Rough Around the Edges Meets Refined (Meet Your Match, book 2) Read online

  Noah sank down on the grass across from her and rested his arms around his knees. “You’re crying, and you just swore, Becky. I hate to break it to you, but you’re not fine. So what’s up?”

  Another shuddering breath, and Becky stared at the horizon. “Sam accepted a summer internship in South Carolina.” She uttered another half cry, half laugh. “See? This is great news, right? There were hundreds of applicants, and she got the job because she’s talented and vivacious and wonderful. This is definitely not something to cry about.”

  Noah suddenly felt like cursing and crying himself. The thought of an entire summer without Sam was a depressing one. They wouldn’t hear her laughter fill the quiet streets, wouldn’t be forced to have a water balloon fight (which they all secretly loved), wouldn’t see her amazing sidewalk chalk sketches or taste the chocolate chip cookies that only Sam could get just right. And besides that, who would step in as his daughters’ favorite nanny for the summer?

  Adi and Kajsa were going to be devastated.

  Noah plucked a blade of cold grass and twirled it between his fingers. “I’m sorry, Beck. We’re all going to miss her.”

  “She says she has a really good friend who would make a great nanny. You know, if you still need one this summer.”

  Noah nodded. “I might have to take her up on that.”

  “It’s only for a few months, and she’ll be back here for school. This is just temporary, right? If the company offers her a permanent job after she graduates, it’s not like she’d accept. I mean… she wouldn’t, would she?” Becky’s red-rimmed eyes turned to him, pleading for him to agree.

  “No, she wouldn’t,” Noah said automatically, even though he didn’t necessarily believe it. Sam was young and talented and smart. If an amazing opportunity landed in her lap, he’d want her to snatch it up no matter where it took her. And Becky would too.

  Becky glanced back at the ground, and another tear fell. “Everything is going to change, isn’t it? Sam will grow up and leave for good, you’ll marry Cassie and move to her house, and Emma and Kevin will eventually find something bigger and nicer. Meanwhile, Justin and I will be here alone, with him on the road half of the time.”

  Noah leaned forward and gave her knee a squeeze. “You’re right. Some things will change. But no matter where any of us go, we’ll always be family. And Sam will always be your daughter. We’ll never stop getting together, and she’ll never stop coming home. That, I promise you, won’t change.”

  “I know, but—” Becky shot him a sideways look. “Wait. You didn’t instantly deny the whole marrying Cassie thing. Does that mean you’re thinking about it?”

  Noah had no one but himself to blame for that. He leaned back on the grass and sighed. “It means I’d marry her tomorrow if she’d let me. But she’s scared, and I’m not sure when—and if—she’ll ever stop being afraid.” A glow over the horizon captured Noah’s attention, and he stared at a sky that had become a wonderland of pinks, oranges, blues, and purple. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen such a striking sunset.

  “She’ll come around,” said Becky with confidence. “I just hope it’s sooner than later. If there’s anything Sam has taught me, it’s that life passes by way too quickly to ever waste a second.”

  Noah considered her words as the sun sank lower in the sky and the colors began to fade. Another reminder that most things didn’t last forever. Would Cassie be one of those things?

  He tossed aside the mashed blade of grass and jumped up. “C’mon. Let’s go to Emma’s and get some dinner. I think we could both use hugs from Adi and Kajsa.”

  “Agreed,” Becky said, this time able to smile without sniffing. “But Justin should be finished with his meetings by now, so I think I’m going to go change and give him a call first—if Sam hasn’t already beaten me to it. She’s so excited.”

  “As she should be.”

  “I know.”

  Noah nodded. “Don’t be long. I’ll have the girls help me make some sort of celebratory dessert. How’s that?”

  “It sounds wonderful.” She stood and began dusting off her pants.

  “And Becky?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Everything is going to be okay. You’ll see.”

  She nodded and gave him a half smile. “Thanks, Noah.”

