“Did I do that to you the other night? Was I being too rough?”
Noah sighs deeply, catching my hand in his. “No, Brad. Please, just listen to me.”
Our gaze lingers for a beat as I judge the sincerity of his voice. I slowly nod my head, and walk us to the kitchen.
The guys have all finished up for the day so there’s no watchful eyes on us. We’ve got total privacy here—which is good, because whatever Noah’s about to say looks serious.
We head to the kitchen and both take a seat on the island bar stools.
“You know you can tell me anything.” I remind him.
“Yeah, I know.” He nods. Noah takes in a deep breath, positioning his elbows on the counter top and clasping his hands. His knee bounces quickly, and I rest my hand on his thigh to steady him. I’ve seriously never seen him this nervous before. It’s off-putting.
“I was on my way out of town to go camping with Dakota and her friends for the weekend. To uh…get away.” Noah begins.
I bite my tongue even though I hate that he was doing that. He was planning on leaving me again. Fantastic.
“And,” he continues. “ On my way there…” He takes a deep breath in, focusing on his fingers tangling with mine. “I spotted my mom's car in the Stone & Creek parking lot.”
My brows pinch.Why would she be there?
Noah’s fingers tighten in mine. His eyes are pleading, and I already know—whatever he’s about to say will change everything.
“She’s sleeping with Kevin.”
I blink.
“I saw it. Walked into his office, and he was between her legs like it wasn’t the first time.” He looks down. “I told him I was going to tell you. Punches were thrown and he threatened me. Said if I told you…he’d tell my mom everything. About us.”
I swear I can feel all the blood drain from my face.
Without thinking, I stand up from my stool. “I’m going to kill him.”
Noah quickly grabs my hand, pulling me back. “No. Brad, you won’t be killing anybody.”
“He hurt you. He touched you. I can’t—” I shake my head feeling my blood boil under my skin.
A smile flickers on Noah's lips as he cups his hand around the back of my neck, pulling me back into the present moment.
“He did hit me but I hit him first.” Noah winks, instantly taking some of the edge off.Of coursehe threw the first punch.
Still, I reach up and cup his cheek, my thumb brushing gently over his lip. My chest aches at the thought of him hurting. I can’t stand it.
“Are you okay?” My voice wavers.
Noah smiles faintly, closing his hand around my wrist. “I’m fine. I should be asking you that.”
Oh…right.
I take a deep breath and stare down at the ground as I go through the facts in my head.
Veronica’s cheating on me.
With my best friend.
I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry. I mean…can I even be upset? I cheated too. I’ve been lying and keeping secrets for over a year. But still, this feels shitty.
Kevin knew about Noah and I. He knew, and still slept with her. Was it personal? Did theywantto hurt me?
