“In the laundry room!” Eileen’s familiar voice came from somewhere nearby.
Noah gestured for Peyton to go ahead of him, following close behind as they entered the country style kitchen that was so warm and inviting. Exactly like Noah’s mom. There was a crockpot simmering on the counter near the stove, the delicious aroma of whatever was in it filling the room. Peyton couldn’t help but imagine Noah and Laurissa running around in here when they were younger. She found herself smiling at the thought.
“I wanted to have more towels handy in case the pipe burst,” the petite woman with shoulder-length blond hair said as she walked into the kitchen with a big stack of bath towels in her arms. When she caught sight of Peyton, she stopped and stared, clearly surprised to see her. Eileen’s gaze drifted to Noah before going back to her. “Peyton! What are you doing here?”
Peyton smiled. “It’s a long, complicated story that we’ll tell you all about, but first, maybe we should let Noah deal with the leak.”
Eileen seemed like she would have preferred to hear that story, but finally hurried over to the kitchen table to put the stack of towels down. Then she reached out to give Peyton a big hug, her eyes darting back and forth between the two of them again, her expression a cross between curious and suspicious. “Okay. But if I find out you and Noah have been dating without telling me anything about it, I’m going to be mad!”
Noah’s eyes widened and he did a double take, clearly stunned at the direction his mom’s imagination had taken her. Which he shouldn’t be, since Eileen was always trying to play matchmaker.
“Whoa, Mom, slow down.” He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Peyton’s not my girlfriend. I’m her bodyguard.”
Peyton sighed. No way was Eileen going to let that go. So much for fixing the leak first.
Eileen’s gaze rested on Noah for a few moments before moving to Peyton and then back again, her face filled with disappointment, like she honestly had been hoping they were together. Which was silly. His mother had to realize she and Noah were way too different for that.
“Sorry for jumping to conclusions,” Eileen said, offering Peyton a small smile before her expression turned serious again. “But why do you need a bodyguard?”
Peyton started to answer but was interrupted as Noah stepped forward. “Mom, like Peyton said, we’ll tell you everything, but why don’t you show me the leak first? Before any of us drown, remember?”
The comment about drowning seemed to finally get through to his mother and Eileen snapped out of matchmaking mode only to go into a long explanation about how she’d come home from work to a dripping faucet and water pouring out of the cabinet under the sink.
Noah dropped his bag of tools on the tile floor and crouched down to open the cabinet and take a look under the sink. He’d barely gotten started when the front door banged open and Laurissa came storming into the kitchen followed by a tall woman in her mid-twenties with long, dark hair.
“I don’t have a clue what to do with a leaky sink, so I brought Tabitha with me for backup,” Laurissa said. “She’s totally into mechanical stuff.”
Laurissa chose that moment to notice there was someone else in the kitchen besides her mom, looking at Peyton in confusion for a second before glancing down at her brother leaning halfway into the cabinet under the sink. “Peyton? What are you guys doing here? Or more precisely, if Noah is here, why am I? He can obviously fix a leaky sink better than I can.”
“I called your brother first, but he claimed he was too busy working so I called you,” Eileen said. “Then a few minutes later, Noah called back, saying he’d changed his mind. I tried to reach you to say you didn’t have to come, but you never answered the phone. As far as Peyton, I’m as surprised to see her as you are. I wasn’t even aware they knew each other.”
Noah hadn’t bothered to crawl out of the cabinet, so Peyton figured it was left to her to explain what was going on. But then she caught sight of Tabitha staring at her with eyes as wide as saucers, face flushing like she was about to pass out.
“Oh. My. God,” the woman breathed. “You’re Peyton Matthews. The Peyton Matthews. You’re real.” She shot Laurissa an accusing look. “Some friend you are! Why didn’t you tell me you knew Peyton Matthews and that your brother is dating her?”
There was a loud thud from under the sink, immediately followed by a muttered curse. “Why does everyone think we’re dating?” he called out while continuing to work on the pipes under there. “Do I have a sign hanging around my neck or something?”
Peyton laughed, wondering for the second time why anyone would think that she and Noah would make a good couple. It was ludicrous.
“Yes, I know Peyton Matthews. We’ve been friends since college,” Laurissa said. “I never told you because it never came up in conversation. It’s not exactly something you slip into the middle of our morning rant on The Bachelor. And no, my brother isn’t dating her. He’s her bodyguard.”
“You knew about this and didn’t tell me?” Eileen said, her expression changing from the surprise and confusion she’d displayed the first time around to something closer to downright irritation. “Why am I the last one to know?”
Ignoring both Laurissa and her mother, Peyton stepped forward to introduce herself to Tabitha, who was still staring at her with huge eyes, hoping that would forestall more conversation on why she needed a bodyguard. “Hi! You already know who I am, but to make it official, I’m Peyton. Nice to meet you.”
“This is my friend from work, Tabitha Turner,” Laurissa said when Tabitha only continued to stare.
“I absolutely love, love, love
