“No, it’s not.” Madison laughed and when she eased up and gave Jason a light kiss on the lips, his eyes widened as if surprised at her public show of affection. He seemed so pleased that Olivia’s heart did an internal tap dance. When Madison glanced her way, Olivia gave her a slight I-was-right nod.
Madison rolled her eyes skyward, but it occurred to Olivia that Madison was starting to believe the theme threaded throughout her beautifully written play. Rich or poor, young or old, city bred or country born, there was still just one thing that really mattered at the end of each day.
Love.
As if reading Olivia’s thoughts, the young playwright smiled, but then in true Madison form, she said, “Are we going to stand here all day or get some ice cream?”
“I was thinking about standing here all day.” Jason casually glanced down at his fingernails and was rewarded with a jab to his side from Madison. “Do you have to keep doin’ that? I’ve got bruises every damned where.” He made a show of wincing while rubbing his ribs.
“I was simply thinking of Noah, who is dying for his dip top. Am I right, Noah?”
“You are correct,” Noah agreed and put his hands up in surrender.
“See, I’m good that way.” Madison angled her head at Jason, who in turn tweaked her wrinkled-up nose.
Noah reached over and took Olivia’s hand, causing a warm thrill to snake down her spine. All it took was one look, one touch, and he simply made her melt. She smiled at him and gave his hand a good squeeze. Madison’s play truly was spot on. Unable to be bought, sold, or bartered, love remained the most highly sought-after and valuable possession. Olivia recalled Myra’s advice about not letting love slip through her fingers and stole a glance beneath her eyelashes at Noah. Perhaps it wasn’t just pure chance that had brought Noah Falcon back to Cricket Creek but something that was meant to be? Her heart hammered at the thought.
Chances, Olivia realized, were nothing if not taken. And that meant that she was going to have to put her heart on the line if she wanted a future with Noah. But did she have the courage to do it?
Knowing that her emotions tended to be written all over her face, Olivia turned and walked up to the window at the Dairy Hut. After clearing her throat, she jammed her thumb over her shoulder, “Hey there, Big Joe. Ice cream for these guys is on me.”
“In that case make mine a large,” Noah said from behind Olivia.
“Noah Falcon!” Big Joe, who was actually small in stature, shoved his hand through the open window and grinned. “Last time I saw you standing at this here window you were in a Cricket Creek uniform.” He shook his head. “Man alive, those were some glory days. Three state championships in a row. Golly!”
“Sure were some fun times.” Noah shook Big Joe’s hand. “The roster looks strong this year. The team has some depth.”
“Yeah, well, the boys sure are pumped about you helpin’ out. Heard you’re building dugouts too. Mighty nice of you, Noah.”
“No big deal. This town’s always been behind me. I’m glad to give a little back,” he said modestly.
“All the same, it’s great to have you back here.” He turned away for a second and then handed Noah a blue Slush Puppie.
“A Cricket Creek blue Slush Puppie after every win. You remembered.” Noah grinned as he accepted the cold cup.
“Noah, you gave this town lots of memories.” Big Joe winked at Olivia. “Most of them good.”
“Some of them legend,” Jason said and then backed away from Madison’s elbow.
“Oh, come on, I had to raise a little hell,” Noah protested and then took a long slurp of his Slush Puppie. He backed away so the rest of them could order.
“I’ll have a small vanilla-chocolate swirl with chocolate sprinkles,” Olivia said. It occurred to her once again that Noah wasn’t quite the cocky superstar that she had thought him to be, and without thinking she reached up and patted his back. He seemed surprised at her spontaneous gesture, but then smiled with what appeared to be a bit of emotion. While Madison and Jason ordered, he offered her a swig of his drink and she accepted, thinking that it felt like a very couplelike thing to do. She was getting used to him being around and determinedly pushed the fear of him leaving out of her mind. For now the spring sliding into summer seemed endless, and she refused to ruin what felt like a rare perfect night.
“Your tongue is blue,” Olivia observed with a giggle.
“Correction—Cricket Creek blue. Let me see yours.”
“Oh, like I’m falling for that old trick,” Olivia replied and clamped her mouth shut.
“Fall for what?” Jason asked after swallowing a bite of hot fudge sundae. “You need me to kick some Noah Falcon butt, Teach?”
