Was Caitie the contradiction? Or was it Keven? Every time Noah had seen her with other people, she’d been kind. After his first unpleasant interaction with some students at the university, kindness had become especially important to him.It’d been one of the things which had drawn him to her. And nothing in her behavior during this trip had made him think her anything but what she appeared.
Noah accepted that if Keven would lie to his granny, there was no reason he wouldn’t lie to Noah. Caitie had accused Keven of hitting her. If it weren’t only a rumor she’d created to get back at him, there should be a police report. Would it be public information? He woke his laptop and typed Keven’s name in a search.
Finn opened the door. “Sona said we need to be at lunch.”
“I’ll shower quick.” Noah jogged to the bathroom, still thinking about Caitie.
It’d been hard on him when he’d first come to America. Even Finn hadn’t known how bad. He’d struggled a little with the still-present prejudice against the Irish but not the accusations of nepotism like Noah had. Insecurities about coming from a small village in Ireland had made it worse.
Then he’d met Caitie. She’d been quick to point out other students or members of the REKD Gaming staff who’d also come from smaller communities. She’d even stressed that Boone itself wasn’t a grand and sophisticated city, and people liked it that way. Being with her had given him confidence.
Then Keven had told Noah he’d dated her for a while the year before. After a disagreement, he’d broken things off with her. Keven said she’d turned spiteful and tried to ruin him by telling people he’d hit her. Noah had known about a girl back home who’d made false accusations against a man who’d worked at the local quarry.
It’d been in all the news. He’d believed Keven and not spoken to Caitlyn again. Noah hadn’t even given her a chance to defend herself.
Talk about anidjit. And yet last night, it’d looked like she was willing to give him another chance.
When he entered the kitchen, everyone was busy preparing a meal, including Sona and Kayn.
“Sorry I slept so late,” Noah said. “I was knackered. What all are you making?” He pretended to examine what everyone was doing when all he wanted was to check on Caitie, who was cutting fruit again.
“Just sandwiches and some salads,” Sona said. “Everyone’s been telling me about the great activity you guys had yesterday.”
“Too bad you couldn’t have brought back any samples, especially the chocolate ice cream,” Kayn added. “Growing up in Phoenix gave me a taste for jalapeños.”
Noah glanced at Caitie. At the talk of the peppers, she’d lost the color in her face.
“Are you okay?” He tried to urge her toward a chair, but she resisted.
“I’m fine. I just remembered my reaction.” She reached back and gave his arm a soft pat.
When their skin touched, Noah wanted to pull her closer. Instead, he stepped back a pace.
“Hey, I’ve been checking to see if we could get hold of a few of those ice cream machines.” Heath glanced up from his laptop. “I don’t know how they do it in eight minutes. All the ones I’m seeing online take twice that long to freeze.”
“It would give people more time to interact,” Zoe suggested.
“I think we should discuss the merits ofnotdoing it here in the penthouse.” Caitie glanced around the group at everyone but Noah. “This is an amazing city. While the penthouse is great and has a wonderful view, it’s not the same thing as getting outand doing things together. I’ve loved all the activities in the park, but it was a pleasant opportunity to check out the neighborhood, wasn’t it? I think it helped to improve the mood.”
“It’ll be something good for us to discuss tomorrow on the trip back. It’s Sunday. As I mentioned before, we have something else planned,” Sona said. “Something special—butafterlunch.”
“Let’s eat.” Kayn picked up the platter of sandwiches and strode from the kitchen.
Caitie collected the bowl of fruit and followed. Still conflicted, Noah took his time filling the water pitchers. Finn joined him but said nothing.
“What is it that’s troubling you?” Noah finally asked when they were the only ones left in the room. “I can tell something is.”
“Aye, ‘tis troubling me. I wasn’t spying or anything, but I noticed the search you had up on your laptop. I finished it for you.” Finn held up his phone.
Noah stared at the picture on the screen. Even with the bruises, her eyes almost swollen shut, and her bottom lip split, he knew it for Caitie. Adrenaline flooded his body, and he wanted to rush into the dining room to make sure she was all right.
Instead, he leaned closer, but the image went black. He grabbed the phone and brought the screen back to life again. With a quick movement of his fingers, he enlarged the photo.
“‘Tis from an online news story. It says Keven did it.” Finn gently took back his phone.
The vein in Noah’s neck twitched.Keven had hit Caitie. It looked like more than once. If he’d been with them now, he would have felt Noah’s fist in his face.
“Remember to breathe.” Finn put a steadying hand onNoah’s shoulder, saying, “Since ‘twas Keven’s first arrest, the judge let him off with community service and anger management classes. I know you’ve heard the rumors about Caitlyn. And I heard what Keven said about her when he dropped us off. The record says she has something Americans call a restraining order against him. I had to look it up. He’s not allowed to get any closer to her than fifty feet. Usually, these restraining orders are for a much greater distance.”
