Page 16 of A Montana Childhood Promise (Sagebrush Ranch Sweethearts #3)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Trouble with a capital ‘T’.

Jane couldn’t ignore that fact any longer.

She was attracted to Noah. And this attraction wasn’t some little crush.

This attraction was bordering on something truly dangerous.

Whenever she closed her eyes to go to bed, she saw his face.

Whenever she allowed herself to daydream, she thought about the way he’d tasted when they’d kissed.

She craved his touch.

What was wrong with her?

Jane sighed as she leaned against a filing cabinet in the copy room at work. They were supposed to remain friends. That was what she’d told herself from the very beginning. They couldn’t get close for several reasons.

But now she couldn’t recall a single one of them.

The door to the copy room opened, and one of the volunteers moved inside. She’d seen him once or twice, but he hadn’t worked with her, and she hadn’t learned his name. He was tall and gangly, and he usually volunteered early in the mornings.

He offered her a smile before moving to the printer and placing a flyer within it to be scanned. “Morning,” he murmured.

“Morning.” Jane couldn’t spend the rest of her morning hiding away in this room thinking about Noah. She had work to do, and the more people who came and went from this room, the more likely she’d get caught not doing her job.

She flashed him one more smile before she retrieved the materials she’d come here for. Work had become more difficult, and for one reason alone.

Noah.

He practically consumed her. What would he think if he knew as much?

She touched her lips absentmindedly. It had been almost a full week since they’d shared that kiss. Almost a full week since they’d sorta gone on that date with his family. In hindsight, she should have known that Mack was up to something when he’d invited her to come along for a family event.

Jane just didn’t have self-control, and she’d wanted to see Noah more than she was worried about what Mack was trying to do.

It had been made clear when the family paired off, and she’d been left to have a conversation with the last man standing. She hadn’t complained. He was her reason for coming, after all.

There was only one problem with the way she felt about him now.

There was only one word standing in her way.

Friends .

Even the thought of it left a sour taste in her mouth.

What she wouldn’t give to go back in time and change what she’d said.

Would it have even mattered? Noah hadn’t exactly been forthcoming on any feelings he might have for her.

The only indication that he cared for her was his teasing mention of utilizing their little pact.

Jokes. That was all it was.

She sighed, forcing herself to get back to work. There was still so much to coordinate for the event. Now that she had the venue, caterer, date, and invitations picked out, she needed to set to work on the details.

There was a menu to plan, decorations to pick out, and a budget to balance. It was one of the biggest undertakings she’d ever been asked to work on, and she couldn’t afford to mess it up by allowing herself to get distracted by Noah.

The phone in her back pocket buzzed, and she reached for it without thinking. “Yeah?” she answered.

“Jane! So glad I caught you. I wasn’t sure if you’d be working.”

Jane closed her eyes to ward off the frustration already mounting at answering her mother’s call. She should have taken a closer look at the caller ID. “Actually, I am?—”

“Then I’ll be quick. Your father’s birthday is next weekend. I wanted to make sure you could make it.”

Sighing, Jane nodded. “Yeah, okay. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Wonderful. And will Noah be coming as well?”

“What? Why?—”

“Well, it’s a family event, and since the two of you have gotten so close…” she drawled. “I thought I’d make sure you brought him along.”

Jane slapped a palm to her forehead. “Mom. Just because I brought him to dinner last week doesn’t mean he’s gonna want to do a big family event like Dad’s birthday thing.”

“Oh, come on. I’m sure things are serious enough that he won’t even think twice about it. Bring him. It’ll be fun.”

“Mom—”

“Oh, your sister’s calling me back. I have to get this. I’ll see you next weekend, ‘kay?”

Jane stared at her phone after her mother quite literally hung up on her. What just happened? Her mother couldn’t seriously expect Jane to bring Noah to the party. What if Noah didn’t want to? Even if they were serious, that wouldn’t mean he would want to come.

Jane groaned. This was too much. She was feeling buried alive by it all. Between the feelings she had for Noah, her mother breathing down her neck, and this event she was overseeing, she simply didn’t have the bandwidth for it.

What would Noah say? Would he be the sweetheart he was and tell her that friends helped friends like before? Or would he finally have enough?

Her concentration went out the window for the rest of the day as she considered her options. She could choose not to tell him at all and then relay to her mother that he wasn’t interested. That would be a headache to deal with, but at least she wouldn’t have to worry about Noah’s feelings.

She could ask Noah to help her out one more time and swear it would be the last.

Or she could do something she’d never considered before.

Jane found herself standing outside of his house after nightfall. She’d called Bo to let him know she couldn’t make it to help at the ranch, but it had been a lie. She simply wasn’t ready to interact with Noah yet.

