“Is this the loser you’ve been wasting your life over?” he demands.
“It’s called having feelings for someone,” Noah says. “And I care about her, too.”
The added part cuts me, and I try to keep my expression calm. How easy it is for him to say what he doesn’t mean, and how irritating is it that I’m so affected by it. “TJ…” I lace my voice with a warning. No way am I letting my cousin get into a discussion about how much Noah managed to hurt me. I have my pride. “You want those apple pies or not?”
“Fine.” He whips around and sticks a finger in Noah’s face. “You hurt her, I’ll fucking kill you. Slowly.” He stalks out without waiting for a response, the baked goods clutched in his hands.
“Did he pay for that?” Noah asks, like it’s the most unfair thing in the world.
“Doesn’t need to. Unlike you, he’s special.”
“I understand. Some of us have special needs. You going to marry him?”
I can’t help smirking. Wait until I tell my cousins this weekend. We’ll have a good laugh over our chicken wings and apple pies. “What’s it to you?”
“He can’t give you the kind of life you want.”
“Oh, really? You just real sure about that? He’s been here for me more than you. He was here when the bakery opened. And in case you’re wondering, he also came to get me from the hospital when you couldn’t bother to show up.”
Guilt fleets over his gorgeous face, soon replaced by determination. “A man who can be controlled with an apple pie isn’t somebody you want as a life partner.”
“Don’t worry. He only reacts like that tomyapple pie, not just any pie.” I give him a thin smile. “Unlike some people.”Unlike you.
“I’ve been faithful to you.”
I laugh. “Right. I’m supposed to believe you haven’t had sex in a year.”
“That’s right.” His response is immediate and firm.
“And Rim-Me is…what?”
“Nothing. I’m telling you, she really was a misunderstanding. Some hired hooker or whatever.”
“Uh-huh. Look, stop with the lies.” If he hadn’t had any in a year, he wouldn’t have let me go like that at the steakhouse. Rammi or no Rammi, he would’ve screwed me until we both turned into puddles of goo. He was always insatiable in bed.
“It’s not a lie, Bobbi.”
“I’m supposed to believe you can’t bother to keep your promises, but you’ve remained ‘faithful’ to me for over a year?”
“Yes.”
I snort. “Well, I haven’t.” It’s sort of untrue. I’ve gone on a few dates, but I haven’t had sex with anyone else since I met Noah. There’s no way I’m admitting that to him, though. It’d only encourage him.
He shakes his head with a small laugh. “Don’t lie to me. I know you, Bobbi.”
His confidence irritates me although I’ll be damned if I let him know he hit the mark. “Think what you want. Like I said, you aren’t part of my manifested future.”
“That’s too bad, because you are part of mine. So what happens when two people are manifesting two conflicting visions?”
“You quit.” I point my finger at him. “Or you forget about me. You’re good at that.”
“Or whoever manifests harder wins.”
“Listen, I’ve been working on my future a lot longer than you. You butting in uninvited because you suddenly can’t stand the idea of not having ready access to me every time you’re bored isn’t going to make a particle of difference.”
Noah looks at me like I stuck a knife in his gut. “I’m not doing this out of boredom. I told you I love you.”
It requires a lot of control to hide the pain his empty confession of love brings. But it doesn’t matter how outwardly sincere he seems. There’s always something he loves more than me, and I want to be first on my future husband’s priority list. “Well, here’s the thing, Noah. I don’t believe you.”
