The flight lasted for a couple of hours before we landed at another small airstrip. I had no idea where we were, but the sun felt warmer against my skin, and there was a light breeze that reminded me of the ocean. It had only been a few weeks since I’d seen the sea last, but I desperately missed it and hoped that maybe we had made our way to the coast somewhere.
Noah was still as ambiguous as ever as he led me over to a waiting car, and once I was comfortable in the passenger seat, he handed me a blindfold.
“Put this on.” He winked as he passed it to me.
“Is this a date, or are you kidnapping me?”
He laughed as he started the car. “You don’t have to wear the blindfold if you don’t want. I just really want to see the look on your face when we get to our destination.”
“Okay, okay.” I pulled the blindfold over my eyes and tied it behind my head. “You’re really building up this surprise, whatever it is.”
“It’ll be worth it, I promise.”
Although I couldn’t see him anymore, I could hear the playful tone in Noah’s voice and imagine the smile on his face. No matter how hard I tried, I still couldn’t guess where we were. The plane had landed somewhere quite rural, so I figured we weren’t going to a city. And from the salty sea air, I was almost certain we were by the coast. Given the way the date had played out so far, Noah was probably taking me to some extravagant restaurant or a luxury beach property his family owned. I had to wonder if my jeans were really appropriate for either option.
“When you said you wanted to take me on a date, this really wasn’t what I expected,” I said. “And does the school mind that we’ve just flown away on a jet? Like, surely this is the kind of activity that needs parental permission.”
Noah chuckled. “I think the school is used to its students doing what they want, parental permission or not. Especially the seniors. As long as we’re back come Monday, they won’t care.”
“We are going to be back by Monday, right? You haven’t flown me to France or something?”
“No, I can reveal that we’re definitely not in France.”
“I should hope not.”
“We can always go to France next weekend though.”
“Ha, ha, very funny.”
“I’m not joking.”
I shook my head. “I don’t even have a passport.”
“I’m sure that could be arranged.”
I frowned. Although we were joking around, I felt the disparity between Noah and I more than ever. He flew on private jets and popped over to France for the weekend just because he could. This experience was fun and all, but it wasn’t my life. I couldn’t imagine it being more than a onetime thing. I’d been happy enough with the idea of a simple date, and as much as I was enjoying spending time with Noah, it felt like maybe he’d gone a little overboard.
When the car started to slow, my stomach tensed with curiosity and excitement. The date was far too extravagant for me already, but I was still eager to see what surprise Noah had arranged.
“We’re here,” he said as the car pulled to a stop.
I was practically bouncing on my seat as Noah came around to open the door for me, and my hands itched to lower my blindfold. I’d never been surprised this way before, and even though recent events had made me very wary of surprises, I was somewhat enjoying the anticipation.
Noah gently helped me from the car and positioned me so I was facing in a certain direction. He slowly pulled the blindfold from my eyes. “Okay, you can look…”
I blinked my eyes open and gasped. The scene before me was achingly familiar. Tears started to gather in my eyes when I saw the faded blue-and-white-striped awning and the old Beach Street Café sign. I thought my heart might explode with the frenzy of emotions that wanted to burst from me as I realized where I was. Noah had brought me home.
“I heard the pecan pie is really good here,” he murmured.
I could barely form words to respond. I was in a total state of shock as I stared at the one place in the world I’d wanted to be these last weeks. “You brought me home?”
“Yeah, is that okay?” He sounded so uncertain, and as I turned to him, I could see a nervous look in his eyes.
“Are you kidding me? This is incredible.” I threw my arms around his neck and buried myself in close to him. I was overwhelmed by the smell of him, by the feel of his strong body holding me close, and by the fact he’d gone out of his way to make me so happy. My mind was racing, trying to contemplate how something that seemed so impossible was actually happening.
When I pulled back from him, I quickly brushed my palm across my cheek to wipe away the tears that had escaped my eyes. “We’re really here?”
“Well, I had something else planned, but it sounded like you really missed home this week. I could easily get you here, so why wouldn’t I?”
“You’re kind of amazing. You know that, right?”
He gave me a warm smile in response. “I think that’s the first time someone’s told me that and I’ve wanted to believe them.”
“Well, believe it because you are officially my favorite person.”
“Cress will be bummed.”
“Probably.” I laughed. “Come on.”
I grabbed Noah by the hand and pulled him through the front door and into the café. It was mid-morning, so the restaurant was quiet. The breakfast rush was over, and lunch hadn’t begun. The familiar sound of the doorbell chimed overhead as we entered, and Norma looked up from where she was cleaning one of the tables.
“Oh, Isobel, sugar, you’re home!” She dropped her cleaning cloth on the table and rushed over to give me a hug. The slight scent of cigarettes clung to her clothes, and the familiar smell was enough to make my eyes tear up again. I’d missed this so much.
“What are you doing here?” Norma asked as we separated. “And who’s the hunk?”
“Oh.” I laughed as she gave Noah a thorough once-over. “Norma, this is Noah. One of my friends from school.”
“Oh, honey, no girl can just be friends with a boy like that.”
