Page 5 (1/2)

But in only a handful ofat a wonized his et his rationally?

His phone buzzed with an inco in about being late But that wasn’t what the e said

I found her

Hallelujah! Noah wanted to cheer and pump his fist in the air

Where is she?

Rafe’s answer came a beat later

In the bar

Noah blinked at the words once, twice, three ti them At which point he stood up so fast he knocked his drink over But he didn’t stop to right it, not when he was too busy scanning every face in the roo onto his shoes

And then he saw her She was standing at the bar with a friend A friend as pointing straight at him

My God, he thought, just as he had on the mountaintop in Lake Tahoe, she really is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen

And so damn sweet, fro at her

Noah wasn’t the kind of guy who had a bunch of checkboxes he was trying to fill Ideas came when it was their time, business flohen it was meant to be, and he’d always knoife and a family would come, too, when they should

Now He wanted her now

He h the croard her and she stood and stared at hi and hearing his naeous lips had him instantly as aroused as he had ever been But it wasn’t just his body responding to her This time he was all in, heart and soul

He’d learned his lesson in Lake Tahoe, kne bad it had been to lose her once

He wouldn’t lose her again

"Colbie" Her name was a caress on his lips as he smiled down at her beautifully expressive face "I’ve been thinking about you all week And now--" He couldn’t stop hi his knuckles across the soft skin of her lightly flushed cheek "--here you are My very oish coht about you, too" She looked away for a h she was e in the hts of the year, but all he saas Colbie, and all he heard were her quickening breaths as the crowd jostled them into each other’s arain, Noah"

He was hard pressed to pull his gaze away fronized her friend "Mia Sullivan?"

"I’rin "I’m not fifteen anymore, but you’re clearly taken, so I’ll catch up with both of you later Oh, and Rafe says to tell both of you this one is on the house" Her eyes sparkled with mischief "Have fun, you two" A moment later, she’d disappeared into the crowd and he was alone again with Colbie

"You know Rafe?" she asked

"He was e," Noah explained "And you--"

"--practically grew up in the Sullivan house"

"I asked him to look for you," he told her

"So did I," she admitted

He shook his head "I don’t understand Why did you leave me in Lake Tahoe without any way to find you?"

She looked uncertain for a long moment Finally, she ads you were h we’d justa deal it was for her to admit that to hi to trust him At least, a little bit

"Tell s you’re ht now," she said in a soft voice that he had to lean closer to hear Her scent wrapped around hiain, drew him in even further He wanted to breathe her in everywhere, wanted to knohat her skin tasted like in all those sa to beat out ofhonest with him, but at the same time, he could tell she was still cautious Still nervous about being with him He wanted not only to know all of her secret desires, her secret pleasures…he wanted to know the secret to her heart

"Don’t run again, Colbie" He s us a second tiht in his throat Beautiful didn’t even begin to describe the wo didn’t cut it, either

She was perfect