Noah (The Mitchell/Healy Family #1)(60)
Author: Jennifer Foor

That also made things hard.

As much as I knew I was moving toward a career as a musician, I wondered how I could keep Noah, knowing I wouldn’t be around much. A man like him needed the attention of a good woman, especially being raised by one who did nothing but take care of her man. Noah didn’t seem old-fashioned, but I had this feeling that when he was ready to settle down, it would be forever.

I couldn’t wait to meet his parents and the rest of his family, especially his sisters and Bella, who he always called Bells. We’d spoke on the phone a couple times, when he was giving me a hard time and she’d snatched the phone to let me know he was pulling my leg. She seemed nice, and most of all, I knew he was important to her.

That also meant that meeting her was a little scary. If she didn’t like me then she’d tell Noah. It was freaking me out thinking that he might respect her feelings enough to stop seeing me.

I started filling my new suitcase with clothes for my trip to Kentucky. I’d bought new underwear that I couldn’t wait to share with Noah, and even some jeans that looked like something a country chick would wear. Honestly, I had no clue how they dressed or lived, and making an impression was my top priority.

Then I grabbed Noah’s gift, a handmade crocodile skin belt from Australia, with a decorative buckle. A man had a whole case of them he was selling in the town we were in. It looked so cool, and had cost me almost half of what my first check was. Since I owed him money, which he refused to talk about, I’d decided that a gift would be acceptable. I’d seen him wear a belt before, so I knew he’d at least consider liking it.

My phone started to ring and I smiled when I saw it was him calling. “Did you forget to tell me something?”

“Yeah. Don’t pack underwear. You won’t need them.”

“I’ll have you know that I bought some new ones that I was going to bring.”

“I can’t stop picturin’ you naked. It’s makin’ my dick hard, and I’ve got a ton to do today.”

“Are you alone?” I fell back down on my bed and traced the skin between my br**sts. “Do you want to play?”

“I’ve got a better idea.”

“What’s that?”

“Change your flight to tonight. I want you here, and waitin’ is goin’ to kick my ass.”

Aside from my afternoon appointment I had nothing going on. Sure, I wanted to get my hair trimmed, and I definitely needed to polish my nails, and shave my legs and any other appendages that needed it. “What if I come tomorrow?”

“Call me later and give me a time.”

“Are you sure? Don’t you have to work?”

“You can spend the day relaxin’. There’s plenty to do.”

“Okay. I will get online and change my flight.”

“I can’t wait to see that sexy ass.”

We hung up and I looked around the apartment. It was tiny, but all that I needed. Besides being grateful, I had a couple other people that lived in the building with me. One was about to cut her first album. She’d been doing recording sessions for the past two weeks and they were finally thinking that they had enough material.

I called Shelly, who seemed to be my go-to with all things work related. Reluctantly, I asked her if it was okay if I skipped my voice classes for a few extra days. At first she didn’t like the idea. She even made a point to remind me that I was under a contract, and the importance of sticking to a schedule. So I pulled out the tears and told her that Noah and I needed to take care of some personal matters. I told her that he needed me for a few extra days, and promised to be back promptly that following Sunday.

Finally she said yes.

I threw as much as I could fit into my suitcase, and got online, finding that the only flights available were not only totally booked for the next day, but every day until my original flight. My only option was to catch the last one for the day, which was in less than two hours.

Without looking in the mirror, applying makeup, or shaving my legs, I grabbed my suitcase and jetted to the airport. After security and checking my bag, I made it just in time to board the plane. Then I realized that when I was going through security I’d stuck my cell phone in my carry-on that was packed above my head. I stood up to grab it, but a person came and sat on the end seat. I sat down realizing that I was flying to Kentucky and Noah had no clue about it. He was either going to be very excited, or extremely overwhelmed.

The flight, being only about an hour, went by so fast, mostly because I was so nervous. I looked like I’d just woken up, and wasn’t even dressed decently. It was a good thing that the airport had bathrooms. After going to luggage claim I rushed into a handicapped stall and opened it up, looking for the most appropriate outfit.

Once I was dressed, I walked over to the mirror, brushed my hair and applied makeup. It wasn’t bad for a rush job, and my clothes, aside from needing a good ironing, covered every part of my body.

With shaky hands I called Noah, hoping and praying that this hadn’t been a huge mistake.

“Hello?”

A female voice answered and my stomach dropped. “Is Noah there?”

“Um, I’m not sure. Hang on.” I could hear her calling out for him a couple times. “I guess he left his phone when he went back out. Can I take a message?”

I didn’t know what to do. “Is this Bella?”

“This is Noah’s mother. Bella is still at work. Can I leave them a message?”

What was I supposed to do? Noah said they knew I was coming, so I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal to get his mom in on the surprise. “Actually, this is Shalan, his…friend. I know my flight wasn’t supposed to come in until this weekend, but I switched it to surprise Noah, so now I’m at the airport without an address to the tell the shuttle person.”

She said nothing for a second. “What did you say your name was?”

“Shalan.”

“That’s a pretty name. Noah didn’t tell me about a friend coming in, but I’m sure he’ll appreciate the surprise. A taxi, or even airport transport will cost you an arm and a leg. How about I come and get you instead? I’m obviously going to need to grab some more food, because you don’t want to eat anything he prepares.”

We both laughed, and then I was reminded that she didn’t have a clue who I was. “Is it much trouble?”

“None at all. It’s going to take me about an hour to get there. Can you hang tight until then?”