Chapter 10: Chapter 9

NOAH

Noah was at a loss. He couldn’t figure out what had come over him.

And with Lillian Astaire, of all people.

If someone had told him this would happen, he would have laughed. Actually, he had laughed when the idea was even hinted at in the past.

But Lillian wasn’t the same woman he remembered. He hadn’t felt this kind of desire for someone in a long time.

When he invited her over, he had no intentions of making a move. After their encounter the night before, he had resolved to behave himself. He’d even taken a cold shower and slept soundly.

But seeing her again in the morning… She was just as natural as the night before, dressed similarly. In the daylight, she was even more stunning. Her eyes were a deeper blue and her smile…

He chalked it up to being out of practice. Plus, he had to admit, he had a thing for smart women. The issue was, he didn’t seem to attract many.

Most of them thought they could get him to settle down. Even the most independent ones, like Tamara. She was smart, successful, and great at manipulating men she deemed weaker than her.

But with those she saw as stronger, she became clingy. A truly clever woman, or a wise one, knew when to invest in someone. His former assistant seemed to be that kind of woman.

He decided to give Lillian some space, which she seemed to appreciate. He hadn’t meant to make her uncomfortable. Strangely, he felt at ease with her and didn’t want to risk losing that.

If she left him, what the hell would he do in this boring little town?

“You should get out of that dress, so it can dry,” he suggested.

He meant nothing more by it, but she misunderstood.

“Why do I get the feeling you want me to strip?” she asked, giving him a pointed look.

“Because I do. But I overstepped earlier, and it wasn’t appropriate,” he admitted.

“You care about propriety?”

“I care about being wanted. Clearly, my advances made you uncomfortable, which is a turn-off for me too. So, there’s no hidden meaning in my words. Your dress is wet, and I’m sure you don’t want it to dry on you.”

“I don’t. So, are we just going to catch up?” she asked for confirmation.

“Yes. For today at least.”

“So, you’re planning on making a move next time?”

“I can’t make any promises,” he said with a smirk. “But you’re welcome to stay for lunch. I’m tired of eating alone. I’ve been doing it for years.”

“I didn’t peg you as the type who needed company to eat.”

“I don’t. I just said it gets boring sometimes. Will you stay?”

“We’ll see.” She shrugged.

Then she swam back to the shallow end of the pool and pulled the dress over her head, making him swallow hard. She wasn’t trying to be seductive. In fact, the wet fabric got stuck on her head, and it took her a moment to free herself.

But he was turned on nonetheless. Something was definitely off with him. It wasn’t that she didn’t have a nice body, but he’d seen more impressive ones—like Vanessa’s.

Regardless of her other qualities, she had a perfect body and knew how to use it to get what she wanted. Lillian’s body, from the brief glimpse he got, was as attractive as the rest of her, which complicated things for him.

But he didn’t say anything. For a while, they just swam, racing each other. For the first time, he let someone else win, setting his competitive nature aside.

He only did it a couple of times, pretending to be annoyed at his loss. But it was out of character for him. Maybe he’d started going soft a long time ago—like when he let his brother win after years of sabotaging him.

He didn’t like that thought. Going soft meant getting old, and he wasn’t ready for that. Like most people, he wished wisdom could come without aging. But that rarely happened, and he was living proof.

He took comfort in the fact that he wasn’t exactly over the hill yet. His physical condition was still top-notch—enough to carry him through this swimming competition without leaving him winded.

After a couple of hours, they climbed out of the pool. He handed her a towel to dry off, and they lounged on the chaise longues, waiting for their skin to lose its prune-like texture.

“Damn, I forgot the drinks,” he muttered. “You thirsty?”

“Sure am. Aren’t you?”

“Dry as a bone,” he admitted. “I’ll go grab us something.”

“Strange that you don’t have people waiting on you hand and foot,” she noted.

She’d made a similar comment when he’d held the door open for her. Noah himself had never imagined he’d be okay without a constant entourage.

He’d been accustomed to it his whole life, but after walking away from it all, he discovered that habits can indeed be broken.

“Those days are behind me,” he said, rising from his seat.

“Really?”

“Yep. I splurged on a villa and there’s a lady who takes care of the place, but that’s it. I prefer peace and quiet over people poking around all the time.”

She looked at him, clearly surprised, but didn’t say anything. He quickly went to the kitchen, downed two glasses of water to quench his thirst, then grabbed a jug of water and a couple of glasses before heading back outside.

“You forgot the ice, but it’ll do,” she said after downing a glass of water.

“Yeah, I did,” he agreed. “I wanted it colder too, but I’m not getting up again. Once was enough.”

She chuckled and shook her head. They sat in silence for a bit, finishing off the water in the jug. It was much needed, considering the weather was relatively mild in this town.

The heat wasn’t as intense as back home. Some evenings even got a bit chilly, despite it being late July.

“What have you been up to since you left the company?” she asked, setting down her empty glass.

“Mostly traveling.” He shrugged. “When I realized how little of the world I’d actually seen, it hit me. I felt like I hadn’t really lived most of my life.”

“Who really does?” she mused.

“You feel the same?”

“Ask anyone and you’ll probably get the same answer,” she smiled. “Why do you think my parents decided to take a cruise? They never went anywhere their whole lives because they had to work, and we were young, and there were other expenses they had to cover.”