Now, as she stared up at his window, she didn’t know what she was doing here.

She had to be desperate because she already knew she wasn’t going to admit that she liked him.

Nothing would indicate just how rock bottom she was than to confess something like that.

And she wasn’t willing to stand up to her mother and tell her the truth that they’d lied about their relationship.

That meant she was here for one reason.

To ask Noah to bail her out of an awkward situation yet again.

He was so going to get tired of saving her.

Her eyes dropped to the ground in search of the pebbles that she’d need to get his attention. She could have just messaged him, but she needed to find her words before she could say anything, and right now, they weren’t coming.

A few pebbles caught her eye, and she bent down to scoop them up. She rolled them around her palm. It wasn’t too late. She could turn around and walk away right now. She could set things straight with her mother and just deal with the fallout.

“Jane?”

His voice was too close and not hovering above her from that window.

She jumped and spun around to find him standing at the edge of the house.

Pajama pants hung around his waist, and he was pulling on a t-shirt as if he’d just gotten out of the shower.

Shoot! Had he seen her from upstairs? Well, this was just great.

He probably thought she was stalking him.

He took a few steps toward her, bare feet crushing the grass beneath him. “Jane? What are you doing here? Is everything okay? You didn’t show earlier today.”

She grimaced. “Yeah, it’s been a crazy sort of day.”

Noah stopped before her, the concern in his eyes doing something to her that it really shouldn’t. He reached out, placing his palm to the side of her neck as he traced her jaw with his thumb. “You want to talk about it?”

Absolutely not. But she didn’t really have any other choice at this point. She gnawed on her lower lip and did her best to ignore the way his warm hand sent tendrils of desire emanating through her blood. “It doesn’t matter,” she whispered.

Confusion replaced the concern, but only for a brief moment. “Jane, if something’s bothering you, you can talk to me. You know that, right?”

She nodded, closing her eyes. “Yeah, I know. And actually, that’s part of the reason I’m here.” Man, this was so embarrassing. The first time, he’d offered. The first time, he’d insisted that he would come with her so she didn’t have to carry the brunt of her mother’s judgment. This time?

This time, it was different.

Jane needed to ask for him to help again, and it was the hardest thing she’d had to do in a long time. Why was it so hard to ask for help? She cleared her throat when he didn’t immediately demand to know what she wanted. “I was hoping to ask you a favor.”

“Anything,” he said without hesitation. “Whatever you need, I’ll do what I can to make it happen.”

She blushed hotter than she thought humanly possible. “Really?”

“Of course.” He chucked her under the chin. “What are friends for?”

Flinching at that word, Jane stepped back.

“Right. Well, this might be above and beyond the call of friendship.” She couldn’t meet his eyes, even if she wanted to.

Her face managed to burn hotter still, and it was all she could do not to go running back to her car to escape the mortification she felt.

“Jane,” he said softly, hooking his finger beneath her chin. “Whatever it is?—”

“I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend again,” she blurted, her eyes locked with his. “My dad is having a birthday party, and my mom wanted to make sure I brought you along… as my boyfriend.”

Her heart all but shattered as she watched his reaction.

The darkness that flickered in his eyes, the way he hesitated in his answer.

She’d been right to assume that he wasn’t prepared to go to those lengths again.

Whether it was the fake relationship, the kiss, or something else, she couldn’t tell.

But Noah wasn’t prepared to step out of his friendzone role again, and she’d just have to accept it.

Jane took a stumbled step backward and let out a strangled laugh.

“You know what? I’m sorry. I really shouldn’t have come here.

I don’t know what I was thinking. I just…

” Her voice died in her throat as she spun around and waved at him without looking in his direction.

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Probably. It’s getting late, and I should get going. ”

“Jane,” he said softly.

“It’s fine,” she called over her shoulder, putting more distance between them. “Don’t worry about it. It was stupid.”

“Jane!” Noah called more urgently, and it almost sounded like he was coming after her, but she couldn’t tell. With his bare feet on the grass, he could be right behind her, and she wouldn’t even know.

All she had to do was get to the car. Then she could lock herself inside and drive away. She’d probably have to call Bo and tell him she quit, because this had to be the most embarrassing moment of her life. Why couldn’t she have just gone with one of the other plans?

She made it about two steps from her car when a hand wrapped around her wrist and tugged her to a stop. Jane gasped, seeing her escape plan wither and die as she was spun around to meet the eyes of her captor.

Noah peered down at her, anger and pain flashing in his eyes. There was so much she should be saying right now—so much she could say. But her words died on her tongue before she could release them.

There was nowhere left to go, nowhere to hide, and Noah was about to tear down every defensive wall she’d erected since she’d moved out of her parents’ house to set out on her own.