That Mistletoe Moment (5 page)

Phone in hand, she sat waiting for his reply. The minutes ticked by, and as she sat, obsessing, another horrible thought hit. What if whatever employee was on duty at the time answered the texts as they came in? Her next message might not be from the Nathan of last night at all. It could be a completely different person.

Panic hit, as did the fear she'd never talk to
that
Nathan again.

This was crazy. She was going insane. This was an app . . . but it felt like so much more. No app should cause such emotions.

Sadly, she realized no response had come through. She must have used up the free texts.

That was okay. She'd upgrade. Get more texts.

Maybe there was an unlimited plan. That would be good. Then, when she did finally get a reply, she'd be able to talk long enough to determine whether it was the same person responding. She was confident she'd be able to figure that out. There had been such a connection between them last night. She had no doubt she'd be able to tell.

Having talked herself off the ledge, Noelle carried her phone with her into the bathroom to shower so she could get ready for the day. One unexpected visitor stopping by to find her in her pajamas was enough.

CHAPTER 6

M
uscles protesting, Nathan forced himself to cool down after the workout when he'd rather collapse flat on his back on the cold ground. Though that might not be too bad. He could always stretch while he was down there.

“Two days in a row.” His teammate Stone shook his head as if he didn't believe it.

“I know.” Nathan wiped the sweat off his face with the edge of his T-shirt.

“I mean, what the hell? It's Christmas and the commander is trying to kill us.”

Nathan laughed. “Not kill us. Just make us wish we were dead.”

“Well, I'll tell you what, it's working.” Stone huffed out a breath. “You ready to go on in?”

“Yeah.” Nathan had cooled down as much as he was going to. Soaked as he was in sweat, it would do more harm than good to stay outside in the late December chill.

Stone swiveled his head to glance at Nathan as he held open the door of the building for him. “Y'all going home for Christmas?”

“Yup. Put in for leave starting noon tomorrow. If no shit hits the fan and we don't get recalled, I'll be home for almost a full week.”

“Lucky.” Stone scowled. “I didn't remember to put in for extra days.”

Luck had nothing to do with it. Nathan was organized. Stone was not. Nathan didn't mention that and instead waved off Stone's comment. “You know they'll cut you loose early Friday anyway. They never make us stick around for a full week leading up to a holiday.”

“Yeah. And my parents' place is only a couple hours' drive. I can be home in no time.”

“Two hours is a hell of a lot better than my drive home.” Nathan wasn't looking forward to making that trip again. Especially not after having just done it a few weeks before for Thanksgiving.

Then again, he was very much looking forward to seeing Noelle.

And speaking of Noelle . . . Nathan grabbed his cell phone out of his locker and saw he'd missed a text from her.

Smiling wide, he read the message wishing him a good morning. He probably should be upset about his reaction to the simple text, for a number of reasons.

She was in Connecticut, he was in Virginia, and there was one long-ass drive between them.

He could be called out on a mission on a moment's notice, or be deployed for the next six months.

None of that made for a real good start to a relationship, but if the uncontrollable grin on his face was any indication, he didn't care about any of the problems. The possibilities, on the other hand, seemed pretty enticing.

Nathan shoved his phone into his duffel. He didn't want to start a conversation now. He'd text back later when he was home and free to devote the attention to her she deserved. Knowing Noelle—and he felt like he really did know her after last night—she'd text him back immediately and often.

He smiled at that thought as he headed to the shower.

“What's put that shit-eating grin on your face?” Stone asked in his usual colorful Southern drawl as he slammed his locker.

“Remember that woman I told you I met over the bag of cranberries when I was home?”

Stone's eyes widened. “The hottie who gave you the recipe for the bourbon sauce you let me taste?”

He had described her as that, hadn't he? “That's the one. Noelle.”

“Yup. I remember. I'm getting my mamaw to make me those cranberries when I get home. I already bought the bottle of bourbon for it.”

Nathan shook his head at Stone's one-track mind when it came to food. And booze, for that matter. “Well, she texted me to invite me to a party over Christmas.”

Stone lifted his brow high. “So, you're going to see her again. I approve.”

Nathan laughed. “How can you approve? You don't know anything about her.”

“Don't have to.” Stone shook his head. “Any woman who came up with putting bourbon in cranberry sauce is all right in my book.”

Nathan couldn't argue with that.

It was all he could do to get through the end of the day and wait to be dismissed before he could run home and text Noelle.

Good thing being in the Navy had trained him how to wait. Though sometimes he was more patient than others. With Noelle's text sitting on his phone waiting for a reply, today was one of his less patient days.

When he was finally inside his barracks room, Nathan dumped his duffel on the table and fished out his cell. He'd been thinking about it for the past couple of hours but still hadn't settled on a suitable response.

He gave up trying to be clever.

Her reply came back fast, which really wasn't a surprise. The girl must keep her cell in her hand at all times.

He laughed at her little joke. She was a funny one. He'd give her that. Smiling, he punched in a reply.

After he responded to her, he went to his bedroom to change into sweats. He might as well get comfortable while he texted. He'd just pulled a sweatshirt over his head when he saw the new text from her.

