49

I felt like a fish out of water. I had no idea what he thought, and I had no idea why it bothered me so much. I wasn’t like this with other men. I was confident in my appearance and my abilities. With Noah, I was the complete opposite. I kept stumbling over words and my face felt like a wildfire - out of control and a burning red.
We were both more relaxed as time passed. I asked to look at the rest of the house. Noah had mentioned that he might want the house as a whole redecorated.
“What makes you want to change the whole house? I think it looks nice,” I said as I gestured to the happily cluttered living area.
“Too many memories here. My wife passed a few years ago and she chose everything in the house.”
I nodded and hugged my arms to my chest. That explained why I’d yet to meet his wife, though he still wore his wedding ring. “I’m sorry to hear that and I completely understand. Would you mind if I looked around the rest of the house? My main focus will be on Tess’s room, but I could come up with some concept boards for different rooms.”
“That’s alright by me.” His responses were fairly even throughout our conversations with little emotion shown. I wasn’t sure if he was just a normally guarded person, or if I somehow made him uncomfortable.
He got up first and offered me his hand. For a beat, I stared at the hand in confusion. When it finally clicked what he was doing, I gladly took it.
If I had been in some romance novel, I would have said there was a spark between us when our hands met. I rationalized the sudden weight in my belly as lack of food and the shock from our hands as static. But it didn’t feel like static. It wasn’t the sudden, sharp jolt you get when shocked. It felt warmer, like some force joined our hands together.
Noah pulled up from the couch with more force than he needed. I stumbled over my feet and accidentally slammed into his chest. He didn’t seem to be fazed by my body slam and stood firm like an old oak tree.
The flush that had faded a tiny bit came back full force.
Noah steadied me with his hands on my hips, and I thought I could die right then. I was a tall woman, but I still had to look up to make eye contact with him. Just like I was now. My hands were pressed firmly on his pecs, and they felt like stone beneath my palms.
My mouth fought between losing all moisture and salivating.
“I—Thank you for catching me.” My voice was embarrassingly breathy. I couldn’t wrap my mind around what was happening to me. I wasn’t this type of woman. I didn’t lose all composure over a hot guy, especially not a client.
Noah was silent for a moment as he stared down at me. Heat continued to climb up my neck, and I felt like my brain might fry.
“Not a problem.”
I don’t know if I was just imagining it, but our faces seemed to move closer. I looked at Noah with wide eyes and felt like I could fall into his. His unexplainable green eyes were hungry.
Before I was consumed, before anything happened, Tess threw the front door open and bounded into the room. Noah and I whipped our heads around to look at the young girl. We took a few steps back from one another and avoided eye contact. Tess didn’t seem to notice anything out of place and rushed to give her dad a hug.
She also gave me a quick hug. I smiled down at her and returned the hug.
“How was your study group?” Noah signed as he spoke, and though his fingers moved expertly, they were a little slower than they’d been in the store. I understood that he was doing this for my benefit, to include me in the conversation, and I appreciated it.
Tess beamed. She signed and Noah translated. “It was really good!” She bounced over to her father and took his large hands in her small ones and squeezed before dropping them
to sign. He didn’t say her words out loud, so I waited patiently.
“She wants to know if you can stay for dinner so she can hear all about your plans for her room?” he asked, shifting his weight from foot to foot in a sign of discomfort.
I found it incredibly sweet that he would do just about anything for his daughter even if it made him uncomfortable. “Sure. If it’s alright with you, I can stay.”
“What would you like to eat?” he asked gru½y, looking from me to Tess.
I shrugged and offered a smile. “I’m good with just about anything.”
Tess was vibrating with a ton of energy, and Noah spoke out loud for my benefit. “Can we get takeout?”
“What type?” “Sushi!”
“Sushi?” I asked. “I’ve never actually had sushi before.”
Noah translated my words with his hands. Tess gasped and threw her hands over her mouth in disbelief.
“How have you not had sushi?”
I chuckled and shook my head. “My parents were never big fish eaters. They’d rather have poultry or pork. My mom wasn’t a huge fan of beef either.”
She quirked her head to the side and gazed at me with wide green eyes. She signed, Noah spoke aloud. “Would you like to try sushi?”
“I’m always willing to try something once.”
I glanced at Noah, who watched us with a strange intensity. It was strange to suddenly realize that he was a spectator to this whole conversation. I was conscious of the fact that I’d been talking to Tess even though Noah had been representing both of our voices. How long had it actually been since he’d said anything?
I waited for him to voice his opinion about the sushi, lifting my eyebrow at him in question.
“Sushi is fine by me. We can get a variety for you to try.”
“Sure, that sounds great.” I looked between Tess and Noah. The man seemed more relaxed with Tess here, which I thought was incredibly sweet. His daughter made him into a softy. Tess continued to smile and took my hand. She guided me to the kitchen where I saw a cork board covered with takeout menus.