“Norma!”
“What? It’s true. If I were fifty years younger…”
I smacked her on the arm, but Noah chuckled in response. At least he found this whole thing amusing.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Noah said, holding out a hand in greeting.
A small smile formed on Norma’s lips as she ignored his hand and pulled him in for a hug too.
“Norma,” I groaned.
Noah laughed, and from the smile on his face, I could tell he didn’t mind that she was a little overly affectionate.
“Is Mom around?” I asked before Norma could embarrass me further. Knowing my luck, she was going to continue talking about what she’d do to Noah if she were fifty years younger, and I really didn’t want to hang around to find out.
“She’s out back in the office. She didn’t tell me you were coming today.”
“She doesn’t know. It’s a surprise.”
“Well, I couldn’t think of more perfect timing. She’s missed you.”
“I’ve missed her too.” I actually hadn’t realized you could miss a person as much as I’d missed my mom.
I took Noah by the hand once more and led him through the kitchen to the office. It was so comforting to hear the clatter of pans in the kitchen and inhale the rich scent of fresh waffles. No matter how long I spent at Weybridge Academy, this would always be my home.
When I reached the office, I knocked on the door even though it was slightly ajar. My mom was at her desk, her head bowed over her keyboard. She slowly looked up, and her eyes widened with surprise when she saw me standing there.
“Isobel?” It took her a moment to overcome her obvious shock, but she barely missed a beat before she jumped from her desk and ran over to me.
She gathered me in her arms, and as she held me tightly to her, I felt like I was truly home. The scent of her lavender perfume enveloped me as much as the warmth of her arms. We must have stood there for five minutes before she finally let me go.
“What are you doing here?” she gasped. “You’re supposed to be in school!” I couldn’t quite tell whether she was excited, happy, angry, concerned, or all of the above, and I realized she was probably worried that I’d run away.
“Don’t worry, Mom, I haven’t skipped any classes. My friend has a plane, and he brought me down on it this morning.”
Mom’s brow clenched with confusion as she noticed the boy standing behind me. He was kind of impossible to miss, given his size and those bright green eyes.
“Mom, this is Noah.”
“The friend…” Mom sounded thoroughly unconvinced. I mean, given that he looked like a supermodel, I wasn’t surprised she had similar doubts about my friendship with Noah as Norma did.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Grace,” Noah said.
She gave him a cautious smile. “You too.”
I somewhat understood why mom was acting so wary. After the way Levi had treated me, she was as untrustworthy of guys as I was supposed to be. I hoped she’d relax a little though. Did she really need to act so cold toward him?
“Noah, why don’t you head back out to the restaurant so I can have a quick catch-up with my daughter. Order anything you like from the menu. Norma will help you out.”
“Sure, thank you.” He smiled politely at my mom before glancing at me.
“I’ll catch you out there in a minute.”
He nodded and quickly disappeared back the way we’d come.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Isobel, you left school without asking me and got on a plane with some boy you’ve just met. I don’t even know how I’m supposed to react to that.”
“Mom, it’s okay, seriously.”
“I know you miss home, but you can’t just leave school and fly around the country without letting me know where you are.”
I was a little shocked by the way she was reacting. I’d missed her so much, and when I’d discovered I was home, I hadn’t thought about anything else apart from the fact I’d get to see her.
“Well, perhaps it wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t sent me away without a proper goodbye,” I replied. “I’ve barely spoken to you since I arrived at school, and this week, we haven’t talked at all. Seriously, Mom, why haven’t you been answering my phone calls?”
“I’ve been busy.”
“Too busy to call me back?”
“Yes, too busy.” Her whole body deflated as she spoke, and as I looked at her more closely, I realized how completely exhausted she seemed. She had bags under her eyes like she hadn’t slept in days, and her skin was a sickly shade of white.
I suddenly felt scared. “Mom, is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. At least, it will be.”
“Are you having troubles with the café again?”
“It’s nothing you need to worry about. Just, with the Starbucks opening, we didn’t make as much money this season as I hoped.”
How did she expect me to not worry about that? “Why didn’t you say something? Is there anything I can do to help?”
“It will turn around. It always does. Just seeing you now is more help than I could have ever asked for,” she said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get upset. You just took me a little off guard, but I’m so happy to see you.”
Tears welled in her eyes, and I gathered her up in another hug. Now that we were hugging again, I could feel she’d lost weight. The stress was clearly getting to her, and I hated that I hadn’t been here to help her manage it. How had I not noticed she was struggling so much before I left?
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the plane. Noah surprised me with the trip. But I’m not sorry for coming here,” I said. “And seeing you this way, you’ll be lucky if I even go back to school.”
“Isobel, you have to go back.”
“But how can I leave you like this?”
“Because, like I said, I’m handling it. I’ve been having a bad week, and it doesn’t help that I miss you terribly, but everything will be fine. I promise.”
I studied her face, weighing her words. Mom had always told me when things had gotten bad before. And if she believed she’d get on top of them, I had to trust her. “Well, if it’s not, you know I’ll be straight back here…”
“Okay, but next time, you run it by me first.” She raised her eyebrows at me as she waited for me to agree, and I slowly nodded.