He hit Send and held the phone in his hand, knowing she'd be sending him a response any second.

LOL. Yes, besides that
.

I'd like that
.

When her reply came through, he picked up the phone and hit to dial her number. Enough back-and-forth. He was tired of texting. He wanted to hear her voice.

“Hello?”

He smiled at how shocked she sounded that he'd called. “Hey. It's Nathan.”

“Hi. Um, are you allowed to call?”

Odd question. She must think he was at work and could get in trouble. “Sure. I'm off work now, so yeah. I can talk.”

“Oh, okay. Don't worry. I won't tell.”

He laughed at her continued joking. “Thanks. So, I'm going to be in town by tomorrow night and I was hoping we could get together some day before the party.”

“Get together for real?” she asked, once again the surprise evident in her tone.

“Yeah, for real. Maybe for coffee. Or drinks. Or, hell, I don't know, hot chocolate. Whatever you'd like. I probably won't get there until like eight or later tomorrow night so—”

“That's okay. I'll be awake.”

He'd been about to say they'd have to put off seeing each other until the next day, but hell, sooner was better than later for him. “You sure that won't be too late?”

“It's fine. I'm off this week, so I've been staying up until like midnight every night.”

He remembered their texts last night. “Watching Christmas movies?”

“Yes.” She sounded adorably shy.

He smiled, enjoying how he knew her so well already.

Okay. Moving on. He had to plan this date.

It finally hit him that he actually had a no-shit, bona-fide date.

How long had it been since he'd had one of those?

Far too long, was the answer to that question. His parents could just wait to see him until they woke up the following day.

“So should I come right to your place and we can decide when I get there?” he suggested.

Fingers crossed there'd be no traffic or bad weather to keep him from getting there. Hell, he might even consider sneaking out early if he didn't think the commander would notice.

“Yeah, come here. I'll text you my address. You can see my Christmas tree.”

“That sounds great. I'd love to see it,” he said, and amazingly enough he actually meant it.

Not too many years ago his only reason for going to a woman's apartment would have been the hope of getting into her pants, and here he was excited by the prospect of Christmas trees and hot cocoa.

Was that a sign of maturity or just an indication of how much he liked this girl already? Honestly, he didn't care which it was, as long as he got to see her again.

CHAPTER 7

S
he glanced at the clock on her phone and her heart sped. In probably less than half an hour, Noelle's Build-A-Boyfriend Nathan, or whatever his real name was, would be here.

One of her first orders of business when he walked through the door would be to find out his real name.

Her boyfriend and the relationship might have started out as fake, but now both were very real and she was really going to meet him.

Last night, after one final confirmation of what time to expect him, Noelle had hung up on the surreal phone conversation and typed in her address.

She'd hesitated barely a second before sending him the text. She couldn't tell Nikki that. No way, no how.

Her sister would only throw cold water on her excitement. Nikki would say he was a stranger. That Noelle should meet him in a nice, safe public place and not at her apartment. Heck, Nikki would probably tell Noelle not to meet him at all.

But he wasn't really a stranger. They'd texted. They'd talked on the phone.

Call her crazy, but she trusted him.

Sure, they'd met under rather unconventional circumstances. But hey, people met online all the time. What did it matter if the connection was made on a matchmaking site or the Build-A-Boyfriend app?

That was her theory and she was sticking to it.

No. Noelle would not let doubt creep in. That's why she'd avoided talking to her sister for the past twenty-four hours. Nikki would have sensed something was up.

Noelle realized that their meeting wasn't without risk for Nathan, either. It had to be against the Build-A-Boyfriend employee code of conduct, but he was doing it anyway.

He felt the chemistry between them, too. A spark. A connection so strong she'd never had anything close to it with George.

She remembered how George had described their relationship. The words that had angered her so and prompted her to break it off with him.

Being with someone shouldn't be based on “habit” or “convenience.” A relationship should be exciting. It should make your heart pound and your hands shake with anticipation, the way she felt now waiting for Nathan.

The sound of a loud knock had her eyes widening as she whipped around to stare at the door.

Could it be Nathan?

If so, he was early.

Thank God she'd been so nervous that she had gotten ready hours ago, right down to her lipstick—which was probably worn away by now.

She didn't have time to remedy that as she ran to the door.

Unlike yesterday, when George had snuck up on her, Noelle was not going to be surprised again. This time she peeked through the peephole.

The man she saw looked vaguely familiar, in spite of the way the peephole distorted his features.

In all the excitement it took her a second, but finally she focused enough to realize why she recognized him.

Frowning, Noelle quickly unlocked the door. She pulled it open to reveal all six-foot-plus of her Thanksgiving cranberry savior.

After that brief encounter in the store, and that single text with her recipe, she'd never thought she'd see or hear from him again— unless for some reason they ran into each other in the fruit and vegetable aisle again.

The pieces of a puzzle she knew she should have the answer to began to shift in her brain.

This guy's name was Nathan. His number was in her phone.

Holy shit.
She must have texted him instead of the Build-A-Boyfriend number.

Even as the blood drained from her face as she realized her mistake, he smiled wide. “Hey. Sorry. I know I'm early. There wasn't much traffic, so I might have sped a little bit during the drive.”