  Glancing at the sky one last time, Noah strode forward, more determined than ever to not let Cassie slip away.

  The little white lights wrapped around his daughters’ headboards cast a soft glow around the room. The girls plugged them in every night and occasionally remembered to unplug them in the morning.

  Noah lay at the foot of Adi’s bed, listening to them breathe. Adi’s sleep was quiet and gentle, whereas Kajsa flipped from one side to the other, tangling her covers between her legs. As a little girl, she used to fall out of bed at least once a week, and eventually, Adi had demanded they get separate beds. She was tired of getting kicked awake throughout the night.

  It always amazed Noah how two girls from the same parents could be so different from each other and yet individually special at the same time. Even more amazing was the fact that Cassie seemed to see the same thing. She and Adi shared the bond of Irish dance and all things girly, but Cassie had also been able to form a strong connection with Kajsa as well. Both of his girls couldn’t stop talking about the three days they’d spent with her. When could they hang out with her again? When, when, when?

  Noah didn’t know what to tell them. After the “not normal” kiss they’d shared, he’d kept his distance, hoping she’d come to her senses and realize that kiss had been “not normal” because it had been perfect. The thought of waiting six months to feel her lips against his, her fingers in his hair, or the way her body melted against his—now that was not normal.

  Noah could barely handle the five days they’d spent apart. Five. Long. Missing-Cassie-like-crazy days. They’d exchanged a few texts here and there, but that was it. And it wasn’t enough.

  Life passes way too quickly to ever miss a second.

  Becky’s words thudded inside his brain. Wasn’t that what he and Cassie were doing right now? Wasting seconds? A lot of seconds? The past five wasteful days could have been spent hanging out, laughing, seizing the moment, and perfecting that already perfect kiss.

  It was time to end this craziness.

  Noah sat up and tiptoed from the room. The moment he’d closed his bedroom door, his phone was out of his pocket, and he was calling Cassie.

  Pick up. Please, pick up.

  “You’re calling late,” she finally answered.

  “Five days is way too long to go without seeing you.”

  Silence. Followed by, “Actually, it’s only been four days and twenty-three hours.”

  “I rounded up.”

  “I noticed.”

  “Cassie…” Noah didn’t know how to finish the sentence. Will you just marry me? wouldn’t exactly go over well.

  “I miss you too,” she finally said.

  Enough to come over right now and dance with me again? Enough to admit that we aren’t moving too fast? And that six months was a ridiculous amount of time to go without kissing? It was simple physics. An object (or two, in this instance) in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Cassie needed to stop being that unbalanced force. Motion was natural. Moving forward was natural. Stopping abruptly or being thrown off course—not so much.

  Noah sat on his bed and leaned forward, resting his forehead on the palm of his hand.

  “Noah? You still there?”

  “Yeah. I’ve just been doing some thinking.”

  “About my basement again?” she said dryly. He could hear the smile in her voice.

  Noah had definitely missed her. She’d become a major ingredient in the recipe for his happiness, and the past five days had been way too bland. “No. I mean, yes. Well, sort of. I’ve actually been thinking about your offer to watch the girls while I finished your basement, and I’m wond
ering if the offer is still good.”

  A slight hesitation on her end, and then, “Yes. It’s still good. When would you like me to start?”

  “Would tomorrow be too soon?” Noah held his breath.

  Another pause. “Tomorrow’s perfect. I’ll bring them home from dance with me, and you can meet us at my house.”

  A feeling of relief washed over Noah, and he flopped back on the bed. “Great. It’s a date then.”

  “Is it?” Her voice was still smiling.

  “Yes. I thought we already came to an agreement on this. Once a date, always a date. Unless, of course you want to upgrade me to—”

  “It’s a date.”

  “Great.”

  “Yes, great.”

  The silence that followed made Noah smile. Apparently Cassie didn’t want to end the call anymore than he did.

  “You’re not going to believe what happened to Adi today.”

  “Tell me.”