“Money wasn’t the problem for me. It was that stupid rivalry with my brother. I wanted so much to be like my dad that I lost sight of who I was.”

“Do you know who you are now?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

He wished he had a better answer for her, but he had to be honest.

“I’m not sure yet, but I know I can’t live my life pretending to be someone else or trying to be someone else, even if that someone was a man as admirable as my father.”

“Did you become like your father while you were working?”

“I became a poor imitation of him,” he scoffed. “Truth is, I had no knack for business.”

“You weren’t that bad when I worked for you,” she pointed out, and he smiled.

That was nice to hear. She was probably the only person who ever thought of him as a good boss. He told her as much, and she shook her head.

“You were a good boss to me because I didn’t put up with your crap.” She smirked.

“Maybe, but no. In my heyday, you would’ve been fired and replaced in a heartbeat. But by the time you came along, I’d already decided to leave. My days as CEO were numbered. I think that was the only time I really did my best at work because I tried to honor Ash’s approach to it.”

“You could’ve stayed, you know,” she said.

“No, I couldn’t.”

“Your ego couldn’t handle your brother being better suited for the job?” she scoffed.

“Partly, yes,” he admitted. “But the main thing was, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I knew I didn’t want to be there anymore.”

“So where do you want to be?” she asked.

“No idea,” he said, his voice slow and easy. “That’s why I’m always on the move. There’s just too much left to see.”

“You can’t keep moving forever, Noah.”

“I know. Just don’t ask me to decide right now.”

“Or what? You’ll uninvite me to lunch?” she joked.

“No, but you’ll definitely kill the vibe. I don’t want to talk or even think about the future—not yet.”

In that moment, he realized he’d been lying to himself when he said he’d make a decision by summer’s end. Sure, summer was far from over, but he hadn’t given a single thought to his next move. He just wasn’t ready.

“Isn’t that a bit immature?” she chided.

“I don’t care if it is. I just want to enjoy this summer.”

“And you chose this town to do it?” she scoffed.

“I thought it’d be more exciting.”

“It has its moments, but why not somewhere more glamorous?”

“I don’t know. I always go to places I’ve never been, and I’ve never been here. So, I thought, why not?”

“And out of all the places you’ve never been, you chose here?” she persisted, laughing.

“Yes, and right now, I’m glad I did, especially since I ran into you.”

He stood and extended his hand to her. “Lunch?” he asked.

“As long as you’re not the one cooking,” she teased, accepting his hand.

“I can cook, but not today,” he said with a wink, helping her up.

He let go and started walking inside. Keeping physical contact to a minimum seemed like a good idea for now, despite his less-than-innocent intentions.

“But what am I going to wear?” she asked, falling into step beside him. “My dress is still wet. I thought it would’ve dried by now.”

“Maybe you should hang it up somewhere. For now, I’ll lend you a bathrobe. And you can shower if you want—wash off the chlorine.”

“No, I’ll shower at home. But I will take that bathrobe. Walking around you in a bikini feels like I’m asking for trouble.”

“You’ll find it in the bathroom cabinet,” he said, choosing to ignore her last comment. “The bathroom on this floor is to your left. I’m going to shower in my room and I’ll meet you back here in fifteen minutes.”

“Okay, I’ll just snoop around until you get back.”

He shook his head and smiled. Normally, he wouldn’t let anyone snoop around his place, but this wasn’t really his home and he didn’t have any secrets to hide—especially not from Lillian. She’d figure them out anyway.

He bounded up the stairs and into his bedroom, heading straight for the bathroom to take a cold shower. He wasn’t aroused, although he easily could be with her; he just preferred cold water, even in winter. This habit had come in handy in places where hot water was a luxury.

Maybe he should write a book about his travels someday. Not that there weren’t already books like that, but one more wouldn’t hurt. The only thing holding him back was the uncertainty of whether the time spent writing would translate into money. He wouldn’t do it just for the fun of it.

When he returned downstairs, feeling refreshed, he found her in the kitchen.

“Playing housewife already?” he teased.

“In your dreams!” she retorted.

“Actually, I’d rather not,” he said, moving closer to her.

“Your wife wasn’t good at it?”

“My ex-wife had servants at her beck and call long before we got married. She was born into money, like me. I doubt she ever cooked, at least not while we were married.”

“She was that type,” Lillian said, rolling her eyes.

“No, she wasn’t. I was. And I bet her parents would’ve had a heart attack if they saw her in the kitchen. To be honest, I have no idea how Dorothy spent her days. I didn’t care. I barely spoke two words to her every time I came home.”

“I figured you were a lousy husband,” she said, chuckling and stepping away. “What about that lunch you promised?”

“We’ll have it.”

“Will we? Because so far, we’ve only talked about it, and from my snooping, I didn’t find anything.”

“Are you hungry?”

“I’m starting to be.”

“We’re standing in the kitchen,” he said, his voice low and slow as he bridged the gap between them. “We could lay out the food and have a meal.”

“I’m not sure that’s possible, given the way you’re looking at me.”

“You think I don’t look famished enough?”

“Well, you certainly do, but I’d rather we focus on the real food,” she replied. “You should show me where it is.”

That was his signal to take a step back again.