Page 26 of Beauty
My heart stutters. “Why?”
He blows out a heavy breath, then breaks into a shy smile. “Have you ever met a person and thought,God, I want to know them? Like—” He gently tugs on a tendril of my hair, his fingers smoothing over it, back and forth, back and forth, like he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it.
When his eyes meet mine again, I know exactly what he wants to say. I understand him.
“I need to know you. It’s impossible to walk away, knowing you exist in this world.” He sighs like the admission has sapped all his energy. “Have you ever felt that before?”
I dip my chin as tingles course through me. “Yes.”
“I have nothing to offer. My life—” He shakes his head. “But the idea of not knowing you is untenable.”
After such raw honesty from him, I give him a little of my own. Maybe this will settle his nerves. “I’m moving to Paris next week. There’s no possibility after this weekend for me either.”
His hopeful expression slips, and I swear a look of devastation sweeps across his face before he forces a crooked smile. “Well, look at me getting ahead of myself.”
I bite my lip and offer a small laugh. “I suppose we’ll see what the universe has planned for us next.”
He threads his fingers through my hair and swipes his thumb against my cheek, tipping my chin up. I’m prepared when he lowers his mouth to mine. I’ve wanted to kiss him since the moment he stepped onto that plane. Since he looked at me through those thick frames, that book in his hand. Every moment since, my desire has grown, morphing into lust and now need. A need to know whether the sparks that have been bouncing between us—the tension that’s electrified the air we share—will make us combust. Or if instead, we’ll dance within the flames of this affair.
I hope it’s the latter. With any luck, we’ll figure out how to enjoy the heat.
He angles in, and when he presses his lips against mine and a soft sigh escapes him, the reality of this moment washes over me. Kissing him feels like sinking into a comfortable bed. Like a warm blanket, a book, and a glass of wine on a rainy day. Like a sketchpad and a stack of colored pencils and hours with nothing on the agenda. It’s perfect and cozy and familiar and new and exciting. It’s all the things a woman could want in a first kiss.
And everything I don’t want in a first kiss with someone I’ll soon be saying goodbye to.
Noah has a complicated life, and mine hasn’t even begun. We’re a blip in time. A cataclysmic slip created by the universe. But I take it anyway.
I take what he’s offering, because for a girl who’s been offered almost everything in life, I’ve never been given anything that was so perfectly made for me.
TEN
NOAH
Saying goodbye to Sienna—andnot begging to spend the whole night kissing her—took herculean effort. We only have two days. This is going nowhere. I shouldn’t be taking this slow. Fuck romance. I should be diving in headfirst.
And yet romance is all I see when I look at that woman.
It’s a living, breathing thing, guiding my every move. It sets a pace I can’t help but take. Nothing has ever felt this right. It’s terrifying, since we’re meant for a one-night stand, if we’re lucky, and nothing more.
Despite the fear there, it’s impossible not to enjoy every tension-filled moment.
I contemplate showing up at her room with breakfast this morning but determine it’s a little too presumptuous. Better to wait for lunchtime. If I haven’t run into her by then, it’ll be the perfect excuse to check in. She has to eat, so why not eat with me?
I’m heading out for a run along the beach when Bert and Ernie appear, blocking my path. “Thought you were going to meet us for dinner last night. Where’d you disappear to?”
I run my hands through my hair and dart a look around. “Ended up going to the party on the beach.”
Ernie’s eyes light up. “Oh, our next-door neighbor told us she was going there too, didn’t she, Bert?”
The rounder of the two men nods. “Yup. She did say that. Did you happen to run into her?”
I try to wipe the grin off my face, but it’s no use. “Yeah, I did, actually.”
Ernie, white hair styled perfectly, claps me on the shoulder with a little too much force, turning me around and leading me back the way I came. “That’s great. Walk with us. Tell us what happened.”
I glance over my shoulder. “I was just going for a run.”
He waves a hand. “You can do that later.”
