When Tif was called away, Noah was left with the strange feeling of distance that Jane had put between them. That label hung over his head like a giant sign letting everyone in the vicinity know just how Jane felt about him.
They were in line to buy her book when she pulled out her phone and groaned. “Not again.”
He glanced at her. The crease of her brows. The pallor of her skin. The way her shoulders sagged. “What’s wrong? Is it the event you’re planning?”
She shook her head and held up her phone. “My mom is requesting my presence at Sunday dinner. We have these like once every few months, and if I don’t go, then I will never hear the end of it.”
“And you don’t want to go?”
She gave him a flat look. “What do you think? I’m the only daughter without a family, without a home, without… everything that she thinks is important.”
He frowned. “And you think she judges you for that?”
“It’s all I ever hear from her. How my sister just found out she’s pregnant. How my other sister signed the paperwork to build a new house for their growing family. How they’re giving her everything she could ever want. But here I am. Husbandless. Childless. Just a career driven woman who won’t leave behind a legacy.”
Noah reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. “You’ve accomplished a lot. And you’re not that old.”
Once again, she set those eyes on him that said he didn’t know what he was talking about. “You know the way I was raised. My parents are ultra-religious. It’s important to start a family—to bring more souls into the world. That’s all she’s ever wanted for me.” She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh. “I really don’t want to go.”
“What if I went with you? You know—as moral support or something. I could tell her how much of a difference you’re making?—”
“You’d do that?” She wrinkled her nose then shook her head as if she realized what she’d just said. “No. You wouldn’t want to do that. She’d end up interrogating you.”
He shrugged. “I’m good with moms.”
She laughed then, and the sound eased the tension that had surrounded them. “You don’t know what you’re getting into.”
“I know that it would help you out, and you’re important to me.”
Her eyes snagged on his for a moment as that reality settled in.
Noah captured her jaw with his finger and thumb. “I mean it.”
Jane blinked only once. There was surprise in those crystal-clear eyes. But just as quickly as he saw that bit of hope, her eyes fluttered, and she looked away.
Shoot. He probably shouldn’t have said anything. Noah hadn’t exactly been hiding just how much he liked her. But they hadn’t spoken about their closeness specifically, so he wasn’t sure he wanted to bring more attention to it.
He cleared his throat. “But it’s fine if you don’t want me to.”
“No. No, it’s fine.” She forced a smile and met his gaze again with a nod. “That sounds great. I’d like it if you’d come with me.”
“Then I’ll come.”
Lightning flickered in the distance,and thunder rolled loudly overhead. A sprinkle of rain had begun, but from the looks of it, the storm was only going to get worse.
Jane folded her arms, hugging herself. She looked more nervous than anything. Man, he must not have realized just how hard her mother was on her.
Noah moved toward her and pried her hand from her side. He laced his fingers between hers and brought her hand up so he could pat it with his free one. “It’s gonna be fun.”
She cut him a sharp look, and he chuckled.
“Okay, it might not be fun, but it’s gonna befine. Your sisters will be here, right?”
Jane nodded.
Noah smirked, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “Then let’s just make sure your mom focuses on them more than you. If we don’t succeed, then I’ll create a distraction, and we can hightail it out of here.”
Laughing, she leaned into him. “Thank you.”
