Page 14 of Keeping Guard
“Uh-huh.” By the smile on her face, you’d think he’d bought her a diamond necklace.
“Thank you. I’ll have a cup later. What kind of beer?”
He was probably going to earn points he really didn’t want for this, too. He opened the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle, and held it up. “This good?” Another smile that almost made him wish he’d bought anything but the Elk Antler Brewery beer. He was starting to like seeing her smiles too much.
“That’s one of mine. I mean, I created it.” Her smile faded. “I guess it’s the last one I’ll ever brew for Elk Antler.”
Ah, hell. Now there were tears in her eyes. It was stupid not to realize the beer would remind her of what she’d lost. He put the bottle back in the refrigerator. “We’ll have the wine. Unless you’d rather have water.”
“Screw it. I want the beer.”
“Atta girl.” There was a glint of defiance in her eyes that he liked seeing, and a definite improvement over the tears.
Lucky finished the bowl of dog food Noah had put down, then ambled over to sit at his feet. Why the dog seemed to be gravitating to him, he didn’t know, since he was doing his best to ignore it. Ignoring the woman wearing his T-shirt and sweatpants wasn’t working so well, either.
Chapter Six
Peyton’s home was a loft in downtown Asheville, one of the most diverse towns in the country. She loved living smackdab in the middle of the city. Restaurants were at her fingertips, and Elk Antler’s original brewery was a five-minute walk. If they didn’t have three other locations in the area, she wouldn’t even have needed a car.
“So, this is it, my home.” She glanced at Noah. It shouldn’t matter what he thought, but for reasons she couldn’t explain, it did. She was proud of her loft and the renovations she’d made to it. The building had once been a department store and had sat empty for years after the store had gone out of business. Now, the first floor was a merchant mall, with all kinds of small shops.
The space above the mall had been turned into lofts. She was on the third floor, and the view of downtown and the mountains beyond from her floor-to-ceiling windows was awesome, especially at night with all the lights.
“Nice. You moving out?”
Her gaze followed his to the boxes stacked alongside the wall. “I was. Now I’m not.”
Dalton owned a lovely house in a gated community, and it had been understood that she would move in with him. It was just another thing she’d gone along with to make him and her father happy even though she hadn’t been thrilled at the thought of living in a gated community where the houses were spread apart and no one knew their neighbor’s name. She would miss the back deck and yard and the hummingbirds, though. It had been such a peaceful place to relax with a beer after work. Would he remember to change the hummingbirds’ sugar water?
She loved living downtown. Loved the energy vibes, the restaurants, the shops, and the eclectic mix of people. She hadn’t questioned her refusal to put her loft up for sale, but now she wondered if she’d subconsciously had her doubts about the marriage all along. When Dalton had insisted she list it, she’d stubbornly refused to do so until after they were married. At least she’d done something right.
“Well, I’ll get out of your hair,” Noah said.
“Um...would you like a beer or something?” She didn’t want him to go, didn’t want to be left alone to contemplate her mistakes and what she’d lost. And then there were her father and Dalton. She didn’t doubt one or both would be banging on her door at some point, probably sometime today. There was also her plan that she wanted to talk to him about.
“It’s nine in the morning, Peyton.”
“Yeah, well, it’s a start your morning with a beer kind of day, but if you’re not an adventurous sort, I’ll make you some coffee.”
“Thanks, but there’s somewhere I need to be.”
“Oh, okay. Well...thanks for everything. I’m not sure what would have happened if you hadn’t been there when my father and Dalton showed up.”
He smiled. “You’re welcome. Just be strong and remember that you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”
Easy for him to say. Also, that smile! Gracious, but it made her stomach feel like butterflies were hatching by the thousands. Before she begged him not to leave, she walked to the door and opened it.
He was a few steps from walking out when he stopped. “Where’s your phone?”
“There in my purse.” She pointed to the suitcase near the door with her purse on top. The suitcase was packed for a honeymoon trip to Napa Valley to tour wineries, what Dalton had wanted to do. She’d wanted to go to Germany and taste beers.
“Get it.” When she retrieved it from her purse, he said, “Unlock it.” Once that was done, he took it from her.
The way he was barking out orders, she almost saluted him, but then she got distracted when she realized he wasn’t paying attention to her as he punched the keys on her phone. It was the perfect opportunity to do a little unnoticed drooling.
The man wore a plain white T-shirt and well-worn jeans like a boss. What she wouldn’t give to explore all those muscles, to trail her fingers down his chest and explore those abs, the likes of which she’d never seen before and couldn’t stop thinking about.
“My number’s in your phone.” He handed it back to her. “Don’t call me, though, unless you’re desperate.”
