Or she could do something she’d never considered before.
Jane found herself standing outside of his house after nightfall. She’d called Bo to let him know she couldn’t make it to help at the ranch, but it had been a lie. She simply wasn’t ready to interact with Noah yet.
Now, as she stared up at his window, she didn’t know what she was doing here. She had to be desperate because she already knew she wasn’t going to admit that she liked him. Nothing would indicate just how rock bottom she was than to confess something like that. And she wasn’t willing to stand up to her mother and tell her the truth that they’d lied about their relationship.
That meant she was here for one reason.
To ask Noah to bail her out of an awkward situation yet again.
He was so going to get tired of saving her.
Her eyes dropped to the ground in search of the pebbles that she’d need to get his attention. She could have just messaged him, but she needed to find her words before she could say anything, and right now, they weren’t coming.
A few pebbles caught her eye, and she bent down to scoop them up. She rolled them around her palm. It wasn’t too late. She could turn around and walk away right now. She could set things straight with her mother and just deal with the fallout.
“Jane?”
His voice was too close and not hovering above her from that window. She jumped and spun around to find him standing at the edge of the house. Pajama pants hung around his waist, and he was pulling on a t-shirt as if he’d just gotten out of the shower. Shoot! Had he seen her from upstairs? Well, this was just great. He probably thought she was stalking him.
He took a few steps toward her, bare feet crushing the grass beneath him. “Jane? What are you doing here? Is everything okay? You didn’t show earlier today.”
She grimaced. “Yeah, it’s been a crazy sort of day.”
Noah stopped before her, the concern in his eyes doing something to her that it really shouldn’t. He reached out, placing his palm to the side of her neck as he traced her jaw with his thumb. “You want to talk about it?”
Absolutely not. But she didn’t really have any other choice at this point. She gnawed on her lower lip and did her best to ignore the way his warm hand sent tendrils of desire emanating through her blood. “It doesn’t matter,” she whispered.
Confusion replaced the concern, but only for a brief moment. “Jane, if something’s bothering you, you can talk to me. You know that, right?”
She nodded, closing her eyes. “Yeah, I know. And actually, that’s part of the reason I’m here.” Man, this was so embarrassing. The first time, he’d offered. The first time, he’d insisted that he would come with her so she didn’t have to carry the brunt of her mother’s judgment. This time?
This time, it was different.
Jane needed to ask for him to help again, and it was the hardest thing she’d had to do in a long time. Why was it so hard to ask for help? She cleared her throat when he didn’t immediately demand to know what she wanted. “I was hoping to ask you a favor.”
“Anything,” he said without hesitation. “Whatever you need, I’ll do what I can to make it happen.”
She blushed hotter than she thought humanly possible. “Really?”
“Of course.” He chucked her under the chin. “What are friends for?”
Flinching at that word, Jane stepped back. “Right. Well, this might be above and beyond the call of friendship.” She couldn’t meet his eyes, even if she wanted to. Her face managed to burn hotter still, and it was all she could do not to go running back to her car to escape the mortification she felt.
“Jane,” he said softly, hooking his finger beneath her chin. “Whatever it is?—”
“I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend again,” she blurted, her eyes locked with his. “My dad is having a birthday party, and my mom wanted to make sure I brought you along… as my boyfriend.”
Her heart all but shattered as she watched his reaction. The darkness that flickered in his eyes, the way he hesitated in his answer. She’d been right to assume that he wasn’t prepared to go to those lengths again. Whether it was the fake relationship, the kiss, or something else, she couldn’t tell. But Noah wasn’t prepared to step out of his friendzone role again, and she’d just have to accept it.
Jane took a stumbled step backward and let out a strangled laugh. “You know what? I’m sorry. I really shouldn’t have come here. I don’t know what I was thinking. I just…” Her voice died in her throat as she spun around and waved at him without looking in his direction. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Probably. It’s getting late, and I should get going.”
“Jane,” he said softly.
“It’s fine,” she called over her shoulder, putting more distance between them. “Don’t worry about it. It was stupid.”
“Jane!” Noah called more urgently, and it almost sounded like he was coming after her, but she couldn’t tell. With his bare feet on the grass, he could be right behind her, and she wouldn’t even know.
All she had to do was get to the car. Then she could lock herself inside and drive away. She’d probably have to call Bo and tell him she quit, because this had to be the most embarrassing moment of her life. Why couldn’t she have just gone with one of the other plans?
