Page 103 of Sweet Ruin

My hesitation didn’t give Noah any indication either way, and the silence left the door open for him to make a decision. Eventually he pulled his gaze from mine to look at Luther. “Sure, I’ll just be a sec,” he said.

Noah and Kaden disappeared into the house, and I tried to convince myself sharing a hot tub with Noah wasn’t a big deal. It’s not like we were alone, and I could always head home if it got too awkward. I still didn’t feel all that comfortable with the idea though.

Anna leaned across and punched Luther’s arm as soon as the guys were gone. “You told us they’d be out all day.”

Luther plastered a forced look of pain on his face, and he rubbed the spot on his arm. “I thought they would be,” he said. “You heard Kaden; they decided to come back early.”

Anna’s eyes narrowed on him before she sank back into the water. “I guess, but I’m still annoyed with you.”

Luther chuckled. “When aren’t you annoyed with me?”

Anna ignored him and turned to me. “Are you happy to stay?” she asked. “Because we can head back home if you want?”

I desperately wanted to leave, and Anna was clearly giving me a way out, but we’d only just gotten here, and I could see she wanted to stay. Cress seemed to be holding her breath as she waited for my response. Now that Kaden was here, I knew she’d want to stay more than ever. I also knew they’d both insist on coming with me if I left.

I released a breath and shook my head. “We can stay a while longer,” I said. “It’s too cold to get out anyway.” The cold wasn’t the only thing stopping me from getting out. I didn’t want anyone to see the ridiculously small bikini I had on, and at least the water provided some concealment.

“That’s the spirit.” Anna nodded and gave me a reassuring smile.

Only moments later though, I considered braving the cold and running for the hills as Noah emerged from the house without his shirt on. I may have wanted nothing to do with him, but that didn’t mean I was oblivious to how good Noah looked topless. It was a small relief when he got into the hot tub between Cress and Luther. But only small. He wasn’t sitting next to me, but he was right across from me, which meant I had to look at him.

I’d told my friends we could stay just a little while longer, so I was going to suck it up and stick it out for them. Still, I did my best to keep my focus on the view of the mountains and as far away from the boy sitting across from me who was watching me with his intense green eyes.

“I wonder what’s taking Kaden so long,” Cress said. “Maybe I should go check on him.”

“Oh, yeah,check onhim,” Anna joked, earning herself a glare from Cress as she got out of the hot tub.

I rubbed my arms, feeling more and more unsettled. Guilt was starting to build within me. It was one thing to come over here when Noah was on top of a mountain somewhere but a whole other thing now he was in the water with me. I knew Wes would hate this, and I really didn’t want to upset him. It didn’t help that every time I glanced Noah’s way I couldn’t stop myself remembering the way he’d wrapped his arms around me when he’d rescued me from crashing on the ski slope.

“How are you feeling after yesterday?” Noah’s voice made me jump slightly as it interrupted my thoughts. It appeared I wasn’t the only one thinking about the moment he’d come to my rescue. There was genuine concern in his eyes, and I knew he was only trying to be polite, but I didn’t like the way my heart beat a little faster when he looked at me that way.

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine, thanks, but I should go,” I said, pushing myself up so I could climb out of the hot tub. The freezing air hit me as soon as I left the water, and a chill raced down my spine. I didn’t look in Noah’s direction once as I scampered across the terrace to grab a towel and wrap it around me. I didn’t want to see his reaction when he got a glimpse of my skimpy bikini.

“Isobel,” Noah called out to me, but I ignored him. “Did I say something wrong?”

I heard movement in the water and splashing as someone stood up. “Just let her go, Noah,” Anna said.

I didn’t wait to hear if he would listen to her warning and headed inside. I needed to get out of this house. I needed to get away from Noah. I wanted to hang out with my friends, but there were so many conflicting feelings churning inside me, and the swirling waters of the hot tub were just making it worse.

Once I was back inside, I realized I’d left my clothes on the balcony. There was no way in hell I was going back out there though. You couldn’t pay me enough to face Noah again in just a towel and this bikini. I spotted one of the boys’ sweatshirts on the kitchen bench, so I grabbed it without a second thought. I dropped my towel and pulled it over my head. Thankfully, the hoodie was big enough that it almost fell to my knees.

I headed for the entrance and quickly put on my shoes. I pulled open the front door but gasped when I nearly collided with Wes and Sawyer who were standing right outside.

"Guys, you scared me,” I said, placing a hand against my chest.

“We got your note.” There was nothing warm about Wes’s tone, and I got the impression he wasn’t pleased.

“Yeah, it was icy as hell up the mountain, so we came back early,” Sawyer said. “What’s this I hear about a hot tub?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s out on the balcony,” I said, gesturing inside.

Sawyer didn’t need any more encouragement, and he waltzed right by me into the house. Wes didn’t move though, and my stomach dipped unpleasantly as he frowned at me.

“Whose sweatshirt is that?” he asked.

I glanced down. I’d forgotten I wasn’t wearing my own clothes. That my legs were bare, and I’d stolen one of the boys’ hoodies. It was only now, as I looked down at the Weybridge insignia across the front of it, I realized it wasn’t just any boy’s hoodie. It was Noah’s. His initials were on the front, and I was guessing his surname was sprawled right across the back of it.

“Isobel?” Noah’s voice called out behind me, making me grimace. Wes was clearly already upset I was here, and Noah showing up wasn’t going to help. “Look, I’m sorry. I—” Noah’s voice cut off as he came to my side and saw Wes.

---