Page 21 of Two Weeks to Fall in Love

Two Weeks to Explore the Heart

The farther we walked into the botanical gardens, the more it looked like some fairy-tale enchanted forest; it was easy to get lost in this magical place.

Blinking a few times, I halted, assessing the space around me. Noah pulled to a stop one step ahead of me, our hands still entwined, and gave me a puzzled look.

“What’s up?”

“Why is it so empty?” I said, finally realizing why this whole experience felt so surreal.

“Ohhh.” Noah chuckled, and shrugged as if it was no big deal.

He tugged at my hand until we were walking again, and I stared at him, expecting a reply that was more than a syllable. As expected for the perpetually enigmatic Noah Archer, he stayed quiet and hummed until we passed through a wonderful archway covered in flowers that climbed up from the ground.

I squeezed his hand and he looked at me with a raised eyebrow. My face must have said enough, because he chuckled and let out a sigh.

“This place is only open to the public three days a week. But you can rent it for events like a wedding or something.”

“Wait, so how are we in here right now?” I asked, confusion clear on my face.

I’d had the impression that he didn’t like having to rely on his dad’s money, and this didn’t exactly seem like a cheap place to rent out. Especially if it was a potential wedding venue for people.

Noah was quiet, eyes focused somewhere ahead.

The only sound around us was the chirping of the birds and the crunching pebbles under our shoes.

Just as I was planning to very aggressively pinch him and teach him a lesson, he abruptly stopped walking and looked down at me with a soft smile before focusing back in front of us.

I followed his gaze, and a few feet in front of us, nestled among trees, was a small building that looked like an oval greenhouse.

For a second, I was confused as to why this was significant, until my eyes landed on the plaque in front of the building. the archer bird sanctuary .

“What?” I squeaked, my eyes cartoon-level wide. “Your family, do you own this?”

Noah scratched his nape. “Kinda. My dad’s the biggest donor for the garden, which comes with certain perks. Like having the aviary named after him.”

As always when his dad was brought up, his voice sounded strained, and I could no longer contain my curiosity.

“Wow, I didn’t know your dad was charitable like that,” I said, fishing for more information, but when I saw him wince, I immediately regretted the way I’d phrased that.

“He’s not the charitable one,” Noah muttered, kicking a rock with his foot. After a few seconds of silence from both of us, he looked down at me. I narrowed my eyes just a bit, a clear invitation to explain what he meant. He stared at me for a good minute before he let out a sigh.

“Why do you make me want to tell you everything?” he muttered so quietly I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly, but my heart was already beating overtime with his words.

“It was a wedding gift for my mother. She’s always loved nature, especially birds.

This is probably her favorite place in the world. ”

“That’s so romantic! I can see why this is her favorite place, it’s beautiful.”

Noah snorted and shook his head, letting go of my hand as he took a few steps forward, eyes focused on the plaque in front of the aviary. He ran both hands through his hair and looked up at the sky before turning to face me, his expression laced with disdain.

“It would be more romantic if love actually lasted,” he said, a sudden bitterness in his voice.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, walking up next to him.

His hand traced the letters on the plaque, drawing my attention to them. to forever and infinity with you, my love. d.a. + t.a.

“There’s no such thing as forever,” he muttered, pulling his hand away as if the words had somehow burned him.

“That almost sounds like you don’t actually believe love exists,” I stated, and waited for him to correct me.

He stayed quiet, hands balled into fists at his sides, gaze focused on the plaque in front of him.

“Noah, do you believe in love?”

All he did was stare at me. Then his head tilted to the side and he shrugged, his lips tugging into a crooked smirk.

“Who knows.”

Who knows? Who. Knows?!

“You! You should know!” I blurted, unable to hide my shock.

I’d almost allowed myself to start thinking this guy might not actually be as bad as I thought, and then he said something like that.

“Why would you do this if you don’t believe in love?

What’s the point?” I continued, words rushing out of me in a torrent.

