“Yeah. I guess so.”
Nick opened the door and grabbed Noel’s shirt off the knob. He waved it in front of him wickedly. “Or, I could stick around.”
Noel took the shirt from him with a yank. “And have your mother come back here screaming again? No thank you! I don’t know how I’m going to look her in the eye as is.”
“I promise, she doesn’t suspect a thing.” Nick snaked his arm around her and kissed her one more time, his lips barely grazing hers.
He released her with a whispered, “I’ll see you out there.”
Noel’s eyelashes fluttered, her dark eyes heavy.
“NICHOLAS!”
Nick turned away from Noel, a smug smile tugging at his lips. Noel could deny their attraction, but the way she returned his kiss told him all he needed to know.
Chapter 14
NOEL
Noel stood off to the side, watching Nick and his dad pose for a father-son shot, standing back to back with their arms crossed over their chest. They’d already done an all-girls pose with Victoria in the center surrounded by Merry, Holly, and Noel. She’d tried to stay out of it, but Victoria insisted.
The photographer positioned them in front of rows of snow-covered Douglas firs as a backdrop and Noel imagined it would make a beautiful contrast with the light blue of their outfits.
Nick grinned into the camera as his dad wrapped an arm around his shoulders and Noel’s heart fluttered when his eyes darted toward her. Her lips still throbbed, remembering his passionate onslaught. From the minute she’d turned around and discovered him naked save for that butter yellow towel around his waist, her skin ran hot with awareness. She’d trailed her eyes along the muscles of his shoulders and back down to the firm globes of his ass. When he’d turned with his pants on and she’d gotten a good look at his rippling abs, she’d nearly drooled. She’d never understood what the term “heated gaze” meant until she met his and it radiated through her like a laser beam.
Then that kiss, whew. Their first kiss left her warm and dreamy but when Nick dropped his mouth to hers, shirtless, in the middle of his bedroom, she’d nearly combusted. A small part of her brain screamed to pull away, to stop and think about what they were doing, but then he’d pressed harder, urgently, and all rational thought went out the window.
Even now, she should be planning on what she would say to him. How they needed to stop this, whatever they were doing. It was getting out of hand.
But as he crossed over the dirt, his long legs eating up the space between them, she had to hold onto the closest tree when her knees buckled.
Weak in the knees?! What was happening to her?
“Enjoying the show?”
“Sure, except when I have to be a part of it.”
“Come on,” Nick said, putting his hand above hers on the tree trunk and leaning in. “You really hate being involved in all this fun?”
No, she didn’t. She’d been happy to smile with Holly and Merry to please Victoria.
“I’m not really someone who poses on cue. With the exception of now and our senior year, I’ve only ever taken family pictures with my parents.”
Nick bent his head, his forehead touching hers and she closed her eyes. He didn’t say anything, but that simple touch radiated a unique understanding she’d only ever shared with him.
“Come on you two! We wanna do a group shot and then you’re free!” Chris hollered.
Noel opened her eyes, smiling ruefully. “I think your dad is enjoying this more than your mom.”
“Probably. He won’t admit it, but he’s a sentimental guy.”
“I’ve known that for years.”
Nick’s hand rested against the small of her back, a firm but gentle guide across the uneven ground.
The photographer, Bonnie Rickets, looked up from behind her camera and waved her hand. “All right, Chris and Victoria, you’ll be in the middle facing each other but turned out enough to look at the camera. Noel, you’ll come in beside Victoria and then Nick beside you. Chris, Holly, and Merry, same thing on the other side. Let’s see it.”
They lined up as she instructed. Noel looped an arm through Victoria’s crooked elbow, squeezing it gently when the older woman smiled back at her and patted her hand. Nick’s left hand rested on her hip, stepping close behind her. Bonnie arranged them into the most flattering position, then counted down from three and they all smiled. The camera flashed several times.
“You know, I should have switched places with Merry. Pretty sure this is my bad side,” Nick whispered in her ear.