He glanced out the window, a lie on the tip of his tongue. But the lie didn’t fall. “Not great.”
“How come?”
“I’ve got some shit I’m working through from the military. And I’ve also just started dating someone. Everything feels…complicated.” An understatement.
“And you’re not sure if the timing is right.”
“Yeah.”
“Is she pretty?”
Noah chuckled because of course Bonnie asked that. “She’s beautiful.”
“What do you like about her?”
“She makes me laugh. I feel like I can’t breathe around her, but in a good way. Her chocolate addiction is kind of cute. And when I’m with her, I just feel this peace that I don’t get anywhere else.”
“It sounds like she’s helping you.”
His fingers tightened around the cell. “Yeah, but maybe I’m not helpingher.”
“Noah…you’re the best guy I know. Even a slightly injured version of you is in the top one percent of guys.”
“You have to say that. You’re my sister.”
“Not true. Most would say the opposite.”
He laughed. “Thanks, Bon.” He spent another few minutes talking to her before finally hanging up and heading inside.
And the second he saw Addie, his heart did that thing where it squeezed and ached. Ached to touch her. Hold her. Breathe in her sweet scent.
She turned and looked at him, and her mouth stretched into the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen before she crossed the space between them and stepped into his arms. And it was only while he was holding her that those words whispered back to him.
Maybe he was being selfish. But was he even capable of giving her up?
CHAPTER 17
Noah ran his fingers over the harness as he studied every inch of it. The waist belt. The leg loop. He was looking for frayed stitching or signs that something wasn’t right.
There was nothing. Good.
The park was reopening tomorrow, even though no one had been arrested. But who the hell knew how long that would take?
He was damn frustrated. Hell, frustrated didn’t even touch the surface of what he felt.
He tugged at the buckles, making sure they cinched smoothly before checking that they released without catching.
Everything was exactly as it was supposed to be. But then, the equipment had already been checked a dozen times by both himandColt. Yet he’d still gotten here early to check it again this morning.
When he reached the carabiners, he clicked them open and closed, listening for that clean snick.
Leaves crunching beneath shoes sounded from the forest behind him.
“We’ve checked all that.”
Noah didn’t bother looking over his shoulder at Colt. “I’m checking it again.”
More footsteps sounded before a hand touched his shoulder. “Hey. The equipment’s fine. It was a targeted attack. It’s not going to happen again to the public.”