“How do you find everything?” I asked in regard to the board.
“We only find the menus we’re looking for half the time,” Noah answered me.
We were able to actually find the menu, and Tess spouted off her order with ease. Noah smiled at her antics and told her to wait.
I sat down at the island bar and scrutinized the menu. I hadn’t eaten much fish in my life. I’d sometimes get a fish fry or have a tuna melt. Other than those I didn’t have much exposure. I hadn’t noticed that Noah walked over to me until I saw him out of the corner of my eye. I jolted at the sudden closeness and waited for him to do something. I felt as if I was walking on eggshells around him
“Do you have any idea what you might want to eat?”
I felt his breath on my neck and could feel the baby hairs there stand on edge. “Oh… um… I guess something basic? I don’t want you to waste your money on me.”
“Food isn’t a waste of money.”
“It is when it’s not eaten,” I retorted.
Noah leaned back and gave an absentminded nod. “I guess that’s true, but Tess would never see any food be wasted. She’ll eat just about anything.”
“That must be nice.” I had laughter in my voice. “Most parents have to deal with picky devils.”
“Most yes, but not me.”
Noah ordered our sushi and told Tess and me there would be around a thirty-minute wait. Tess groaned aloud and dramatically clutched her stomach. The three of us walked back up to her bedroom. She had begged me to tell her my thoughts about what to do with her room.
I explained my desire to make a table the center of the room where she would spend most of her time. We would get rid of her desk and replace it with the table so she could have group study sessions at the house and be tucked away in her room. I also wanted to get her a new, full-sized bed and new frame, one with the storage compartments built in. I explained about the walls, the curtains, the bedding, so she could get a clear picture.
Before Tess came home, Noah told me that I could do anything to her room as long as she liked it. I didn’t need to worry about a budget. I could only imagine what his job was if he had that much expendable cash lying around.
Tess jumped in place as she looked around her room. I imagined she was picturing the finished product. She signed something to her father, who laughed and looked at me. “She’s excited,” he said.
“I’m glad you like my ideas so far. When I get home, I can make a concept board so you can actually see my ideas.”
“My room is gonna be so awesome!” Noah translated.
During the thirty minutes we had to wait for the food, I spoke more to Tess about what she’d like in her room. Overall, it was a pleasant experience, except for the fact that I could feel Noah’s eyes on us. Even when the food arrived, his eyes bore into me.
Maybe it was all my imagination. Maybe it wasn’t. But I could feel a tension forming between us. I ignored it to the best of my ability with Tess as a buffer between the two of us.
Noah didn’t participate too much in the small talk over dinner. He asked me what I thought of the sushi, which was called a California roll and was apparently one of the usual beginner rolls for first-time sushi eaters.
I enjoyed the sushi and told them so. Tess insisted I try some of her rolls, which were very good as well, and I thanked her for opening my tastes to something new.
Different topics were tossed around during dinner, and I tried to ignore the burning green gaze two seats away from me. I was proud of myself for not squirming under his stare.
Tess was oblivious to any of the tension between Noah and myself, for which I was grateful. I didn’t want to explain what happened, because I didn’t know myself. I was also grateful that dinner didn’t last too long. I arrived around
four-thirty and had been at their home for a couple of hours. I didn’t want to walk all the way home at nine or ten.
Maybe I could convince Sara to pick me up. If I did, she would badger me for details. I sighed through my nose and finished what was left on my plate.
“Thank you both for having me.” I pushed my plate back and hopped out of my chair. “I really do appreciate this, but I need to head home. I don’t want to walk home super late.”
“You walked here?” Noah asked, seeming shocked. “I don’t have a car,” I said with a shrug.
Noah rested his elbows on the table and frowned. “You shouldn’t walk home so late.”
I gulped and had a sudden fear that he would offer to drive me home.
“Let me give you money for a cab. I wouldn’t feel right if you walked home in the dark.”
“No, that’s not necessary. I’ll be fine, I promise. I have pepper spray and am always very aware of my surroundings.”
He hesitated. “I still don’t like the idea of it. Here, let me drive you.”
I tried to protest, but Tess jumped up and grabbed my hand, leading me toward the garage.
The ride home was awkward, especially since it was completely silent. Tess and Noah couldn’t really converse with her in the back seat while he was driving. When he pulled up in front of my building, I nearly jumped out of the car before it came to a stop.
“Thank you for the ride and for dinner.”
“Of course,” Noah replied. Tess jumped in the front seat in my place before signing to her father. “She says she can’t wait to see what you come up with.”
“I’ll get in contact with you when I finish the concept board, ok?” I directed that more toward Tess than her father.
Tess signed something, then slowed down so I could see and copy the gesture. “It means okay,” Noah clarified.
I grinned and signed okay back. Tess gave me one more hug before I closed the car door and they drove off into the night.