She thought about that for a moment. “Okay, yeah. That works. I mean...if you have space in your closet.”
His gaze passed over her, and he started down the hallway again. “Don’t worry. I’ve got room for you, Mia.”
6
Noah was eighteen when he realized he was in love with Mia. They, along with a group of friends, had bought tickets to a concert of a popular rock group. It wasn’t until they arrived at the venue that she pulled him to the side, pointing to a different entrance than where their friends were headed.
“Our seats are over here.”
He’d hesitated, not because he wouldn’t follow her anywhere, but just because he was confused.
“They wanted to be on the floor,” she’d explained. “It’s not our scene. Everyone will be wasted and it will be crowded and loud. We won’t be able to enjoy the show.”
He’d havehatedto be stuck on his feet in the middle of a pulsing crowd for three hours. It would have embarrassed him if she’d bought separate seats just out of consideration for him, like he was the killjoy who didn’t like to have fun, but she’d done it because she didn’t want to be down there, either. She loved music, loved the band, and she had stood in their front-row seats in the bleachers, swaying and singing along with the most beautiful, content smile on her face.
It had been perfect for both of them, and he’d realized if he could choose just one person to experience these moments with—a concert, a school dance, or even just hanging out on a Friday night—it was her.
His affection for her had only deepened with time. And today, he’d married her.
What have I done?
He lay in bed staring at the dark ceiling, wishing back everything he’d said to her over the last week and a half.
He wanted to help her, sure. He’d cut off his right arm if he thought it might make her happy. Not the left, though. He glanced down to his left forearm and the outline of the dark tattoo there.
Most days he would have said her happiness came before any hesitations he might have. But that was before he saw her KitchenAid mixer on the counter next to the refrigerator. Before her dresses and silky shirts hung in his closet beside his starched oxfords. Before he glimpsed her in a tank top and shorts as she padded down the hall to the guest room.
They’d snuck into her parent’s hot tub all the time as kids. He’d seen her in a swimsuit a million times, for fuck’s sake. She was more than covered up in what she was wearing, but he’d nearly tripped over his feet when he caught sight of her tan legs as she walked past his doorway, her forever-long midnight hair trailing down her back like a waterfall.
This idea was stupid. It was torture.
He’d realized it during the wedding, the second his lips met hers. It should have been a quick peck. She wasn’t in love with him, this wasn’t real, and Claire and a ninety-year-old judge had been watching them. But he hadn’t been able to stop himself from pressing just a little closer, just for one second more. Her palm had gently touched his abdomen, and it had taken everything in him not to haul her up against him, wrap her legs around his waist, and take her to the nearest room where they could be alone.
The things he would do to her...
He’d known living with her would be difficult. But now that he knew the softness of her lips, the feel of her breath against his skin?
He wouldn’t survive it.
A low groan escaped his throat and he rubbed a hand down his face just as his phone lit up on his bedside table.
Mia:You up?
Noah:Are you texting me from the next room?
Mia:Yeah. Is this weird?
Yes. It shouldn’t have been, though. How many nights had they spent texting for hours from their next-door bedrooms mere yards away, because it was too cold to meet in the tree house?
Noah:Nope. Feels like high school.
Noah:You okay?
She didn’t reply for several minutes. What was going through her mind? When she’d asked him the other day if he’d rather fly or read minds, he’d said fly, and meant it. Mia was open with her thoughts, and honest to a fault. He didn’t think she hid anything deep inside.
Not like he did.
Plus, he figured it might just bring him down to find out she didn’t think about him as much as he did her.