Page 8 of The Marriage Mission

He should stay out of it. He should leave her to defuse her own situation. If he went in and tugged at the wrong wire, it could very well blow up in his face.

Noah couldn't help himself. He made his way to the open door of her office. Reaching overhead, he pressed his palms into the top of the doorframe and leaned into the room. His shoulders were so broad they filled the entire frame.

She didn't open her eyes. He didn't rush her. He took the moment to look at her, fighting the urge to go to her and scoop her into his arms.

Jacqui must have heard his desires. She opened her eyes then. Anger was the first thing he saw as she fixed on his eyes. Then, as she fixed on his chest, that anger melted, and Noah saw want. He felt her gaze like a caress as she looked at his chest, like she wanted to fling herself against it. But when she looked again at his eyes, that desire snuffed out.

The woman wanted him. She needed him. Noah was going to give her exactly what she needed. He took a step toward her—and then the lights went out.

ChapterSix

Jacqui ran her hand over the worn bullet journal that served as her ledger. No matter how many colors she used or how much Washi tape she bordered the numbers with, the money just wasn't there.

Maybe Bunny was right. Maybe she should embrace spreadsheets. But Jacqui knew the computer would tell her the same thing as her inked notes. She was in a hole.

The call with Jami had ended as she feared, with laughter and gentle refusal, her sister's wanderlust proving insurmountable even in the face of Chow Town's financial strain. Not that Jami knew about the financial strain. And if Jacqui had her way, neither of her sisters would ever know the weight she was drowning under.

This was her responsibility. Her father had left her in charge of her sisters with his dying breath. Their dreams had to come before hers. Jules had gotten her updated kitchen before Chow Town, and Jami would travel the world, tasting all of its foods on Jacqui's dime.

Jacqui's heart ached, not just for the loss of potential savings, but for the distance that seemed to stretch ever wider between her and her siblings. Even though Jules was just next door, her baby sister had drawn a line in the sand. That line she insisted her hovering sister was not allowed to cross so that Jules could run her business on her own.

The notion that her diabetic little sister wanted to be a pastry chef had been one thing. Then to open a bakery had been another. Though in all honesty, the bakery was in better financial straits than the restaurant with its low overhead and small staff of one.

Though Jacqui suspected Fish helped out here and there behind her back. Lucky for her sous chef that it was Jacqui's sister he was cheating on her kitchen with. Even more lucky that the pastries he helped with were desserts for the restaurant.

Jacqui looked back down at her ledger. Her mind whirled with calculations and schemes, each more desperate than the last. The food bill was paid for the month. The utilities weren't due until the middle of the next month. The only thing on the immediate horizon was the electrical work. And that shouldn't come due for at least two weeks, probably more if this electrician was like all the other workers underestimating their time, only to admit they'd need more later. Noah Henry was bound to encounter delays, forcing the project to extend and thus buying her time until the next influx of cash at the month's end. It was a flimsy hope, she knew, but hope was a currency she was running short on.

Lost in her thoughts, Jacqui started when she looked up to find Noah framed in her doorway, his arms braced against the frame, a casual stance that belied the strength she knew lay beneath. The reason she knew about that strength was because she'd felt it full force when he'd held her in his arms.

A jolt of something warm and unsettling fluttered in her stomach, memories of their unintended embrace flooding back with unexpected intensity. For a moment, amid the chaos of her responsibilities, she had found an oasis of peace in his arms. His presence now, standing there as if he were the guardian of her own personal haven, reignited that flicker of tranquility.

It was ludicrous, Jacqui chided herself, to think that any part of her troubles could be soothed by the mere proximity of a man she barely knew. And yet, the idea of leaning on him, of sharing the burden that had been hers alone since her parents passed, was tantalizing.

Noah was probably here to deliver bad news, for the announcement of a delay that she both dreaded and desired. He was going to demand more money from her. She steeled herself for the request at the same time as she chided herself for hoping he might be different.

Noah took a step forward. He was still so broad that she couldn't see past him beyond to the kitchen. His presence was so big that he shut out the hum of the appliances.

She got the notion that nothing would get past this man if he didn't want it to. Not the bills. Not the food critics or unhappy customers. Not her grandmother and her outdated notions. Not even her sisters looking to her for answers.

Jacqui swallowed the desire that surged in her throat from wanting that moment of quiet. That moment of not coming up with a solution. That moment of not being responsible for voicing a plan of attack.

Noah opened his mouth to speak.

Jacqui opened her mouth to cut him off.

And then everything went dark.

They were alone in the restaurant. The morning shift hadn't started yet. She'd only known he was here by the work bag he'd left near the door. She supposed Fish had let him in and gone next door to the bakery to do his prep.

The sudden plunge into darkness enveloped her office like a thick blanket, snuffing out the light in an instant. Jacqui's heart lurched, the abrupt loss of visibility sending a jolt of surprise through her. But before she could even gasp, she felt strong arms wrap around her, a familiar and unexpectedly comforting embrace enveloping her in warmth and security.

In the cocoon of Noah's arms, Jacqui found herself doing something she hadn't done in a long time—she relaxed. The ambient noise of the kitchen faded, replaced by the sound of their synchronized breathing. She closed her eyes, allowing herself a momentary escape, a fleeting surrender to the peace that radiated from Noah's very being.

"That's likely the light fixtures." Noah's voice broke the silence, his tone practical yet soothing. "They're probably going to need to be updated along with the new wiring."

His words, meant to be reassuring, instead served as a splash of cold water, jerking Jacqui back to the harsh light of reality—even if that light was metaphorical at the moment. "Oh, so you're going to charge me for that, too?"

"No, I know a workaround that'll hold. But eventually, you'll have to upgrade. My solution will buy you time."

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