His shoulders sag as he says, “I think it’s my fault.”
Sitting upright, I look at him. “What do you mean?”
“We were drinking—as you already know—and we started talking about Paul. I was trying way too hard to convince myself that he was good for you so I was bragging about him … I mean, trying to at least. It was so hard, Auds. I leaned into the fact he was good at math. How dumb is that?”
I bite my tongue, not about to admit that that was one of the “positive traits” I had focused on too.
I don’t miss the snort that comes from Selena behind me. She knows how ironic Connor’s confession is.
“But then Noah asked me if you were going to Kansas City University to be with me. I’d seen that you were accepted, but I also knew it wasn’t where you truly wanted to be.”
At the stop sign he looks over at me. “I told him I knew that he loved you … and that him being around you would ruin your chances of being happy with Paul. I didn’t need you to tell me you applied to Texas to know that you had. We all knew that you would have moved to China for that guy.”
He’s not wrong.
“Wait, Connor, if you knew she liked him and knew Noah liked her why didn't you ever say anything?” Selena asks.
Yeah … why didn’t he?
He looks over at me with a frown. “I didn’t want to play matchmaker and have it backfire. Imagine setting up your two favorite people, only to have them not work out. I wanted to make sure it was on your own terms. I didn’t want to risk either of you getting hurt … or losing one of you because of it.”
I feel a pit in my stomach, understanding that he was put in a tough spot.
“When you told me you were going to Chicago, I thought it was because you didn’t feel anything for Noah anymore. I didn’t want to question it and upset you. It felt like you were making a choice. And in my heart, I always thought Noah left because you told him you wanted to go to Chicago to be with Paul.”
The driveway of his house comes into view where Noah’s car is already parked, and a nervous energy fills my stomach.
“Anyways, all that is to say: it’s your life, I want you to be happy and I will support you. Unless you decide you want Paul back, then I’ll be very unsupportive and vocal about it. I think we’d all be. I think I could enlist your friends to help me kidnap you until you came to your senses.” His tone is teasing, but I know there is truth to it.
“Trust me, if I gave Paul a second chance, I’d hope you would all shake some sense into me.”
“Or Papa Mendez could get his shotgun, I’m still rooting for that,” Selena chimes in.
Connor starts to suggest hiring a hitman, but I cut him off. “Enough of this, let’s go inside so Noah doesn’t think we’ve all skipped town.”
Or I lose my courage to see him again.
We all hop out of the car, grabbing our suitcases before heading up the front steps. When Connor opens the front door music fills the space, along with the smell of spices and herbs.
Noah is standing in the kitchen with a dish towel hanging over his shoulder, stirring something on the stovetop.
Why does this turn me on so much?
Connor doesn’t seem phased, heading towards the kitchen. “Whatcha makin’ us, hunny buns?”
“Noah’s Pasta à la King, sweet cheeks,” Noah throws over his shoulder with a wink, blowing Connor a kiss.
Connor lets out a long laugh before moving towards his wine rack. “Excellent, red wine works for everyone?” Selena and Fiona are hot on his tail while I move slowly towards Noah, committing the view to memory.
“Do you need help?” I ask, hoping my voice doesn’t shake.
He gives me a smile that has my stomach doing somersaults. “Nonsense, Auddie. I’m a master chef.”
“The fire department might disagree on that one,” I joke, hopping up on the counter beside where he’s prepping the food. “How about your baking skills, have they improved too?”
Noah smirks, glancing towards me with bright eyes. “I haven’t tried baking since your seventeenth birthday, not sure if I want to find out.”
The others join us in the kitchen, handing me and Noah a glass of wine each.
