“Do I have permission to leave now?”
“You going to behave and not yell and scream at Noah before you get the answers you’re looking for?”
“I…” I was taken aback. “I would never scream at him. Yes, I’ve yelled before but that’s because he frustrates the fuck out of me.” And I wouldn’t want to change it at all.
“I could go on and tell you how much you’re in love with him, but I think you’re already realizing that on your own.” She waved her hand between us. “So, go. Find him and tell him how you feel.”
I jumped from the chair and went to rush out of the restaurant, but turned around instead. “Thank you. For everything.”
“You’re welcome.” Her smile widened. “Now go!”
Spinning on my heel, I all but ran out of the restaurant and nearly took someone out in the process. I didn’t know where Noah was, so I would try his bar first.
When I arrived at Coffee Beans & Love, I almost jumped out of my car before I put it into park. I was sure my parking job was shit but at the moment, I didn’t care.
I played out in my head what I would say to Noah and how I expected him to respond. Not that it helped. It actually made my racing heart pound inside my chest even more. By the time I was through the front doors of the bar, all I could hear was my heartbeat thumping in my ears.
“Nicky.” Presley waved a hand in front of my face. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
I shook my head, not even seeing him standing there at first. “Where’s Noah?”
“He’s in the back.” Presley frowned. “What’s going on with you? I’ve never seen you like this before.”
“I don’t have time to explain.” I went to walk past him when he caught my arm.
“I love you but please don’t hurt him.”
“I don’t intend on it.” Not again. Never. Again.
I tried keeping my cool but the closer I got to seeing Noah, the more I was ready to lose my damn mind. I couldn’t control this sudden urge to have him in my arms and in my bed for the rest of my life. Why? Why now and not before? Why did I lead him on and let him think I was fucking others when I wasn’t? I was stupid as hell because if I let him go, there was no way I would ever find someone who came even remotely close to being like Noah.
When I reached the kitchen, a deep laugh made a tingle shoot right down the length of my dick. That laugh should have been because of me. His smiles, his laughs, his fucking world, should be mine.
As I stepped through the swinging door that led to the back of the bar, I bumped into one of the staff.
She muttered a sorry and rushed past me, but it didn’t stop me from knocking a metal bowl off the table to my left.
Noah’s head lifted, his eyes widening when he saw me standing there. “Nicky? What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk.” My eyes flicked to Brady, one of the other owners of this place. “Now.”
“I know that tone.” Brady clapped Noah’s shoulder. “Good luck.” He came up to me and pointed a finger in my face. “You be nice.”
If it wasn’t bad form, I would have grabbed his finger and broken it but I actually liked the guy, so I refrained.
“Nicky.” Noah went back to wiping down one of the coffee machines. It was something fancy that I could never get the hang of using. Just give me a regular old coffee machine and I was happy. “What are you doing here?” he asked me again.
“I need to talk to you.” I closed the distance between us, careful not to touch him because I knew that if I did, this wouldn’t end how I intended. Sex was not on the table at this moment. I had to get these words out now or I feared that I would never get them out. I walked past him and headed to the door that led to the back alley behind the bar.
“I’m working, Nicky.” Something flashed in his eyes. He was curious.
“Yeah, I see that, but this is important.” I headed out the back door, praying with every single inch of me that he would follow. I had no idea what to say to him, but I needed to say something. Anything. He had to know how I felt, even though I didn’t really know what those feelings were.
Thankfully, Noah followed but he had a deep scowl on his face. “I don’t have time for this.”
“I’m in love with you,” I blurted. Okay, so we were just going to lay it all out in the open from the very beginning.
Noah’s eyes widened.
