Sadie Lee nods and gives a knowing grin. “I know. He’s on his way up.”
“Thank you for inviting us to spend Christmas with you.”
“Oh, honey, you are so welcome. I love having a full house at Christmas. It will be just like—” She breaks off and I guess she must be thinking about Noah’s parents.
“I was so sorry to hear about—about the accident,” I say quietly, hoping that it isn’t too forward of me.
She gives me a sad smile. “Noah told you?”
I nod.
“He’s very taken with you, you know.”
I smile back at her. “I—I really like him too.”
Sadie Lee comes closer, and her voice takes on a more urgent tone. “I’m so glad he’s met someone he can talk to. He’s under—”
“Hey, what’s up? Oh my!” I turn to see Noah staring at me, his eyes wide.
“What did I tell you!” Sadie Lee nudges me. “Popping right out of his head.”
“You look—majestic!” Noah says, still standing rooted to the spot over by the door.
“Thank you,” I say shyly. “So do you.”
Noah’s wearing black skinny jeans and a scuffed leather biker jacket, over a pale grey hoodie. His hair looks shinier and softer than yesterday, like it’s freshly washed, and his eyes look even chocolatier than I remember them. As he starts to smile, the dimples return on either side of his mouth. He looks so cute I can’t decide whether I want to hug him or take a picture of him.
“Do you have it?” he says, glancing quickly at Sadie Lee before returning his gaze to me.
“Sure do,” she says, bringing a wicker picnic hamper out from under the counter.
“I was wondering,” Noah says to me in a fake posh voice, “if you would like to accompany me on a picnic.”
“A picnic?”
“Uh-huh—but not just any old picnic,” he says with a twinkle in his eye.
“Oh no?” I say, playing along.
“No. I’m talking about a moonlit picnic.”
Instantly my heart sinks—there’s no way Mum and Dad will let me leave the hotel.
“On a secret roof terrace,” Noah continues. “Right behind this very kitchen.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Sadie Lee starts to chuckle.
“I would be honored,” I say. I look at Sadie Lee. “Please could you tell my parents where I’ve gone? They’re through in the reception, probably embarrassing themselves on the dance floor.”
“Sure thing, honey.” She looks at Noah, concerned. “But isn’t she going to freeze out there, in that dress?”
He shakes his head. “Don’t worry, G-ma, I’ve got it covered.”
“Now why doesn’t that surprise me?” Sadie Lee says with a chuckle. “OK, y’all have fun—and don’t go keeping her out there too long. We don’t want her folks thinking she’s been abducted.”
Sadie Lee heads off into the reception room, leaving Noah and me alone.
“So,” he says, bringing the hamper over to me.
“So.” I feel so self-conscious I have to look at the floor.
“If you could invite any fictional character to a picnic, who would it be?”
I instantly smile. Noah’s random questions are definitely great icebreakers. “Augustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars,” I say. “So I could bring him back to life.”
“Great answer,” Noah says. “I’d bring that sappy guy from Twilight—so I could kill him.”
I laugh and look up at Noah, and the second our eyes meet I feel a kind of jolt inside. It’s so powerful it almost takes my breath away.
He smiles and looks away. “It’s good to see you again.”
“You’re welcome,” I say. I don’t know why I say it—well, I do: it’s because I’m an International Embarrassment Waiting to Happen, cursed by the God of Awkward Moments.
“I’m welcome?”
“No.”
“I’m not welcome?” Noah tilts his head to one side and grins at me.
“Yes, you are—it’s just—I—I didn’t mean to say that. I don’t know what . . .” I turn away slightly, so he doesn’t get third-degree burns from the heat coming from my face. “I meant to say, thank you.”
“You’re welcome! ” Noah says loudly, and we both crack up laughing. “Come on,” he says, guiding me toward a door that I’d assumed was to a cupboard. The door actually leads to a narrow passageway, which leads to a fire exit. “Sadie Lee told me about this place,” he explains. “It’s where the kitchen staff come for a smoke.” He gives me a bashful grin. “Which makes it sound like the least glamorous picnic venue ever but don’t worry—we’ll make it cool. And, much as I hate to see you covering up that dress, I’d hate for you to get pneumonia out there.” He pulls a fleecy hoodie from his bag.
It’s so huge on me it almost comes down to my knees.
“Hmm.” Noah frowns. “How come it looks a whole lot better on you than it does on me?”
And, just like that, he ignites my confidence and it starts to grow.
Noah opens the fire exit and we step outside onto an expanse of flat concrete rooftop surrounded by high metal railings. He takes me over to an alcove in the wall, where he lays out the tartan blanket from his truck.