The First Noelle by Delia Latham

Author:Delia Latham [Latham, Delia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian fiction
Publisher: Pelican Book Group (White Rose Publishing)
Published: 2016-12-07T05:00:00+00:00

8

Michael leaned against the door frame, watching the activity.

Across the room, from atop a ladder, Noelle gave her team verbal instruction as well as gestures and narrow-eyed consideration of every question. Michael couldn’t stop a mischievous grin. The woman on that ladder today made the one who’d shown up on his doorstep three weeks ago look like a pale shadow. Wearing sneakers, a loose sweatshirt and a pair of faded jeans, Noelle epitomized vibrancy.

Her team loved it…now. But when they’d first arrived, Michael caught the confused glances and wide eyes at the change in the owner of Joy Designs. But no one said anything aloud. They just eased into the new way of things and performed their duties like the professionals they were.

The place looked like a Christmas showplace already, and Noelle wasn’t finished. Her energy never seemed to flag, but then, she’d always been a fireball—never still, always on the move. No matter what, he’d kept up, because he couldn’t bear to be apart from her. Even as a child, he’d known Noelle was the love of his life.

“What do you think, Michael?” Her voice cut through his reverie. “A little higher with this garland? It’s hard to tell from up here.”

“Then take a walk on the wild side, Miss Joy. Come on down out of the clouds and see for yourself.”

She bounced down the ladder as if she hadn’t been working since 7:00 AM, zoomed across the room, and landed a playful slap on his arm. “I was not in the clouds, Mr. Holliday.”

“Well, now that you’re down here with us common folk, what do you think? The garland looks perfect to me.”

She tilted her head one way and then cocked it the other, her beautiful eyes narrowed, full lips pursed. Finally, she relaxed and pulled out that crooked smile of hers, the one that always left Michael feeling a bit sucker-punched. “It is perfect. You could’ve just told me that yourself.”

He leaned close and spoke low, for her ears only. “Oh, but then you wouldn’t have come closer. I like it when you’re closer. You smell like…well, it’s how I imagine Heaven smells.” His breath disturbed the silken wisps of hair that had worked loose from her short ponytail. Between the tickle of those wayward strands and the light scent of citrus and jasmine that always wafted around her in tantalizing waves, Michael found himself fighting the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her until she wilted.

Not that she’d thank him much for doing so—especially in front of her team.

She blushed, though, exactly as she’d done years ago when he’d popped off with something unexpected like that. “You, Mr. Holliday, are absolutely incorrigible.”

“Yes. Encourage-able too, in case you’ve wondered.”

“That’s not a word.”

“Must be. I just used it. And was there any question about what it means?”

“Miss Joy?” From the top rung of a twelve-foot ladder, one of the workers called across the room. “Are we leaving it, then?”

“Yes, Jimmy. It’s perfect. Anchor it exactly where it is and then you guys call it a day.

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