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Claire raised an eyebrow. "So, everyone lost?"
"No, Noah's team won, but it devolved into a mud fight afterward. Best. Day. Ever." Ben pointed to another photo with Noah leaning against a large wooden desk. "This is the desk he built for our former plant manager. He worked day and night to get it done in time for the retirement party. Some of us helped with the finishing touches like screwing in drawer knobs.
She focused on the desk. "Noah made that?" The craftsmanship astonished her.
"Sure. He's always making things. People are always roping him into helping them with DIY projects. One time he helped build the set for a school play for some chap's kid."
"Really?" Claire was seeing a whole other side of the man.
"Yep. You ready? I need to escort you back to your desk and then go make some phone calls." Ben looked at his watch.
"Oh! I am so sorry. I didn't mean to hold you up." Claire blushed.
"No worries. I enjoyed the break, and it's always good to walk the floor and get a reminder of why we're here." Ben smiled and led Claire back to her temporary desk on the second floor. She paid attention to the route they walked, so she could sneak back later and check out more of the photos on the wall. She definitely wanted to ask Noah about his woodworking skills this evening on the drive back to the hotel.
Claire saved the latest—and hopefully last—revision to the site code file and pulled up the script she'd written to recheck the data. Noah had added the final site yesterday and was ready to upload the import file to the system. She entered the command to run and let her mind drift while the script processed.
Today was Friday and their last day in the England offices. It'd been almost a week, and she'd thoroughly enjoyed her time here. She'd made new friends, whom she was sure she'd stay in touch with through their jobs. And she'd coaxed Noah into sharing breakfast with her at the hotel. He'd surprised her when he'd agreed, then elated when a full stomach and caffeine made a huge difference in his demeanor. Her grandmother used to joke that the way to a man's heart was through his belly, and Noah sure seemed to follow that rule. Claire had already made a list of dishes she wanted to make for him when they got back to Houston.
Tonight, the plant controller was treating them to dinner at a local favorite, which she was looking forward to. She'd eaten at the hotel restaurant the first two nights, then ventured out to explore other nearby options, including a cozy pub Srini had recommended. Claire didn't mind dining alone; back home, it was her norm. But she'd discovered if she ordered her meal at the bar, the friendly bartenders often talked to her, and occasionally, a fellow solo diner would strike up a conversation.
The cursor on her screen blinked, pulling her attention back to the task at hand. No errors this time. She opened the corporate messaging app and pinged Noah.
Claire B: No errors on pre-check. Ready to load into sandbox. You ready to test?
She waited as dots appeared, indicating he was typing.
Noah R: Let her rip.
They'd seen little of each other during the week other than the drive to and from work. Apparently, when Noah was back in England, he resumed his day job as production manager. Their only communication on project work had been via email, messaging, or recaps on the fifteen-minute ride home each evening when he dropped her off. She might as well have been back in Houston for all she saw of him.
After the care he'd shown the night of her seizure, she was certain their relationship had moved beyond frosty professional to something closer to friendship. But after this week, it seemed they'd slid backward and were once again stiff, unfamiliar colleagues. She hoped it was more to do with the environment and not with her. Maybe the seizure had freaked him out. That would be disappointing. He seemed more solid than that, even more so now that she knew how much everyone here respected him. From the stories she'd heard all week, he was a permanent and very involved figure. A real company man. A lot like her dad.
Noah kicked off the reports they needed to confirm the upload worked and focused on the planning schedule before him. He'd managed to keep up with his production duties for the most part, but with the project ramping up, he was worried about needing to offload more of his daily tasks, so they didn't fall through the cracks. He'd addressed his concerns with his boss on Wednesday. While they were talking, he'd asked Mitch about the potential Australian plant, which to Noah's disappointment, turned out to be just a rumor at this point and nothing concrete.
He'd been busy at home as well. Tristan often scoured antique markets and estate sales for materials and had texted Noah about an antique bookshelf he thought could serve as the base for his entryway storage unit. Tuesday evening, Noah had driven to his brother's shop and examined the piece, taking measurements and snapping some images for reference. The storage unit was really taking shape in his head now. He'd been finalizing his design the last three days and was looking forward to spending tomorrow in Tristan's shop before he and Claire left for Norway on Sunday.
He rubbed his face, thinking about her. Guilt made him cringe at leaving Claire to her own devices this week, especially after her seizure last Tuesday. But she hadn't seemed too worried, and he'd successfully put some distance between them, locking away those unexpected… tender feelings.
He scowled at the planning sheet he'd just filled out. Everything was off by one row thanks to his meandering thoughts. He crunched it into a wad and lobbed it at the bin in the corner. Pulling out a fresh sheet, he started over.
Chapter 19
Storm of the Century
Claire snapped her seat belt in place, settling into her aisle seat and watching the remaining passengers load onto the plane. The jet for their two-hour flight across the Northern Sea to Oslo was smaller, with her and Noah seated together across the aisle from a single seat.
As the plane took off, she glanced at her traveling companion. Once again, Noah had disappeared behind his mask of indifference, his earbuds firmly in place and his eyes closed. After the successful testing of their site solution this week, you'd think he'd be friendlier. Whatever. She was tired of guessing at his moods and focused on the upcoming week. Claire looked forward to catching up with the rest of the team and hearing about their sight-seeing adventures. You couldn't see the northern lights in Texas and she could hardly wait to see their photos from this weekend.
When she realized Noah wasn't going to talk to her at all, she pulled her book from her backpack and picked up the story from where she left off. At least the fae hero in her story wasn't broody.
Three chapters later, the captain announced they were diverting from their normal route to avoid some rough weather. He reassured them the detour was a normal precaution, and they should make up the time once they were clear of the storm.
Claire bit her lip and looked at Noah, who'd removed his earbuds at the announcement. He caught her look and shrugged. "As long as we arrive before supper, we'll be fine. It's not like we'll have to run through the airport to catch a connecting flight." The slight lift to the side of his mouth made her relax.
She teased him back. "At least we both have the itinerary and no one will be stranded alone."
Thirty minutes later, Claire regretted her cavalier attitude as the captain asked everyone to remain seated with their seat belts on as they navigated through a rough patch. The ominous darkness outside Noah's window had Claire clutching her armrests.
