59

C H A P T E R 1 6
J E N N A
I felt like I was going to drop everything I was carrying as I climbed the steps to Noah’s front door. I hadn’t seen him since the night we’d spent together, and the idea of confronting him now was terrifying. But I had to do it. This wasn’t about my personal feelings; it was about my job.
Noah wasn’t some man I’d slept with; he was just a client who’d contracted me to redesign his daughter’s bedroom.
And I had to complete my work.
Shifting the heavy brass lamp I held from one hand to the other, I gathered my courage and spoke with the doorman, who called up and let me in. I rode the elevator up, wishing I could use the stairs, and knocked on the door when the elevator set me free.
From inside the house I heard a pounding of feet on hardwood. Tess flung open the door. The Clarks had a flashing light in the house that functioned as a doorbell, so Tess would always know when it was going off. Just like any other kid, she seemed to take great pleasure in running to open the door.
She lit up when she saw it was me, and her hands began flying a mile a minute. “Hang on,” I said, holding up my free
hand. I set the bags I was carrying and the brass lamp on the floor and ran my right fingertips slowly along the back of my left arm, the sign for slow down that Noah had taught me.
Sorry, she said. She thought a minute and then signed, happy.
Same. I would need to work on my sign language if I wanted to be able to talk to her more than just a few words here and there. Although, what was I thinking? We weren’t going to be spending time together. This was the last of the stuff for her room. I would be done after today.
Unless …
“Hey, you’re here.”
Noah strode into the room, and I practically drooled. But his smile was strange, sort of distant, and I immediately felt uncomfortable. How was I supposed to talk to him after what had happened between us? How were we supposed to be normal for Tess?
He picked up the vibe immediately, and the smile fell from his face. For the first time, the tension in the room between the two of us wasn’t of a sexual nature. I just wanted to get done and get out of there.
Oh no you don’t, Sara’s voice said in my head. You’re supposed to ask him out, remember? Get on the horse and do it already.
I waved a hand at the bags on the floor. “I brought the rest of the things for Tess’s room.”
Noah signed to her as I spoke, translating, and she jumped in the air happily and signed back. “She wants to know if she can see.”
“Let’s go to her room,” I said. “Then we’ll take everything out and put it where it goes.” I picked up the heavy lamp.
“Let me take that.” Noah lifted it out of my arms. For a moment, our arms were in contact. He froze for the space of a breath, his arm pressed against mine, and all the sexual energy charged to the forefront. It was still there, all right.
Ask him out! Do it now!
But the moment passed. I followed him up the stairs, my hands empty since Tess had taken my bag and Noah had the lamp. When I reached the bedroom, Tess was already spreading her new things out on her bed. She jumped to her feet, faced me, and made a sign I didn’t recognize. I turned to Noah, a question in my expression.
“Beautiful,” he translated quietly.
I swallowed hard and turned my attention to Tess. One by one, we picked up new items from her bed and placed them around the room. A framed piece of art hung on the wall. A furry pillow went in her papasan chair. Glass bookends lined her shelves, holding her books in place.
When everything had found its new home, Tess stood in the center of her room and looked around carefully. Finally, she turned to face me, a brilliant smile on her face. Beautiful, she signed again. Thank you.
“How do I say you’re welcome?” I asked Noah.
He traced a curve with his hand, like a letter C facing his own torso. I mimicked the gesture, and Tess grinned.
“Well,” he announced, looking around the finished room. “I guess that’s it, then, right?”
“I guess so,” I agreed. Crap. I needed to get my nerve together and ask him out, or else I would lose my chance.
Noah turned to Tess. “Tell Jenna goodbye,” he said, signing as he spoke.
Tess’s lower lip quivered. She signed something back, looking at him with a plaintive expression that needed no translation. She doesn’t want to say goodbye, I realized, feeling a rush of warmth toward the little girl.
“Yes, you do have to,” Noah said firmly. “Jenna’s leaving now, and if you don’t say goodbye to her, you won’t get another chance. You don’t want that, do you?”
Tess shook her head sadly, turned to me, and gave me a hug. I hugged her back. Then I summoned my courage and looked up at Noah. “Maybe it doesn’t have to be goodbye forever,” I murmured.
He frowned. “What do you mean?” he asked. “The room is finished, isn’t it? And I haven’t made any decisions on the rest of the house yet.”
“Well, I just…” God, I was nervous.
“Because it looks really good,” he said quickly. “I really don’t think anything else needs to be done.”
Was it my imagination, or was he trying to get me out of there?