  And Noah did. He told her about the Irish dance solo Adi was asked to perform during her school play. Then he told her about Kajsa and how she’d checked out every book in the library on the subjects of barrel racing and rodeos and how she wanted a cowboy hat just like Colton’s. And then he told her about the frustrating homeowner he’d been working with—or at least trying to work with.

  “I think Spencer hired me back just so he could pass this woman off to me. She’s a nightmare, I tell you. Every time I talk to her, she has changed her mind about something. We poured her foundation for her house over the weekend, and today she shows up holding a new floor plan with the front porch and garage flip-flopped and the kitchen in a different location.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “No. She realized that the front porch would get the full brunt of the afternoon sun and didn’t want that. I told her to just plant a tree, but she didn’t like that idea. She wants the porch on the other side of the house.”

  “Oh no. Does she have a basement? Are you going to have to excavate and backfill that too?”

  “No, thank heavens. That’s the only positive to the story.”

  They continued to talk for another hour before Noah’s yawn had him glancing at the clock. “I should let you go.”

  “Yeah. It is getting late. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “K. Oh, and Cass?”

  “Yes?”

  “Thanks.”

  “No problem.”

  The following day, Noah drove straight to Cassie’s house after work. He was greeted with two little bear hugs, along with tantalizing smells coming from the kitchen. He kept one eye on Cassie as she finished dinner preparations while his girls interrupted each other, telling him about their days. It felt a little surreal, like this was really his house and his family—a day in the life of what could be.

  It felt good.

  “I hope you like crock pot meals,” said Cassie after the girls had returned to their homework. “Now that spring break is over and dance lessons are back in session, I didn’t have much time to get dinner ready.”

  Noah completely understood. “I’ll eat anything, and that smells amazing. But you don’t have to cook for us. We can either come over after dinner, or we can bring dinner to you half the time.”

  She waved him off. “I don’t mind having dinner ready. It’s actually nice to cook for more than just me. Besides that, you’ve got a whole night of work waiting for you, whereas I get to play and hang out with Adi and Kajsa.”

  Noah moved to her side and lifted the lid of the crock pot. What looked like gooey lasagna cooked inside, smelling so good he wanted to grab a fork and take a bite. He replaced the lid and pulled Cassie into his arms. “You’re pretty amazing,” he murmured.

  She smiled. “My mom always told me that a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I guess she was right.”

  “No,” he said. “If that was a Marie Calendar freezer meal, I’d still think you’re amazing. What can I do to help?”

  “Set the table?”

  “Done.”

  “Daddy, I don’t get this.” Kajsa was frowning at the few pages of homework she was working on.

  Noah grabbed a stack of plates from the cupboard and went to her side, helping her work through a math problem while he set the table. Then he tested Adi on her spelling words.

  After dinner, he helped rinse the dishes despite Cassie’s protests. Then she turned on a movie for the girls while she helped him haul the interior doors and frames inside.

  “I have a favor to ask you,” Noah said as they maneuvered their way down the basement stairs.

  “Another one?” Cassie teased. “Noah, you ask too much.”

  “I know, I know. But this won’t be hard. I promise.” Noah set his end of the door down and took the other side from Cassie, tilting it up against the wall. He turned to find her watching him expectantly.

  “Well?” she said.

  Noah brushed his hands off. “Actually, it’s more of a promise. From now until I’m finished with your basement, I want you to give me your word that you won’t come down here.”

  She blinked at him, her eyes wide. “You call that easy? Because it’s not. I like coming down here to check out all your progress. I want to see the floors after they go in. I want to see if the paint colors I chose will look good. I want to see what the vanity looks like in the bathroom. And I want to see—”

  “Me?” Noah interrupted, unable to resist teasing her.

  “No. I mean of course. But that’s not what I was going to say.”

  “Ouch, Cass. That hurts.”

  She playfully slapped his arm. “Stop teasing me for once and don’t ask me not to come down here.”

