Page 66 of The Pumpkin Spice Romance
“Hmm. . .Ranch Hand Ken?” Scarlett offered an apologetic shrug at the same time she slid the éclair to her side of the table.
Noah bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. He flattened his lips and nodded with measured slowness.
“Huh,” he interjected.
Scarlett lifted one shoulder as if to sayThe truth hurts.But her donut received all her attention.
Noah watched her.
The bliss written all over her face thrilled him. By the look of it, Scarlett had indulged in sweet delicacies far too rarely. He intended to correct that tragedy.
“Why aren’t you eating?” The enormous bite she’d taken garbled her words.
When he didn’t answer, Scarlett paused, looking up for his answer.
She was breathtakingly beautiful — even with a glob of icing on the outer corner of her mouth. Noah’s heart skipped a beat.
Time to tap the brakes.
And he would. . .afterhe swiped his thumb across her bottom lip to remove the chocolate.
Scarlett eyed him; she resembled a stone statue.
“You never know,” Noah said, his voice quiet and husky. “I might surprise you.”
With that, Noah cleaned his thumb with a napkin, lifted his thumb to his lips to lick the sugary remnants from his skin, stood from his chair, and snatched a handful of the donut holes. He never stopped looking directly into Scarlett’s stunned eyes.
Then Noah headed for the door.
“I need to make a quick phone call,” he explained over his shoulder before stepping outside. “I’ll meet you in the truck when you’re ready. No rush,” Noah added with a wink. “Enjoy your breakfast.”
Noah stuck to his guns to tap the brakes throughout the day by limiting the number of times he indulged in casual touches and refraining from teasing and flirting, but the task proved more challenging than he’d imagined.
When he yearned to ask personal questions while they worked on the pumpkin patch, he instead quizzed her on inconsequential things like her favorite color or if she preferred late nights or early mornings.
Not surprising, she loved all shades of red and admitted to wearing something red every day. It fit her — symbolized the courage, passion, and strength she exuded.
And like Noah, Scarlett confessed to being an early bird. She’d described being at her best first thing in the morning when the fresh day lay before her like a blank canvas and her energy knew no bounds. He’d witnessed the truth of that, amazed at how much she accomplished by lunchtime and humored by how quickly her gusto faded late in the afternoon.
Perhaps the impersonal questions weren’t so innocuous after all.
The only way Noah found to preserve a distance from Scarlett was to stay on the opposite side of the pumpkin patch. Even then, his eyes betrayed his efforts, seeking her out and keeping tabs on where she worked at all times.
Sharing dinner with a few of the teenagers from the youth group helped his efforts. The kids had shown up after school to assist at Twin Oaks and had provided a convenient buffer, both while working at the ranch and while they ate, allowing Noah to sit at the far end of the table from Scarlett. Best of all, the chatty kiddos carried the conversation throughout the meal, sharing their most entertaining memories from their years of attending the Pumpkin Spice Fall Festival.
After dinner, Scarlett declined the kids’ invitation to join them at the Wednesday evening church service, claiming exhaustion after a long day.
Her pace had slowed, and she too had been quiet at the restaurant. Noah didn’t doubt she’d hit the end of her rope for the day.
He drove Scarlett home and walked her up the stairs, carrying two more tubs of fall decorations and donatedstuff.
Noah had almost made it through the entire day remaining true to his resolve. . .doing nothing that screamedI’ve known you three days, but I think I love you.
Almost.
Scarlett unlocked the door and stepped aside for Noah to go first. He juggled the heavy containers and set them down to flip on the lights so he wouldn’t run into anything.
“Today was—” He started to sayproductive.
