Page 60 of Stolen Kisses
Noah nodded. “I never would’ve made it if Jack hadn’t decided to quit the business. The position is only mine by default. Not because I earned it.”
Krista reached over and gave him a shove. “Stop that. You never give yourself enough credit. Even in school.”
He laughed under his breath. “Maybe because I was the one voted least likely to succeed.”
“That was a joke and you know it.”
He nodded. But it hadn’t been a joke to him.Hewas the joke. He was the youngest of the Sawyer brothers. Sam was the smart one. Jack was the hard worker, competitive down to his core. Noah was the one who’d managed to rip the family apart, starting with his mom dying in childbirth. That wasn’t his fault; he knew that deep down, but he still felt responsible. Joking around became his armor growing up. It kept people from seeing his pain. And because he was such a jokester, no one seemed to expect much from him. So he’d given everyone exactly what they expected. “I make a decent captain,” he admitted.
“My brother thinks you’re pretty great.”
“Yeah?” A smile lifted on Noah’s face. “He’s a great co-captain. Gotta say, his cab breaking down was one of the best things to happen to me in a long time.”
“One of?” she asked.
“Well…” She was fishing and it made him smile. “This weekend was also one of the best things to happen to me.”
“For me, too.”
Noah pulled his Jeep into the parking lot of her townhome and parked beside Joey’s truck. If Joey weren’t here, Noah would be fishing to go inside and see if the sparks between him and Krista still existed in Blushing Bay.
“So, uh, what happens next?” she asked as they sat in front of her home.
“Next? Well, I, uh…What do you think should happen next?”
Her gaze narrowed on him, telling him he better have a game plan.
Crap.He was already screwing things up, and he had no idea what to say or do.
Don’t screw this up, Noah.
“Next, I think we should go out. On a date.” He looked over, relieved to see that Krista was smiling again. “And I’m not talking about Wednesday Wings. I reserve that night for my best friend.” Her smile grew wider and he felt like some kind of hero. “How about tomorrow night?”
She cocked her head. “I would love that actually.”
“I’ve recently learned all about romance, so, uh, this can be a test of sorts.”
And a test to see if this thing between them floated or sank.
Krista nodded. “It’s a date. I can’t wait.” She went to reach for the door handle, but he stopped her with one hand.
“You’re not going to go inside and tell Joey all about, are you? Because well, uh…when we were kids, he said he’d give me a beat-down if I ever made moves on you.”
Krista’s mouth dropped open. “I didn’t know that.”
“Not that I was ever scared of your brother, but we do work together now and it could be awkward on the boat this week if you tell him we had sex all over the Sawyer cabin. With spiked condoms.”
Krista held her belly as she folded forward and laughed. “I would never tell my brother that. We don’t share those kinds of details.”
Noah nodded, wanting so badly to kiss her right now.
“Is that why you never made a move on me?” Krista asked.
Noah thought she looked a little hopeful, like she wanted his answer to be yes. Joey’s threats had never factored into his avoidance of her, though. It was all Noah, because he’d known that deep down he was just a screw-up like everyone thought. And Krista was the one thing in his life he couldn’t afford to screw up. So what the hell was he doing now?
“Maybe,” he responded, knowing there was no maybe about it. Maybe, for once in his life, though, hecoulddo something right. He wanted this thing with Krista to work. Their trip had been near perfect, and he didn’t want it to end.
Leaning over, she pressed her mouth against his in a sweet kiss. “I can take my brother if it comes to it.”
