It was a small thing, but it let her know for sure that whatever his issue was, it wasn’t with the attraction they both confessed to. Otherwise, he would have stayed away from her as much as possible.
Shivers chased by warmth spread over her skin as she settled in the seat and he slowly slid his hand away. Reaching out, she touched his arm before he could shut the door.
“Hey, are you okay? You’ve been quiet.”
He smiled for the first time that morning and it reached all the way to his light green eyes. “I’m fine. Just working some stuff out in my head.”
“Okay. I just wanted to make sure that our conversation last night didn’t freak you out.”
Reaching up, he skimmed his fingers down her cheek like he had the night before, and she closed her eyes briefly as she leaned into his touch.
“Our conversation last night was one of the best in my life, Lily. I’m sorry if I worried you. I didn’t mean to. I get stuck in my head sometimes and forget there are people around me.”
“I’m glad it didn’t freak you out,” she whispered as she stared into his eyes, unable to give her voice more substance while he was touching her. “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it today.”
“I was wondering the same about you. I didn’t know how you’d feel about it, either.”
Turning her head, she pressed a quick kiss into the slightly rough skin of his big palm, smiling as he sucked in a breath. “I’m glad we worked that out.”
He cleared his throat, pulling away slowly as his cell phone rang. “Me, too, Lily.”
Smiling with satisfaction as he closed the door, answering his phone as he walked around the truck, she buckled her seatbelt and leaned back. That answered her question over why he’d been unsure that morning, and confirmed that his distraction wasn’t because he regretted the things they said.
But she couldn’t help wondering what he was working out in his head.
Her necklace got caught under her shirt and she moved the seatbelt so she could reposition it. Stilling as her fingers touched the gold band, warm from her skin, she waited for the grief to hit her like it usually did.
It was there, but it wasn’t as crippling as it normally was. It was much easier to deal with, although sadness still washed over her. That was the first time tears hadn’t automatically rushed to her eyes when she touched it or caught sight of it.
She really was moving on, and as she looked up and caught sight of Noah, standing with his back to her, one hand hooked on a hip, she thought she was pretty sure he was a big part of that.
She’d been making big strides in the past year, but that moment was far and away the most definitive one yet. And that was what made her want to cry. Because, as strange as it might seem to other people, the first person she wanted to tell was Brandon.
He was her best friend for half her life, up until he passed away. She felt like she was starting a new chapter in her life, and she wanted to tell him all about it. He’d be happy for her, and for Noah, too. Yeah, she’d had a moment of doubt about that, but once she sat down to really think about it, she felt sure he would.
She’d been telling Noah the truth the night before—she really believed that Brandon would want both of them to be happy, and if he was looking down and watching as she and Noah started a relationship, he’d be smiling and telling everyone in heaven that he set them up. That he played matchmaker by introducing the woman he loved to the man who was his best friend before he died.
That was just the kind of person Brandon was. And there was no other guy he loved as much as he’d loved his best friend—so why wouldn’t he want that man to be with the woman he also loved?
Noah opened the door and she jumped, surprised. She’d been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn’t even noticed that he was done with his call. He climbed in and they both looked over as a kid ran by, shouting about the dragon festival.
Glancing over at Noah, she took in his frown as he shut the door. “The big festival that has the town sold out of hotel rooms is a dragon festival?”
His eyes were wary as he glanced over at her with a shrug. “There are festivals for just about everything these days.”
He turned on the truck and started typing an address into his GPS, and she narrowed her eyes as she studied him. His eyes were too off, his voice too casual. Something about it was bothering him, but he wasn’t going to let her in on it.
Pulling out, he drove them to their destination, and her attention was split between the increasingly large crowd as they got closer, and his growing frown. She caught sight of a banner announcing the Fernandez Fes
tival and she leaned down, picking up her laptop and quickly powering it on.
Turning on the mobile hotspot on her phone, she quickly logged onto the internet once her laptop was booted up. Typing the name of the festival, she found a website advertising it at the same time Noah pulled into a parking spot, cursing as he did so.
She glanced up with a frown, taking in first his white knuckled grip on the steering wheel and then the huge wrought iron gates that were standing open as people poured into what looked like a very large mansion’s equally large yard.
“This can’t be right,” he muttered, staring hard at the huge building and all the tents and booths set up on the lawn. “The intel said this was a very private compound.”
Looking back down at the website, she saw the same mansion on the screen, and quickly began reading. “No, I think this is it. The website says the owner is a very private man who’s not seen often, but he graciously allowed the festival to take place here.”