Page 85 of Noah

He shook his head at the space, stirring his sauce. He was wearing an apron and Adrienne was having a tough time concentrating because he looked ridiculous and somehow at the same time ridiculously hot.

“Definitely the other building,” he said.

“I liked the ambience of this place too,” she replied and bought it back up.

The availability sign was still green, and she bit the corner of her lip. Was she going to do it?

She hesitated, then added, “It’s more down to earth. The other was too clinical for my pieces, the room itself too large between pieces. The paintings I’ve done are too raw. You need connection and closeness when you’re observing them, or at least that’s how I painted them.”

She grimaced hoping she had caught everything she wanted. It wasn’t easy. She could keep adjusting it until the end of time but there came a point where she had to put her brush or chalk down and stop for the day.

“I’m sure it’s perfect,” Noah reassured her.

“How would you know? You haven’t even seen them?”

He narrowed his eyes and flicked the spoon in her direction. “Because I know you. You would have made sure every painting was movement, beauty, and whatever you were trying to capture.”

A lump rose in her throat and her mouth went dry. She didn’t think anyone had ever believed in her quite like he did.

Oh god, she was getting stupidly sentimental.

He had spent so much time fitting in, finding what he liked to do. She had decided to take a leaf from his book, plunge in, and book an event. She just hadn’t decided on the venue yet.

“How’s the teacher training going?” she asked and left the page open.

She would check all the paintings she had stored in a room at the back of the home and see how much space there was and then—deep breath—she would book it.

“I like learning. It surprised me.” Adrienne grinned because she knew how smart he was. He just hadn’t been ready to open up. “None of that,” he said pointing to her face.

“What?” she gasped innocently.

His lips twitched. “That knowing look. As if it was your plan all along.”

“Well, what can I say?” She chuckled when he flicked a cherry tomato at her. She caught it and popped it into her mouth. She chomped down and the tart juice coated her tongue in a burst of taste.

“Samantha thinks I’ll pass with flying colours.” He gave her a confused look. “Whatever that means.”

“Then you can start assistant teaching, right?”

He nodded vigorously. “The little ones are tough, even human children. They constantly surprise me with how deep they think.” His eyes darkened as a thought moved behind his eyes. “And I can double as security for them. Samantha is a fierce defender of children but she’s only human.”

“Hey! We humans can be fierce.” She pointed at him and narrowed her eyes. “Violent, remember.”

He chuckled at her and held up his hand in surrender. “Don’t hurt me.”

“Har, har,” she snarked.

Noah drained the pasta, placed the sauce over the top, and sprinkled it with seasoning.

Their fingers brushed when he passed her a plate.

Her lips parted because he had been so careful not to touch her as if he were waiting. She didn’t know what he was waiting for.

The lingering looks and almost touching were close to breaking her. Adrienne wanted him to carry her off over his shoulder.

They had fallen into a kind of temporary friendly space, and it was slowly killing her and making her question herself.

Adrienne was hyperaware when he came into a room. Her breath caught every time his impressive shoulders filled a doorway.

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