“Nathan. Um, hi. Uh, come on in.” Shaking, she took a step back.

“I stopped and picked up some hot chocolate. It should still be hot. I figured we could drink it in front of your tree while we decide what to do.”

For the first time she noticed he held two cups in his hands. “Um, sure. That would be great.”

Now that the shock was starting to wane, reality set in, and what a reality it was. The guy she'd been texting, the one she'd connected with so strongly, wasn't a Build-A-Boyfriend employee at all. He was real and he was here, not to mention gorgeous.

She knocked herself out of her spinning thoughts and realized he was standing just inside the doorway, coat on, cups in hand, waiting for her to do or say something.

“Um, take off your coat and come sit down.” She gestured in the general direction of the sofa and the Christmas tree, plainly visible from where they stood by the door.

“Okay. Thanks.” He put the cups down on the kitchen counter and pulled off a thick dark blue jacket that said NAVY on it in yellow.

Noelle's focus moved from the insignia on his jacket to his face, realizing she didn't know all that much about this guy. “Are you in the Navy?”

“Yes, ma'am. For over twelve years now.” He grinned and glanced around him, his jacket in one hand.

“Oh, let me hang that up for you.” She stepped forward.

When he handed the jacket to her, she felt how it was warm from his body. That realization did something to her, making her want him to warm her the way he had the lucky jacket.

She hung it on the hook by the door on top of her own and turned back. “Are you at the submarine base in New London?”

“No. I'm stationed down in Virginia, but I grew up here and my parents still live in Connecticut.”

“Which is why you were here for Thanksgiving and now for Christmas.”

“Exactly. I come home for holidays when I can. I lucked out this year to get two in a row.” He grinned.

She'd
been the one to luck out this year.

Holy moly, what luck she'd had. Running into Mr. Hunky and Handsome at the store and then accidentally texting him.

Wow. It was all so much to take in she was happy to lead him to the sofa and be able to sit down herself.

He glanced at the evergreen that took up the whole corner of the room. “I like your tree.”

She looked at the tree herself and cringed, remembering how she and Nikki had had to squash the living room furniture together to make it all fit. “I know it's too big for the apartment, but it was so pretty.”

“I've been living in the barracks for over a decade, so I've never had a tree of my own. Besides, no Christmas tree can ever be too big, in my opinion. Well, unless it's taller than the ceiling, but then a few strokes of a saw can fix that problem.” Nathan grinned.

“I agree.” Her heart fluttered as his gaze settled upon her. Feeling self-conscious, she raised the paper cup to her lips and took a sip of the hot cocoa. Rich, chocolaty goodness filled her mouth. “This is really good. Where'd you get it?”

“There's a little shop on the outskirts of town. I was lucky it wasn't closed for the night, but I guess since it's almost Christmas, they stay open late. Anyway, it's the strangest place. They sell everything from antiques to gifts to chicken feed to homemade pies. They make the cocoa themselves from scratch. Real milk and chocolate. None of the powdered stuff.”

“I know that store. I went in and looked around once.” She'd wanted to check out the antiques. George had been with her so she'd rushed through and didn't get to see everything. “I can't believe I never knew they sold hot chocolate.”

“Only during the holidays. I always make sure to go in when I'm lucky enough to be home.”

“Thank you for sharing it with me.”

“My pleasure. Thank you for sharing your tree with me.” His eyes met and held hers.

“You're welcome.” Noelle felt overwhelmed and broke the eye contact, instead glancing at the tree, rather than into the soulful eyes of the man sitting at the opposite end of the sofa.

“I have to tell you, I was pretty surprised when I got your first text. I mean, I knew you had my number because of the recipe—which was great, by the way—but after a couple of weeks had passed, getting your text was a surprise. A good one, but unexpected.”

Guilt overwhelmed her. She liked him too much not to tell him the truth. “Nathan, I have to confess something.”

She raised her gaze in time to see him lift his brows as he said, “Okay.”

“I, um . . .” She blew out a breath. “Wow, this is really hard.”

A frown creased his brow. He put his cup down on the coffee table. “Just say it, Noelle. I'm a big boy. I can handle anything you have to say. I like you, but believe me, I'd rather know now if you're not interested, before I get in any deeper.”

Her emotions were like a roller coaster as she soared at his words, and then dropped low as she tried to make her own confession.

She'd never wanted him to think she wasn't interested. Quite the opposite. Her interest in him was the one thing she was completely sure of in this whole mess.

“No, Nathan, I am interested.” Noelle sighed. “It's not that. I just don't know how to tell you the reason I texted. . . .”

Usually she could babble with the best of them, but right now her words failed her—and at the worst possible time.

He reached out and took the cup out of her hand. After placing it on the table next to his, he held both of her hands. His were warm and slightly rough as he held her in a firm grasp. “Just take your time.”

She nodded. “Okay. But it's a long story.”

One corner of his mouth tipped up in a crooked smile. “That's okay. I've got all night.”

Noelle swallowed hard. “Okay. It all started on Thanksgiving. The day I first met you . . .”