  “Please?” Noah cocked his head to the side, pleading with her.

  “Why?”

  He smiled. “Because I want to see your face when you see it all done. Not partly done, but all.”

  She stepped into him, encircling his waist with her arms. “But you’ll get to see my face a lot more if you let me come down here every day. And don’t you dare say you don’t want to see my face, because I know you do.”

  He chuckled. “You’re right. But in this situation, I’d really love for you to wait.”

  She scratched at a splatter of paint on his chest. “The things you ask of me.”

  “Will you promise?”

  She sighed. “Okay. I promise.”

  Noah thanked her with a kiss on the cheek. “That’s legal, right?”

  Cassie smiled and stepped from his arms. “I should go check on Adi and Kajsa.”

  “And I should get to work on these doors.”

  “I guess I’ll see you when I see you then.” She offered him a parting wave.

  Noah’s gaze lingered on the graceful sway of her hips as she trotted up the stairs, and the moment she disappeared from sight, he got to work.

  It was time to make this basement look like a home.

  Snuggled between Adelynn and Kajsa, Cassie watched the movie Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue with her thoughts hovering somewhere between reality and Neverland, where kids stayed young forever, and adult worries didn’t exist. Peter Pan had been one of her favorites as a child, and when Hook came out, she’d loved that too. Up until Landon, her life had been so full of happy memories that if Tinker Bell had sprinkled pixie dust on her, Cassie would have soared.

  Too bad she’d had to grow up and get some not-so-great memories. She couldn’t fly with those.

  You don’t have any not-so-great memories with Noah.

  It was a good thought, a hopeful thought, and one Cassie clung to. So far, the memories Noah had given her were happy, wonderful ones—the kind that could easily send her gliding through the skies. Why did she feel the need to stall? She should be running forward, making more and more good memories so there would be no more room for the not-so-good ones.

  “That would be so cool,” Kajsa said to no one in particular. She was staring at the movie.

  Pulled from her thought
s, Cassie refocused on the screen and saw the little girl that Tinker Bell had befriended fly.

  Peter Pan’s words came to mind.

  With a little faith, trust, and pixie dust, anything is possible.

  Maybe it was time to stop holding back. To put her faith and trust in Noah and see what came of it. Her Aunt Jane had been right. Cassie was older and wiser now. She’d learned how to discern between a good guy and a not-so-good guy, and Noah was good. She could feel it.

  By the time the movie ended, both girls had fallen asleep. Kajsa had moved to the floor and was sprawled across the large woolen area rug whereas Adelynn had snuggled into Cassie’s lap. While the credits rolled, Cassie combed her fingers through Adelynn’s soft curls.

  She looked down, and a tenderness she didn’t expect swelled inside her. Adi was smart, kind, and determined. She had a natural grace and flexibility that would turn her into a beautiful dancer one day if she kept at it. And Kajsa’s adventurous side would lead her to some fun and exciting places. Cassie wanted to be part of both girls’ journey. To see them grow and mature. Be there for them when they fell down or experienced heartbreak, as they one day would. She wanted to see their smiles, hear their laughter, cheer them on, and be someone they turned to when life got hard.

  Was this what it felt like to be a mom?

  It was an overwhelming emotion, and one Cassie had never experienced before. She blinked and realized her eyes were wet with tears.

  “Everything okay?” Noah’s quiet voice made her jump and quickly wipe her eyes.

  Adelynn stirred and moaned, and Cassie carefully slid sideways, replacing her lap with a throw pillow. She turned off the TV before facing Noah, hoping that he hadn’t noticed the tears.

  He pulled her against him and smoothed his hands up and down her back. He smelled like sawdust and felt like heaven.

  “What’s wrong?” he said.

  “Nothing.” And she meant it. Absolutely nothing was wrong. Everything had never felt more right.

  “Get much done?” she asked.

  His focus returned to her. “The frames are all hung, along with the trim in the family room. I’ll start painting tomorrow.