Cat grabbed her Styrofoam cup and headed over to the coffee table.

“That stuff will scrape the lining off of your intestines,” Noah warned, nodding at the thermos.

“I’ve had worse,” Cat said, filling her cup. “Not much worse, but worse.”

She turned to study him as he filled his own cup. “Thank you for this,” Cat said gesturing around the room that was full to bursting. “You gave my guys a family holiday even without their families.”

Noah shrugged. “After everything that they’ve done for us, what kind of town would Merry be if we didn’t give back?”

He looked relaxed, happy. “Well thank you anyway. This was a really sweet, unexpected gesture.”

“I had to make up a little bit for being such an ass,” Noah teased. “I mean, you did save my life and all.”

“Ah, yes. And now I’ll be saving your town,” Cat said airily. “However will you thank me for all of my goodness?”

He eyed her long and hard. “I can think of a few ways,” he ventured.

Noah Yates was flirting with her. Suggestively.

“What kind of ways?” Cat asked, testing him by stepping a half step closer. She watched his reflexive nervous glance toward his ex-wife and snickered.

“What?” Noah asked.

“You look like you’re looking to Mellody for permission to flirt with me,” Cat pointed out.

“I’m a little rusty when it comes to flirting,” Noah admitted. “And I still feel new at this whole divorce thing.”

“Do you still love her?” Cat asked, kicking herself for asking a question she didn’t really want the answer to.

“Of course,” Noah said, looking perplexed.

“Oh.” It was the only word she could manage. Noah was still in love with Mellody? How had she gotten her wires so crossed? Embarrassed and more than a little devastated, Cat turned her focus on the dessert table. Dozens of homemade pies, cakes, and candies were lined up. A smorgasbord of goodies.

“Where’d you go, Cat?” Noah asked. His fingers closed around her arm just above the elbow. A warm, hard pressure.

“Oh, ah, I was just thinking about how much work I need to get through after dinner.” She gave a careless shrug of her shoulders. Careless. Right. She didn’t care if Noah was still carrying a torch for his ex-wife. The ex-wife who was counting down the days to her wedding. Maybe Noah was lining Cat up as a rebound? But Catalina King was no man’s rebound.

“You look like you’re enjoying yourself,” Cat said, changing the subject, casually sipping the sludge like coffee.