Page 27

So, he kept his hands firmly clasped on the desk when she was nearby and tried his hardest not to look at her unless it was absolutely necessary.

In the privacy of her home, it was Noah’s turn to torment Louisa. There, she was his prisoner, his willing supplicant, and he could drive her wild with a single touch. Which he did, again and again, his body’s mastery over hers unrivaled. He hoped.

But by the eighth day, he knew that he was becoming addicted to this.

They’d said they’d keep it light, and it was definitely that, but at the same time, he couldn’t imagine a time when he’d want to walk away from her.

So, what did that mean?

He had a teenager at home. He couldn’t exactly start dating someone seriously. Could he?

Just the thought of it made his pulse crank up.

Why couldn’t he? Lots of people did it. It wasn’t as though he and Amy had only recently split. Their marriage had been over for a long time. And it wasn’t like Taylor could be any angrier with him. So, what exactly did he have to lose?

“You can’t be serious?” Louisa said when he broached the subject with her. “You want me to meet Taylor?”

“Why not?”

Panic showed on her features. “Because I—we’re—we said?—,”

“I know.” And it had only been a week. Uncharacteristic doubts spread through him. “And I know it’s only been a week. But I like you, Louisa. I want to see where this goes, without constraints.”

“We don’t have constraints,” she said quickly.

“Of course we do. You want to avoid being seen with me in public, and I’ve been trying to keep you quarantined from my actual life. But I don’t want to just be this anymore,” he gesturedto the bed. “I want to have dinner with you. Go for walks with you. I want to date you.”

She pulled her lower lip between her teeth in that distracting way she had, but this time, he could tell it was to bite back a smile. She was happy? This wasn’t a disaster?

“What do you think?” he asked quickly.

“I think I’m scared,” she responded, with the kind of honesty he adored in her.

“What of?”

“Well, you have a kid, for one thing. And I feel like my life is a bit of a mess right now. I mean, they haven’t announced their engagement but as soon as they do, it’s going to be all over the world, and people are going to start looking to see me cry, writing some whole heartbreak narrative around the fact I’m down here in Australia. It’s going to be bedlam, and the last thing I want to do is drag you into that. Or Taylor.”

“Okay, fair enough. I appreciate your consideration, though if it weren’t for Taylor, I’d say that’s all the more reason to prove to the world that you’re doing just fine, too.”

Her eyes widened and she tilted her head in concession to that fact. “Perhaps.”

“But Taylor is very much a part of my life, and any decision I make has to put her front and centre. Even when she drives me absolutely crazy.”

“You’re a great dad,” she said softly, with something like pride. “I really like that about you.”

“I rarely feel like it.”

“I think that’s the hallmark of a good parent.”

“Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “I had a good example.”

“I did, too.”

“You’re close to your parents?”

She nodded.

“How do they feel about your whole royal break up and Australia move?”