Hot and Bothered (Some Like It Hot 3)

And she’d use that time to sit at home and contemplate what she couldn’t remember. Ugh. “We’ve already talked about this, Noah. I have to go back, for me.” She refused to be a victim to unexplainable fears, and she needed to move forward with her life, despite her memory loss. “I feel good physically, and it’s only for a few hours.”

He sighed, the release of breath ruffling her hair. “You know I had to ask.”

“Yeah, I know.” Stifling a grin, she placed a kiss on his jaw then laid her head back on his chest, amused by his attempt to be gruff when she knew he was as soft as a marshmallow inside. His caring and tender attitude toward her was what she adored about him, despite how overbearing he could be at times. No wonder she’d fallen in love with him and agreed to be his wife.

Love. The word resonated in her chest, filling it full with the rich, precious emotion, along with the security of belonging to someone else.

It was the first time she’d thought of Noah in terms of love since being diagnosed with her amnesia, but the sentiment felt perfectly right, as did being a part of Noah’s life.

She sighed, and cuddled closer, so very grateful that at least her relationship with him, and their future together, was something she could believe in and trust. Grateful, too, that this incredible man made her feel so safe and secure when everything else seemed so muddled and uncertain.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Natalie punched in a new drink order to Murphy behind the bar, then loaded her tray with a fuzzy navel and two bottles of beer to deliver to another table in the establishment. She scooped up a bowl of peanuts and gathered a few extra napkins just as Gina sidled up next to her at the bar to place a drink order of her own.

“You have new customers at table nine and fourteen,” she said, slanting Natalie a quick, attentive glance. “Would you like me to take their orders for you?”

Natalie had only been on her shift for about thirty minutes, but within sixty seconds of working the floor she’d known that she was going to have to prove to her coworker and boss that she was fully capable of handling her job—no coddling necessary. Unfortunately, she hadn’t quite convinced them that she was more than ready to tackle a three-hour shift, and that her partial memory loss wouldn’t affect her getting the job done since she could still recall drink orders.

Topping the fuzzy navel with a garnish, Natalie lifted a brow Gina’s way. “Are you trying to horn in on my tables to make some extra tips tonight?”

Startled by Natalie’s comeback, Gina’s eyes widened. “Oh, no, of course not. I didn’t mean it that way.”

Natalie couldn’t ever remember seeing the fun and frivolous Gina so flustered before. And if everyone didn’t stop being so cautious around her, she was going to scream. “I’m teasing, Gina,” she said with a smile, putting the other woman at ease. “I saw Noah talking to both you and Murphy as I was coming out of the back storage room before starting my shift, and I’m assuming that he was enlisting your help to make sure that I didn’t overdo on my first night back.”

“Among other things,” Gina muttered, then winced. She instantly looked away and busied herself adding an olive to the martini Murphy had put on the pour pad. But not before Natalie had witnessed a glimmer of guilt in the depth of Gina’s expressive eyes, which gave Natalie the distinct impression that her friend was hiding something from her. “What do you mean by that?”

Gina quickly composed herself and shrugged. “It’s hard to blame Noah for being concerned about you. You are his fiancée, after all. It’s sweet and you’re a very lucky girl to have him.”

Natalie heard the wistful quality to Gina’s voice and smiled, though again she got the distinct impression there was more to her friend’s comment than she was catching on to.

“Yeah, I am lucky,” Natalie agreed, unable to deny her feelings for Noah, or how fortunate she was to have him in her life. “And believe it or not, I’m getting used to him being so protective.”

Like tonight, he’d insisted on staying the three hours of her shift, just to be close by, he’d said, though she suspected his motivations ran deeper than the need to be near her. He was still worried about her state of mind, and that she might overexert herself and end up physically and mentally exhausted. Rather than argue, she’d let him win this minor battle, and now he was in the back of the place playing a game of pool with Bobby. The scene felt familiar, comforting even, as if he’d done it many times before.

&nbs

p; “I’m fine, really,” she assured Gina one last time, then picked up her tray of drinks. “I promise I can handle my share of the lounge or I wouldn’t be here. And if it makes you feel any better, if I need help or feel swamped or overwhelmed, I’ll let you know.”

Gina nodded, and softened. “Fair enough.”

“Thank you, though, for being concerned.” Natalie felt equally lucky to have friends who cared about her. “It means a lot to me.”

Before Gina could reply or the discussion turned too maudlin, Natalie left the end of the bar to deliver her drinks. After dropping those off, she headed to table fourteen to greet the three new occupants of the booth and take their order. The trio welcomed her back to Murphy’s and commented that they were glad to see that she was doing so well after the accident. While their faces seemed vaguely familiar, she couldn’t place their names, but assumed they were regulars if they knew so much about her. She smiled and pretended they were old friends, conversing with them openly and easily about mundane things.

And so the evening went, with her working from table to table and keeping busy with the Thursday evening crowd that frequented Murphy’s. She felt energized and invigorated and enjoyed the steady stream of orders that kept her moving and enabled her to shake off the restlessness of the past few days.

She delivered trays of drinks and appetizers and was amazed and touched at just how many people were concerned about her. Some of the customers she recognized, others she had a hard time placing, but she managed to fumble her way through conversations without anyone being the wiser.

During a lull in business near quitting time for her, she made her way back to the gaming area to see if Noah and Bobby needed a refill on anything. Just as she arrived, Noah bent low over the pool table to make a difficult shot, and a keen sense of déjà vu washed over her. Or maybe a real, tangible memory, she realized giddily. Instinctively, she knew she’d seen him in this stance before, could recall admiring him and his firm, muscular backside in soft worn denim.

And it seemed very likely that she might have admired him in such an audacious way. Noah was a sexy, gorgeous man with enough masculine sex appeal to make any woman breathless with wanting him. Except he was all hers, and that knowledge made her tingle with warmth and anticipation of what would happen once he took her home tonight and they were all alone.

But first, she’d up the stakes of his game.

She leaned in next to his side, so close his arousing male scent surrounded her. “Make that shot, and I’ll be your love slave tonight,” she whispered seductively in his ear, just to rattle his composure and test his restraint.

He tipped his head sideways, meeting her gaze. “I’m going to hold you to that promise, sweetheart,” he drawled.