I took a deep breath. “Would you like to meet me for dinner tomorrow night? Now that we’re done with the room, you’re not my client anymore.”
He bit his lip and looked away.
My heart sank. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized how much I’d been counting on a quick and eager yes. After all, he’d been the one to initiate the wonderful experience at the hotel. He’d held me close and danced with me. He’d invited me into his room. He’d given me the best sex of my life. Surely that had meant something...hadn’t it?
Apparently not.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Noah said, not meeting my eye.
I wanted to sink into the floor and die. What had I been thinking? Okay, so Noah had basically seduced a willing me while we were at the wedding—but he’d been carried away by the atmosphere. Of course he had. Even Sara had said that people hooked up all the time at weddings. How could I have thought something real was there? I must have been out of my mind. It was a one-night stand, for God’s sake, and there I was asking the man out in front of his daughter.
Fortunately, Tess didn’t seem to realize what had transpired. She was looking from one of us to the other, clearly awaiting an explanation for why we were suddenly so awkward.
“You’re right,” I said. “I should get going.” “Jenna, wait a minute—”
“You can just pay me by PayPal. My email address is on my business card.” Ordinarily I’d insist on a check from a first- time client, or at least wait in their house until they’d transmitted the payment, but I just wanted to get out of there. I instinctively knew that Noah wouldn’t stiff me.
“Hang on,” he said. “It isn’t like that.”
But I couldn’t stand there and listen to him trying to let me down easy. I was humiliated. “It was really good to meet you both,” I announced and hurried out the front door to the elevator.
Sitting on the subway, my head began to clear. My humiliation faded somewhat. I hadn’t been crazy to ask Noah out, really. It had been a fair question given what had happened between us and given that our reasons for keeping emotion out of our relationship no longer existed. On my end they didn’t. I’d been staying away from him because he was a client. I’d assumed that was why he’d wanted a professional relationship as well. But could he have had another reason?
Maybe it was about Tess. Maybe he was hesitant about bringing a woman into her life.
That would make sense, I realized belatedly. He did seem like a really good, involved father. Tess was at a di cult age, and I knew she was having trouble. He probably wanted to keep all his attention on her and her needs. She shouldn’t have to worry about her father dating right now. I’d been thoughtless.
Besides, did I really want to start seeing Noah? Now that I thought about it, Sara had pushed me to ask the guy out in the first place. I’d had reservations. I didn’t want to get into a relationship right now. I’d been hurt before by rushing into things, and I wouldn’t make that mistake again, which was why I’d left the hotel room early in the morning, before he’d woken up.
Would I have wanted to go on a date with someone who had ditched me after a night of sex? I didn’t think so. Really, it was for the best that it wasn’t going to happen. By the time
the subway reached my stop and I got off, I had myself fully convinced.
When I reached my own front door, my nerves had settled. I pulled out my key and had it in the lock before I noticed the folded piece of paper taped to my door. Was it from the landlord? I pulled it down and opened it.
Written inside in block letters were two words: FOUND YOU. What the hell?
Who would leave something like this here? What could they possibly want? I went downstairs to the lobby of my building and approached the woman who sat at the desk there.
“Excuse me,” I said. She put down the book she was reading, irritation written on her face. “I found a note on my door,” I plowed on regardless. “Did you see someone go upstairs? Someone who doesn’t live in the building?”
She eyed me. “Jenna Robertson, right?” “Yeah, that’s right.”
“A guy was here looking for you.” “A guy? What guy?”
“He said he was the son of one of your clients.” She shrugged like it wasn’t very important. “He was upstairs for a few minutes, and then he came back down.”
“What did he look like?”
“I don’t know,” she grouched. “He was a guy. Regular height. Brown hair.” She picked her book up rather pointedly and buried her nose in it once again.
Feeling numb, I went back upstairs. Josh. That spoiled little prick had been at my apartment.
And what had he meant by he found me? My address was listed. It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to look me up. But what had he wanted? If it was to apologize, why not just call? Or better yet, just leave me the hell alone? No, I had the feeling the note was meant to frighten me, which creeped me out. I didn’t want to be alone.
I didn’t even want to go into my apartment by myself. I leaned against the hallway wall, pulled out my phone, found Sara’s number, and hit call.
“Hello?”
“Sara?” I felt like I was about to cry.
She heard the emotion in my voice. “Jenna? What’s wrong?” “Can you come over?”
She didn’t wait for an explanation. I’d known she wouldn’t need one. “I’m on my way,” she said, and hung up.