Chapter 6

6

N oah found himself entering the resort lobby on his day off just to get a glimpse of Jessa. He kept his eyes peeled as soon as he entered the double doors, but she was nowhere to be found.

After spending the evening in the bar laughing with her, he knew she was something special. Sure, she may be a tourist who didn’t plan to stay long, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to spend time with her. Even if he knew it was a bad idea.

Noah smiled at the front desk staff before stepping into the small office behind it. His mom, Karen, sat at a desk working on the computer. He walked over to her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“Hey, Mom.”

She turned toward him, and a warm smile lit her face. “Hey, honey. What are you doing here?”

He shrugged and leaned against the desk, crossing his legs at the ankles. “Just bored. Need help with anything?”

“I don’t think so. I’m pretty caught up right now.” She tilted her head, studying him. “Are you doing okay?”

“Of course. Why do you ask?”

“It’s not like you to be bored. And if you are, you usually go up on the mountain.”

He shrugged. He doubted Jessa was up on the mountain skiing, so thought the best chance to see her would be in town. A thought occurred to him at that moment. Vendors were set up across the street, and he hadn’t been by the tents yet. Perhaps she was there.

“You’re right. I just got an idea of something I could do.” He bent down and kissed his mom’s cheek before waving quickly and leaving.

He looked around at everyone milling about the lobby before heading back outside and across the street to the Winter Market tents. The first tent he approached was for the library. They were selling used books before their new set of inventory came in. Jackson was inside chatting with Mia, his best friend and the woman they all knew he’d end up with… as soon as they realized their feelings for each other.

They were too busy talking to notice Noah, but he preferred it that way. The last thing he needed was Jackson grilling him about Jessa.

He moved on to the next several tents, saying “hello” to all the locals as he went. He didn’t spot Jessa anywhere until he hit the clothing boutique’s tent. She was inside, holding a dress up in front of herself. Megan was nodding yes.

Noah remained outside watching their interaction until she paid and turned to exit, spotting him. The deer-in-headlights look had him second guessing waiting there. Did she think he was a stalker?

Well, it’s too late now.

Jessa and Megan walked out of the tent and stopped in front of him.

“Hey,” Jessa said.

“Hey, ladies. Enjoying yourselves?” he asked.

“We are.”

He gestured toward the coffee tent. “Can I buy you both a cup of coffee?”

“We would love that!” Megan said, dragging Jessa by the arm down to the tent.

Noah chuckled. Megan was Jessa’s wingwoman, and he loved it. Jessa shot a glare at Megan, to which Megan only winked.

Noah followed behind and let them each order their drinks before he ordered a vanilla latte for himself and paid. He thanked the barista and tipped her generously as they each took their drinks and stepped back out into the space in front of the tents at a small round table. Jessa kept her hands circled around her cup.

“Cold?” Noah asked.

“A bit. Not used to this kind of weather,” Jessa said.

“Where are you from?”

“Arizona.” She smiled shyly at him and took a sip of her drink.

“What brings you to Wintervale? Vacation?” He suddenly felt stupid that he hadn’t asked these questions last night. But a majority of their conversation was about nachos.

Jessa shook her head. “Megan and I work remotely, so we like to travel around to different places. So it’s kind of a working vacation?”

“That sounds ideal,” Noah said, despite him wanting to show her how amazing Wintervale was so she wouldn’t want to leave.

He glanced at Megan, who had stayed silent the entire conversation. She winked at him before glancing down the strip of tents.

“Oh look! A book tent! I need a new book. I just finished mine.”

Jessa raised an eyebrow. “You never read books.”

“I think this is the perfect time to start.” Megan waved and grabbed her coffee before rushing away. “Bye!” she shouted over her shoulder.

Noah bit his lip to keep from laughing at the startled look on Jessa’s face.

“That little…” Jessa whispered. She peeked up at Noah and blushed before looking back at her drink and taking a long sip.

Noah leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table to lower down to her eye level, where she was trying her hardest not to look at him.

“Would you like to go to dinner with me?”

Jessa looked up with her eyes wide. “What?”

He cracked a smile. “Would you like to go to dinner with me?”

“Even after I hit you on the mountain?” She widened her eyes to make it known she was speaking about hitting him in the crotch.

He chuckled. “Yes.”

“I thought for sure things were awkward between us.”

“And I thought I made it clear things weren’t, by enjoying your company at the bar last night.” He raised a meaningful eyebrow.

She blushed and ducked her head. “I thought you were just being nice.”

“And now?”

She smiled timidly and studied him. “Okay. I’ll go out with you.”

He couldn’t help the beaming smile that spread across his face. There was no being smooth about this. He was excited.

“Great.”

She stared at him for a moment. “Um. When?”

Noah shook his head and chuckled. He hadn’t planned that far ahead. “Oh, uh… are you free tonight?”

She glanced over his shoulder toward where Megan had gone. “Yeah. I think so.”

They exchanged numbers, and then he walked with her toward the library tent. Jackson was now gone and Megan was chatting with Mia while looking over the books.

“Hey, Noah,” Mia said when they approached.

“Hey, Mia. How are things going?”

“Really well. Just a bit cold out here. Jackson brought me a blanket and hot coffee.”

Noah smiled. “That was nice of him.”

She blushed. “It was.”

Noah always wondered if Mia realized her feelings for Jackson and just didn’t express them. Perhaps she wasn’t as in the dark about it as he thought.

“Ready to go?” Jessa asked Megan.

“Yep. Just buying this book here… since you know, I read a lot,” Megan said, grabbing a random book off the shelf and handing it to Mia.

Jessa rolled her eyes, but didn’t say anything, and watched as Megan purchased the book.

“This one is fantastic,” Mia said as she put the book in a bag. “Lillian Ryan is one of my favorite romance authors. You’ll really enjoy it.”

Once they walked out of the tent, Noah said “goodbye” to all of them and split ways in the parking lot. He had a date to get ready for.