This time, Noah’s brows shot up with surprise he couldn’t hide. “Sir?”
His voice lowered. “I saw the way you treated her last time. It’s different than how you treated her today?—”
“With all due respect, sir, things were different between us last time. We’d… only just… started seeing each other.” His throat swelled as he attempted to tell the truth without revealing the lie they’d spilled during their last visit. He cleared his throat and straightened his spine. “But I can promise you one thing. The way I feel about your daughter is never going to change. I loved her when we were kids, and I love her now.”
The man lifted a single brow. For a moment, Noah thought he might argue with him or ask him to divulge more. He did neither. Jane’s father merely nodded then held out his hand.
Noah stared at the offering for a moment. Then he grasped his hand, and they shared a firm shake. It might not have been right to confess his feelings to Jane’s father before he told Jane himself, but it had just come out. Hopefully Jane’s father wouldn’t let the secret spill before Noah had a chance to tell her to her face.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Jane entered the kitchen,following her mother, only for her mother to spin around and face her with a hand on her hip and narrowed eyes. “Okay, something’s changed. What is it?”
Freezing in her place, Jane gaped at her. “What?”
“Spill, Jane. I know something is going on between Noah and you. Are you two in a bad place? Did something happen?”
“What? No! Why are you even asking that?” Already, Jane could feel the heat searing her cheeks as the urge to defend herself rose to insurmountable levels. “Everything is great.”
Based on the way her mother chewed on the corner of her lip, it was clear she didn’t believe a single word that had come from Jane’s lips. Her eyes remained narrowed slits as she prowled closer to Jane. Then she placed both hands on Jane’s shoulders.
“You can tell me.”
“Mom,” Jane groaned, ducking out from her mother’s grasp. “Everything is fine. We’re doing great. Better than great.” A smile tugged at her lips, unbidden. “Everything is perfect.”
This time, her mother stilled as her eyes widened. “Really?”
Jane let out a quiet laugh and nodded. “Yeah. Really.”
Her mother let out a relieved sigh and pulled both of Jane’s hands into her own. “I’m so happy—for you both. Because last time you were here with him, you really didn’t act like you were dating. Not really. But then I chalked it up to him just being…” She shrugged as if that was enough to explain her thought process on the matter.
“Just being… what?”
Her mother released her with an embarrassed laugh. “Sometimes men don’t like to show their affection in public. But then he came today, and you two were…different.” She leaned closer, and her voice lowered to an amusing level. “It’s like he couldn’t keep his hands off you.”
Jane stifled a groan.
So, she’d noticed.
Of course she had. Jane’s mother was the sort of person who wouldn’t miss a single thing when it came to her daughters’ relationships. It was a miracle she hadn’t woven herself into their lives so tightly that something ended up breaking.
Jane glanced toward the door where Noah waited and prayed he’d be as patient and forgiving of her mother’s overbearing nature just like Jane’s brothers-in-law were.
Her mother squeezed her hand. “Tell me more.”
“There isn’t much to tell, Mom. You heard it all last time. We were just… still… new, you know? We’ve been spending a lotmore time together. I think we’re starting to find out who we are when we’re together.”
The smile her mother wore on her face was something Jane had only ever seen given to her sisters. There was pride and joy and everything in between. Jane smiled back, even though it felt strange to do so after feeling so outside of her own family all these years.
They in no way had a perfect relationship, but this could be the start of some mending that had been seriously needed.
Her mother placed a hand to Jane’s cheek. Her voice softened, and her eyes brimmed with moisture. “I can tell he makes you happy.”
Jane couldn’t deny it. After Noah had kissed her a few days ago, she’d been on cloud nine for a straight forty-eight hours. He always had a knack for saying the right things. He could make her laugh when she wanted to cry. He could make her feel cherished with a single look. He was so much more than she would ever deserve, and she knew she couldn’t take it for granted—ever. So of course his kiss made her giddy for two days.
She nodded, placing her hand over her mother’s. “Yeah, he does.”
A whimper of relief spilled from her mother’s lips. “Does this mean there will be wedding bells in the future?”