“Like you can,” Noah countered in a tough-guy voice that was hard to take seriously while he licked a dip top. “Damn, lost a piece of chocolate. My dip-top skills need some polishing.”
“What did he want to see?” Madison asked.
“My tongue.”
“Oh, baby.” She gave Noah an arched eyebrow. “You’ve still got some game.”
“Right, I know . . . for an old dude. I keep getting that.”
Madison laughed. “Well, you’ve got an ice-cream cone in one hand and a Slush Puppie in the other. I think you’re an overgrown kid.”
Noah stuck his tongue out at her.
“Eew, with a blue tongue,” Madison observed.
“Cricket Creek blue,” Olivia corrected.
Madison shook her head. “You people are just weird.”
“Isn’t she just the sweetest thing?” Jason asked drily.
“Thank you, Jason,” Madison said in a singsong voice and blew him a kiss.
Olivia laughed, then licked a creamy drip from her cone. When she looked up, Noah’s eyes were on her and her heart skipped a beat.
11
The Only Game in Town
N
oah was right. Watching Olivia consume an ice-cream cone sent his pulse racing. It wasn’t just the sensual act of licking the vanilla swirl but rather the pleasure she took in something so simple. “Let’s find a place to sit.” He located a vacant spot beneath a huge oak tree and sat down on top of a picnic table with his boots on the bench seat, just like he did as a teenager. A month ago, going out on the town meant an upscale hot spot where one drink cost more than an entire meal at Myra’s Diner. Noah had thought that was the lifestyle he had always aspired to and that it spelled success, but sitting here with warm and friendly people felt so relaxing . . . so damned good that he was beginning to rethink his goals.
Since returning to Cricket Creek he had felt a sense of peace, of belonging. He woke up in the morning looking forward to the day ahead, and he realized that had something to do with the gentle woman sitting beside him.
“A penny for your thoughts,” Olivia said.
“My thoughts are worth more than a penny,” Noah teased and then bumped his knee against hers. “Actually I was thinking about how I love New York but always felt swallowed up by the city. It’s different here.”
Madison nodded. “I get what you’re saying. Chicago felt the same way. Everybody knows everybody here. There is a sense of caring.” She rescued a piece of chocolate from her cherry dip top and said, “Mom and I were talking about that recently.”
“Really?” Jason rested the heel of his work boot on the bench of the picnic table next to where Madison was sitting. “So you think you’re going to stay beyond the end of the play?” Although he asked casually, Noah could sense the seriousness in his question.
“Now that I know I can get a fabulous martini at Sully’s, I’ll give it some consideration.” She concentrated on her cone but then looked up at Jason. “Unless you can think of a better reason?”
“I could come up with a thing or two,” Jason answered.
“Promises, promises . . .” Madison replied, but the blush in her cheeks made Noah think that Jason had already shown her a thing or two. The vibe between them was hot enough to make his ice cream melt. He could relate.
“You going to the game tomorrow, Noah?” Jason asked with a sideways tilt of his head.
Noah swallowed a crunchy bite of cone coated with chocolate. “You mean Cricket Creek baseball?”
Jason grinned. “It’s the only game in town—the season opener against Morgan County. No beer allowed, but the hot dogs are good.”
“I had planned on it. You going too?”
“I might be late, but I try to make most of the home games.” He stood up and brushed crumbs from his jeans before extending his hand to Madison and playfully tugging her to her feet. “Hope to see y’all there.” He looked at Olivia as well, and Noah realized that people really were starting to connect them as a couple.
“’Bye, guys,” Madison said. Noah thought that she seemed more happy and relaxed than he had seen her since his arrival. “They seem to be hitting it off,” he observed after they walked away. “Maybe you were right in hooking them up.”
“I usually am.”
Noah took a bite of chocolate and angled his head at her. “Why do you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Play matchmaker?”
She looked a bit uncomfortable for a second, but then shrugged. “Part of it is to keep people here in Cricket Creek. I hate it when people leave when all they really need is right here in their own backyard.”
Noah sensed there was more to it than that, but he chose not to put a damper in the otherwise excellent evening. “Is it okay if we go to the game and rehearse late tomorrow?” he asked and was glad when she nodded and seemed to brighten.
