Her lips twitch. “The sugar. Right.”
“My mom would be so pleased to know I’m taking her advice,” I reply. “Either that, or she’d faint from shock.”
Noelle takes a sip of her juice. Then she stares at the glass for a moment before asking, “Did you tell your mom about me?”
It’s so far from anything I was imagining she’d ask, it takes me a second to answer.
“Never mind,” Noelle hurries to add. “I don’t know why I asked that. It’s far too soon to?—”
“I did.” And my mom practically lost her shit when I told her. She’s been texting me pretty much every day since, asking how things are going and giving me advice. I have a sinking feeling she’s already making secret plans for my wedding and dreaming about future grandkids.
“I told her about you when we spoke last week,” I explain. “She was thrilled. I think she’d given up on me ever finding someone. And when I told her how amazing you are?—”
“She wouldn’t think that if she saw that video,” Noelle says softly. “No mom wants her son dating a woman whose body is all over…” She looks down at her lap. Her chin wobbles.
“Noelle, sweetheart, that’s not true.” I take her glass and set it on the coffee table. Then I pull her into my arms. “My momwould be upset, not because of what she saw, but because it hurt you. Just like I am.”
Tears swim in her eyes as she looks up at me. “I’m so ashamed,” she whispers. “It was bad enough when it was just the texts. But now… everyone saw. I don’t know how I can go back, knowing…”
Ah, shit.
It feels like my heart is caught in a vise, and with every tear Noelle sheds, it wrenches tighter.
I don’t want to ask her about this right now. What I want to do is hold her and murmur reassurances until she stops crying. I want to doanythingto take away the look of despair in her eyes.
But that’s only a temporary fix. Which is why I have to ask Noelle the hard questions about the things she’s been hiding.
“You don’t have anything to be ashamed of.” Setting Noelle away from me, I take her uninjured hand as I hold her gaze. “At all. And don’t worry about what happened at the diner. We’ll work it out.”
“But everyone saw. Doug?—”
“Doug is worried about you. He called again while you were in the shower, asking how you were. He’s not mad. He’s not going to charge you for the broken dishes. And he’s not going to fire you. Okay?”
She gnaws on her lip. “I’m not sure I can go back,” she admits. “The things I heard people saying. That it was disgusting. ThatIwas disgust?—”
“Noelle. No.You arenotdisgusting. You’re beautiful. And smart. And kind. And anyone who says something negative about you is an asshole of the highest order.”
Noelle stares at me for a second. “An asshole of the highest order?”
“Well. I could think of some other words. But I was trying to watch my language.”
She nods. “Asshole of the highest order sounds okay.”
Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly as I prepare myself for what needs to come next. “I need to ask you some questions. And I’m really hoping you’ll answer them.”
Noelle sighs. Her shoulders sag. “I didn’t want to complicate things between us. And I was hoping… it would stop. Thathewould stop.”
All my muscles tense. “Who ishe?”
In a small voice, she replies, “Ken. My old boss.”
“The boss you mentioned the night of the barbecue?”
“Yes.” Noelle lets out a shaky breath. “I know I said it wasn’t a big deal. It’s just… we’re still so new. And I didn’t want to drag you into my crappy drama.”
Hurt pricks at me, even though I know I shouldn’t take it personally. After all, wehaven’tknown each other long—just over a month now—and she’s entitled to keep things to herself. It’s just… I wish she had trusted me enough to tell me.
“I’m sorry, Webb. I thought about telling you. But I wanted to have a good time at the barbecue with you. Meet your friends. Not bring up my gross, obsessive boss and mess up our whole night.”