“Deal.”
“Okay, good,” She straightened her clothes and stood tall. “Now, have I made the worst impression ever on your new boyfriend, or do you think we could start over?”
“Mom. He’s not my boyfriend.”
She cocked her head to one side as she studied me. “With one look, I could tell that boy is crazy about you. If he’s not your boyfriend, he definitely wants to be.”
I wasn’t sure I agreed with her, but it was hard to argue Noah wasn’t at least somewhat interested in me that way considering he’d flown me here on a private jet. It was crazy and extravagant although probably not all that unusual for someone in Noah’s position. I decided to simply ignore my mom’s comment.
“I should probably get out there and make sure Norma isn’t trying to read Noah’s palms or something,” I said.
“Yeah, she’s probably telling him he’s going to end up with a gorgeous blonde who has the world’s most beautiful smile.”
My eyes widened with fear. “Do you think we’re already too late to stop her?”
“I don’t know.” Mom chuckled. “But let’s get out there just in case she also plans to tell him his future holds ten kids and a dog too.”
I was going to die of embarrassment if she had.
“Hopefully, I can rectify the awful welcome I gave him,” Mom continued. “I know I worry about you too much, but that’s no excuse for not being more friendly. Do you think he’ll give me another chance?”
“Yeah, I think so. Just so long as Norma hasn’t already scared him off.”
We walked out to the restaurant arm in arm. Noah sat at a table that was already loaded with food. Noah was a big guy, but even he seemed slightly daunted by the huge spread laid out before him.
“I swear I just asked for the pancakes, and Norma brought me all of this.” Noah held his hands up in front of him as if he was expecting us to accuse him of ordering too much. His tone was a mixture of guilt and surprise, and it made me laugh to hear him so bewildered.
“Yeah, Norma has been trying to fatten me up for years,” I explained.
“It’s her calling in life,” Mom agreed with a smile. Her eyes fell upon Noah, and a brief flicker of uncertainty shot through his gaze. He seemed apprehensive after their initial encounter, but the fact he cared about whether my mom liked him filled my chest with warmth.
“I’m sorry if I wasn’t very welcoming,” Mom said to him. “I wasn’t expecting to see Isobel, and I thought she might have run away from school. It’s really nice to meet you, Noah, and I’m glad to see Iz has made at least one good friend at her new school.”
Noah’s shoulders relaxed, and his expression warmed as he smiled at me. “Well, I’m happy to be considered one of Isobel’s good friends, and I can assure you we haven’t run away.”
“So I’ve heard,” Mom replied. “Though next time you both decide to leave school for the weekend, I’d like to be told first.”
“Of course,” Noah agreed.
Mom seemed happy with his response and gave an approving nod.
“Would you both like to join me for some food?” Noah continued. “I can certainly eat a lot, but I’m afraid this is too much, even for me.”
I eased onto the seat beside him. “I’d be impressed if you could finish a whole table full of food.”
“Are you challenging me to eat it all?” There was a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Because I’ll give it a good go.”
I laughed and shook my head. “No, you don’t need to prove your manliness to me by consuming three days’ worth of food.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I also happen to love our hash browns.” I reached over and grabbed one off an overflowing plate, taking a bite before Noah could try to claim it as his own. “You joining us, Mom?”
She was still hovering by the table watching the two of us. From the gentle smile on her face, I could tell she was already warming to Noah. She flushed when I caught her looking though and quickly took a seat.
“I’ve already eaten, but I could use some coffee.”
Eating breakfast with Mom and Noah was surreal. Weybridge was so different from my home, and having Noah here felt like two worlds were merging. I didn’t think they could work together, but it felt strangely natural. Now that Mom and Noah had gotten over their awkward introduction, they chatted like they’d known each other for years. I didn’t say all that much, but it was only because I was too busy soaking in the moment.
I still couldn’t believe I was here sitting with my mom and with Noah Hastings, of all people. Just a week ago, I had been convinced there was no way someone like Noah could accept someone like me. But today had me falling hard and fast for the guy. It was really hard not to like someone who went to so much effort to try to make me happy. Not only had he noticed how much I missed home, he’d actually gone and figured out a way to bring me here.
When the lunchtime crowd started to filter in through the door, Mom had to get back to work. “How long will you both be here?” she asked.
“Not nearly long enough,” Noah replied. “We have to get back later this afternoon.” He gave me a sad smile, like he wished he didn’t have to put a limit on our time here. I couldn’t complain though because he’d given me something so precious just by helping me enjoy a few hours with my mom.
Mom seemed to share my sentiment because she gave me a soft smile. “I’ll make sure I get some more time off after lunch so we can say goodbye,” she said. “Why don’t you two go explore the town before you leave?”
“I’d like to see your home,” Noah agreed. “We’ll have to leave here around three though, so we better get exploring.”
I let out a small laugh. He would have seen practically the whole town on our drive here, but he looked so eager I didn’t want to tell him that. “Okay, let’s go.”
