He sat down hard on the ground and put his head in his hands. He wanted to scream and rage for what had been done to her, but that was all in the past. There was nothing that he could do about it. All he could think about was now, and the future. He wanted to protect and take care of her.
He lay down and stared up at the ceiling fan that circled around. She was so strong and he understood her better now. Some people may think that her moving across country was running away. He could see now that the house her grandmother had given her at the ocean was a huge part of her healing process. Finding herself. Rebuilding. The old ladies that were her grandmother’s friends were a way to stay connected to people. She loved to help people. Even Sam and Martha. She chose who her friends were. Who she spent time with. She had taken back control of her life.
Looking back, he was surprised she hadn’t run away from him with how strong he’d come on. Always the cocky rock star. Shaking his head he thanked his lucky stars she’d seen through him. Rubbing his hand over his heart he didn’t want to think about his life without her.
CHAPTE
R TEN
Lexi smiled to herself as she stretched in bed. She felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders after having told Noah what had happened to her. And his reaction, it was perfect. He didn’t make her feel damaged.
They’d spent the rest of the day, while the storm raged outside, playing board games and pool. She laughed to herself at how he had thought he’d run the table on her, but she had shown him by winning three games in a row. After a dinner, when he’d walked her home, he’d held her so tight and kissed her forehead.
She gave herself another minute or two, thinking how wonderful it was to spend time with him, before jumping out of bed to get ready to go to the senior center. The storm had ended a little before ten the night before and there was sure to be damage at home and the senior center. Noah had offered to help clean up at the center since there was so much damage. She was a little worried about the ladies meeting him. No telling what would come out of their mouths or what they would do. But if he was going to be a friend, then he’d have to get used to them.
Downstairs, she looked out over the ocean. It was so calm, such a change from the day before. That’s what she loved so much about living by the ocean, it could change at any minute.
She was enjoying her third cup of coffee, sitting on the porch swing, when Noah walked up the stairs and sat down next to her. It seemed that the storm and her opening up to Noah had cleared the air between them.
“Good morning, beautiful lady. You ready?” He reached over and took a sip of her coffee.
There was nothing like his smile to perk her up. “Yep, I’ve got my work clothes on and a couple pairs of gloves.” She got up and walked into the house with Noah behind her. “Are you sure you’re ready? This isn’t like prancing around on a stage.” She turned her back to him so that he couldn’t see the twinkle in her eyes.
Suddenly she was grabbed from behind and pulled tightly against Noah’s front. He growled in her ear, “Prancing? Did you just say I prance around the stage? How do you even know what I look like on stage?” He started to flex his fingers on her waist, tickling her.
Laughing, she said, “Noah, stop. Hello, videos? Okay, okay, you don’t prance. Much.”
“Oh, now you’re going to get it.” He growled deep in his throat. Lexi closed her eyes, enjoying the maleness of the sound. He lifted her up and allowed the whickers on his chin to graze the side of her neck. She started squirming more, laughing harder.
Pepper started barking at them, obviously wanting in on the fun. Trying to catch her breath and stop laughing, Lexi said, “Pepper, it’s… okay… stop… barking.” Pepper jumped up on them knocking them to the ground. When Noah landed partially on top of Lexi, they went from laughing to serious in a heartbeat.
Noah brought his hand up and caressed the side of Lexi’s face. She closed her eyes and tipped her head into the palm of his hand. “Your beauty takes my breath away.”
She slowly opened her eyes to look at him. “Noah, everything seems to be happening so fast. On one hand, we’ve only known each other for a short time, but on the other it feels like I’ve known you for years. I don’t know where this is going, but you should know I’m not going to rush into anything, no matter how much my body is screaming to take you right here.” She smiled and ran her hands over his chest.