“Sure, I’d love to go. Try to make as many games as I can,” she answered before crunching the last bite of her cone.
“I . . .” Noah had a comment on the tip of his tongue but when Olivia licked a chocolate sprinkle from her bottom lip all coherent thought fled his brain. “Uh . . .”
“What?”
“You, uh, missed some.”
“Here?” When she licked the wrong side of her mouth Noah shook his head and leaned closer.
“Other side,” Noah informed her but chuckled when she missed the sprinkles.
“Oh, can’t you help a girl out? For heaven’s sake, I don’t want to walk around town with chocolate-sprinkled lips. People laugh at me enough already. Where is my napkin, anyway?” She looked around, but he reached over and cupped her chin in his hand.
“Allow me.” With the pad of his thumb Noah brushed a sprinkle or two from the center of her bottom lip. He didn’t mean it as anything overtly sexual, but he felt the impact of her moist mouth slide like hot fudge down his spine.
“Thank you.” Her voice was husky, and the evening breeze blew strands of hair across her cheek. She looked at him with soulful eyes that held a hint of expectation. Noah desperately wanted to lean in and kiss her.
And so he did.
Softly. Gently. But the feel of her mouth beneath his packed a punch that had him threading his fingers through her hair in search of more. She tasted like ice cream, smelled like flowers, and he simply couldn’t get enough.
“Noah, we’re in public.” She pulled back and whispered it in his ear.
“I don’t give a—”
“Fig?”
“Yeah, a flying fig,” he responded gruffly. He was beyond caring about anything other than kissing her, touching her, and they were secluded enough not to be a spectacle.
“Me neither,” she admitted with a trembling smile that hit Noah hard. Olivia Lawson was falling for him. He could see it in the depths of her warm brown eyes. She was so sweet, honest, and good . . . and she didn’t deserve to have her heart broken. She shook her head and put a hand on his cheek. “Don’t do that to me.”
“What?”
“Look at me as if I’m made of spun glass. Noah, I might not be the kind of woman you’re used to, but I’m not going to shatter right before your very eyes. Small-town girls are made of sturdy stuff.”
“Olivia?” Noah’s heart pounded like it was the ninth inning and he’d been brought in to close a one-run game with three men on base and no outs. “What are you saying?”
Olivia cleared her throat and then said, “I’m saying that we need to go back to my house and . . . and rehearse.” She gazed down at the grass and then back up at him. “Are you ready?”
“I’ve been ready.” Noah nodded and stood up so quickly that he almost fell over and had to steady himself on the edge of the picnic table. If he wasn’t mistaken, Olivia Lawson wanted him as much as he wanted her—and not just to rehearse lines that they already knew by heart. He leaned in and said next to her ear, “Are you planning on having your small-town-sturdy-self way with me?”
She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and lifted one slender shoulder. “Maybe.”
“Well, then, let’s blow this Popsicle stand.”
Olivia laughed when he tugged her to her feet. “Don’t go feeling so sure of yourself, Noah Falcon.”
He arched one eyebrow and gave her what he hoped was his best winning smile. “So I have a chance?”
She held her thumb and index finger an inch apart.
“Baby, that’s all I need.”
“We’ll see.” Olivia’s light, playful laughter washed over him like warm summer rain. Noah was used to bold, confident women. Olivia was pure and natural in comparison, and yet there was an earthy sexiness about her that simply blew him away.
When Noah took her hand, he wasn’t surprised to feel a slight tremble. A light rose blush stained her cheeks, and he could tell that she was nervous. He couldn’t wait to kiss away her inhibitions.
Oh, boy . . . but when he started walking, he found that his own legs felt a little shaky. He had dated models and starlets, but he couldn’t remember when he had felt such a sense of sweet anticipation.
They started strolling at a normal pace toward his car, but the closer they got to Main Street the faster they walked. The sexual tension that had been building since day one suddenly heightened to a fever pitch.
“Oh, my goodness!” Olivia yelped when she nearly sat on the apple pie.
Noah hopped into the car and threw it into gear. “Hold on tight.” He had to force himself to go at a safe pace while driving to her house, but as soon as he pulled into her driveway he rushed over to the passenger side of the Corvette, yanked open the door, and tugged her to her feet. Not caring about who saw them, he scooped her into his arms and carried her up the steps.