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After a full day, I couldn’t wait to get home. I was exhausted. I’d taken the rest of my vacation time from Richards and spent the last two weeks home, binging on daytime television and sleeping late. It was a rarity for me since I usually worked twelve-hour days, coming through the door after 8:00 PM to the wonderful smell of whatever Noah had prepared for dinner.
He was a fantastic cook, courtesy of the Wilton’s personal chef, Davida, who taught him from an early age. I hoped tonight would be no different. Sometimes Noah worked late, and I didn’t see him until well after midnight. However, tonight I was greeted with the aroma of homemade tomato sauce as I opened the door to our loft.
Noah was standing at the six-burner gas stove in a pristine white apron emblazoned with a cursive script that read “Kiss the Cook,” which is precisely what I did. He took me in his muscular arms and hugged me, kissing my lips. I buried my face in his chest, inhaling his scent.
“How was your first day?” he asked.
I began to chew on the corner of my lip, causing Noah to frown.
“Lexi?”
“It was fine.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Please don’t be angry when I tell you.”
Noah switched off the burner and put the pot cover on the sauce.
“Why would I be angry?”
“JC Lawson is my boss.”
I watched Noah’s face change from worry to amusement.
“Why would I be angry? You were engaged to him, and now you’re engaged to me. I don’t consider JC to be competition. Anyway, isn’t he married?”
“Yes, he is. I didn’t want you to be upset.”
“I’m not upset, but you seem to be.”
“I was just surprised when I saw his name. I was so stupid not to pay attention to what they told me when I went to fill out the paperwork in the HR department last week.”
Noah chuckled, lifting the cover on the pot of water on the back burner. “JC is your past. I’m your present and future. I don’t want to talk about your ex-fiancé. I want to have dinner with my fiancée. Go change. Pasta should be ready in twenty minutes.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as I headed for the bedroom. A couple of years ago, Noah had purchased the loft and converted it into rooms, two bedrooms, a private office, two bathrooms, a large gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliances, and plenty of windows for natural light.
Noah was everything a woman could ask for, intelligent, handsome, caring, a great cook, and handy with power tools. So why couldn’t I get JC out of my head?
Chapter 2
After dinner, I cleaned the kitchen since Noah did the cooking. I tried to keep my mind off JC, but it kept drifting there. I was glad Noah retired to his office because my face was red with heat as I scrubbed the dishes in the sink. After, I sat curled up in my favorite wingback chair by the floor to ceiling windows, reading. I must have fallen asleep because I woke up in Noah’s arms as he carried me to our bedroom.
“What time is it?” I mumbled, wiping the sleep out of my eyes.
“After nine. Your day must have been busy since you rarely fall asleep before midnight.”
“I think all that sleeping for the last two weeks got me out of routine. I didn’t sleep well last night either. I was nervous about today.”
“You should go to bed early tonight. Your next day of sleeping late won’t be until Saturday.”
Noah sat me down on the king-sized bed and went to the master bath to brush his teeth. I changed into my powder-blue nightgown and slipped under the sheets before Noah got back. I think I was asleep when he came to bed because I don’t remember him sliding in next to me.
My eyes popped open at 2:23 AM with the ringing of Noah’s cell. I heard him talking in hushed tones, but I caught part of his conversation. One of his employees had broken his leg on an excursion with the client. I was crossing my fingers Noah wouldn’t have to be the replacement. After he got off the phone, he turned to me.
“Are you awake?”
I opened my light brown eyes to his sapphire blue ones looking at me.
