyes. “What was that for?” he questions. “What are you doing here?”
I release my legs from around him and he helps me to my feet, making sure I’ve got my balance before letting me go. I pass him the acceptance letter and watch as he takes it and starts reading over it. “I got in,” I beam. “I got a scholarship.”
His head snaps up with wide, excited eyes. “Are you shitting me?” he booms. “Tell me you’re not shitting with me.”
“This is not a drill,” I laugh. “Your girlfriend is officially college material.”
Noah throws the acceptance letter high into the air and pulls me in, crushing me hard against his chest. “Fuck yeah.” He spins around to face the firemen working on the truck as Ari scrambles to get the flying paper. He practically launches me into the air in his excitement. “My girlfriend just got accepted for a scholarship at Broken Hill University.”
The firemen start crowding around, whooping and cheering for me despite never having met me before. As a Haven Falls kid, getting into college is a big fucking deal, getting accepted for a scholarship to a college like BHU, well that’s just unheard of, and you don’t need to be a student to understand how much of a big deal this is around here.
These guys don’t know me and the fact that they’re celebrating with us means the fucking world to me. Today is seriously the best day ever.
It turns into a bit of a party and before I know it, Ari has convinced the guys to give her the grand tour of the fire truck so she can turn on the sirens while Noah refuses to let go of me even for one second.
The celebration comes to a startling halt when the alarm sounds and I watch in amazement just how quickly these guys get into action. “Sorry, Spitfire,” Noah says, giving me a quick hug. “I have to go.”
“Don’t be stupid,” a voice says from behind us. We spin around to see the fire chief, smiling fondly at the two of us. He nods towards Noah. “Get out of here and go home with your girl. Shit like this doesn’t happen every day, especially in Haven Falls.”
“You sure?” Noah questions.
“Trust me, as you get older you realize what’s truly important in life and this is one of those times.”
With that, the chief turns his back and hurries over to the fire truck and climbs in just in time for it to take off to attend whatever emergency was called in, leaving the three of us behind to get on with our day.
“You heard the man,” Noah says, heading inside and dragging me along while Ari skips behind us. “Let me get out of this uniform and I’ll take you home.”
I tug on his hand, stopping him in his tracks as my eyes roam up and down his body, taking in the uniform. “You don’t really have to take that off, do you?” I question, my eyes burning with desire. “Because I wouldn’t mind doing it for you.”
Noah raises a brow before a devilish grin spreads over his face. “You got yourself a deal, but be warned, tonight is about celebrating you so you better be prepared because I won’t be stopping until you physically can’t scream my name any longer.”
I swallow hard.
Hell to the freaking yes. How did I get so lucky?
Chapter 12
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” I ask Noah as he stands at the door, hesitating while looking incredibly nervous.
He glances across to me before looking over at Lacey and letting out a deep breath. “It’s now or never, right?” he says. “Besides, this is about Lily and finding a little bit of closure. Her feelings for me don’t matter right now. If she still wants to hate me, then I’ll suck it up and deal with it. If not, maybe she’s ready to talk.”