Noah’s lips opened as if he was about to say something but I raised my hand to stop him.

“Oh, I’m not finished.” I narrowed my eyes and waved a finger in his face.

“How dare you play around with others’ feelings when you’re not even serious about this!

That’s some real bullshit, Noah. I knew it, this really is all just a game for you, isn’t it?

You’re nothing but a hypocrite and—” Noah grabbed my hand and pulled me against him so fast that I yelped and stopped midsentence.

“I told you from the start, Skyler, this isn’t a game,” he croaked, more serious than I’d ever heard him sound.

I swallowed hard, slightly flustered by the fact that one of my hands was resting on his chest and the other one was still trapped in his gentle grasp.

Not that I could really blame him for the sudden body contact. When I started on my little rants, getting me to stop was almost impossible—except by doing something like this, obviously, which seemed to instantly reset my brain.

“I don’t believe you.” I managed to find my voice and pulled my hand away from him, taking a generous step back.

He took a generous step toward me. “Do you want me to prove it to you?”

Another step back. “No! I don’t want proof, I want an explanation. Why are you doing this?”

“You know why I’m doing this,” he said, staring at me as he gently moved forward.

It was beginning to feel a lot like cat and mouse, and I didn’t like my role one bit.

Straightening myself and steeling my nerves, I raised my head and poked his chest with my finger, pushing him back lightly.

“Lies. You don’t believe in love, so what exactly are you looking for by doing this, huh?” I said, poking his chest again.

Noah shook his head, frowning. “I’m still genuine about this. Think about it—why would I waste my time if I wasn’t serious?”

I pressed my lips together, unsure how to reply and unconvinced he was telling the truth. He let out a resigned sigh and scuffed the ground with the back of his shoe.

“Look, even if I don’t believe in love, that doesn’t mean I’m just playing around. Maybe I want to believe in it . . . wish I could believe in it,” he mused, and I could see the sincerity in his eyes.

My outrage dissipated slowly, but some anger remained. “You have no idea what love is, Noah Archer,” I said, and instantly felt like a hypocrite. It wasn’t like I had some vast experience in love.

Noah didn’t say anything. We stared at each other, a fire brewing between us and getting stronger by the second. I finally had to look down at my shoes to escape the intensity.

“Then why don’t you teach me?” he said gently.

My breath hitched, positive I’d misheard what he’d said. “Sorry, what?”

A moment later, his finger brushed against my chin and lifted my head. Left with nowhere left to look, my eyes locked with his, trapped, caught. Prey .

“Teach me what love is, Skyler Fox.”

My heartbeat thumped fast and strong. My mouth went instantly dry, as if I hadn’t touched water in days. Blinking a few times, I shook my head rapidly.

“I can’t,” I stuttered, my brain malfunctioning. It was like I couldn’t process his words. What was he saying?

“You can’t? What, you can’t take on the challenge?” he quipped. “Oh, I get it, you’re scared.”

A new wave of heat washed over me, this time out of anger. Skyler Fox never backed down from a challenge. And even though a tiny part of me screamed to let it go this time, I pushed on. “That’s not what I said,” I exclaimed.

“Hm, so you think you can do it then?” His expression remained flat, unimpressed.

The desire to get the last word in pushed me forward, straight into my own doom with six little words. “Of course I can do it!”

Noah grinned, that Cheshire cat smile that instantly made the voice in my head go Uh-oh , you messed up even before he spoke.

“Great. Looking forward to it, Fox,” he said, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear.

I stood still, petrified by my own stupid mouth as he brushed his hand slowly down my arm until he reached my hand and entwined our fingers.

My heart didn’t slow down, but the anger I’d felt a second ago deflated like a sad balloon. Teach him what love is?

He’d managed to get me right where he wanted me, again, and I’d fallen for it, again. It was starting to feel like with every passing hour I was falling deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole that was Noah Archer.

This could only end in disaster.