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“The last seven years have been hell. We will do anything to exist in the same space you do, Noor. For lack of a better way to say it, we would like to get to know you. We can’t start over, but we would like to show you how it should have been between us.”

“I’m trying to keep myself out of the equation,” Arran admits, “but where do I fit into this?”

“Just as you are,” Alastair says, leaning his forearms on his thighs. “I share a bed with Ci and Draven and I doubt that’ll change. Noor has always been aware of our relationship. It would be hypocritical for us to ask for her to give you up.”

“It’s obvious you’re really good for her,” I add. “If we’ve spent time together and find we’re incompatible, I hope that won’t supersede our ability to have a relationship with our son once you see that we’re better men than when you knew us.”

“My son has a very low tolerance for bullshit,” Noor says, steeling her spine. “He called out the hostess at dinner tonight for judging my stool.”

“Stool?” I ask.

“She carries a camping stool in her bag,” Arran explains. “The wait was longer than she can bear without feeling dizzy, so she sat down.”

“Then why was she being a jerk about it?” Ciaran asks, fire in his eyes. We’ve all done a lot of research on all things to do with Noor.

“Sometimes, people are dicks,” she says, shrugging helplessly. I swear, I feel those words stabbed into my chest, because life has taught her that, and we reinforced it. “Zayn told the hostess that my chair was important and not to make a big deal over it. The food was good, but I doubt we’ll go back.”

“Absolutely not,” Arran says. “Look. I’m a pretty open person, yeah? At the end of the day, I want to know my girl is happy and safe. She’s sacrificed her very identity to protect her son, and I will not call him yours until you contribute something more than DNA.”

“I don’t want your money,” Noor says quickly.

“Are your parents going to pay for your life forever?” I ask, regretting it instantly. Fuck. The thing about having your life wiped away in the way Noor’s family did is that there was no way to do any leg work on her current life here. I made a stupid assumption.

“She does very well completely on her own,” Arran growls. “Okay. Time out before I punch you. I’m kidnapping her to salvage the rest of her day.”

Noor squeals as Arran stands, lifting her over his shoulder and patting her ass.

“Oh.” Alastair stands quickly, eyes wide as he sees Noor hanging over Arran’s shoulder.

“Did you think you were going to hash this all out tonight? Bullshit. It sounds like there’s way too much history for that,” Arran says.

“Why did you choose today of all days?” Noor asks.

“We were hoping Theo would be preoccupied,” I reply, standing. “Today was a desperate play for a chance to speak with you, Noor. It looks like Arran has plans we shouldn’t fuck up. Can we exchange numbers or something? I’d like some hope that today isn’t a fluke.”

“If she chooses to never speak to you again, remember that she didn’t promise you anything yet,” Arran says. “Are you dizzy yet, baby?”

“No,” she giggles. “Do we actually have plans?”

“I’m kidnapping you on the bike,” he says. “We’ll be at Emil’s for breakfast.”

The writing is definitely on the wall. He didn’t say that he was going to fuck her until the sun rises but he also didn’t have to. Ciaran gets onto his feet, and Arran grabs Noor’s purse.

“It looks good on you,” I murmur, nodding at his arm. Arran chuckles, shrugging.

“I’ll do whatever will get you the fuck out of my shop so I can salvage the rest of tonight.” He manages to pull his cell phone out without dropping Noor and unlocks it before handing it to me. “Put your numbers in my contacts and fuck back off to Colorado. Don’t you have a game tomorrow?”

“Do you watch hockey?” Ciaran asks, leading us toward the door as I begin entering numbers.

“I do, actually,” he says. “Try not to ruin it for me.”

“Brain rush, Arran!”

“Sorry, baby.” Arran moves her around until she’s clinging to his back, her thighs digging into his sides. I don’t even want to ask why she can’t walk, because I might get punched in the face. I give him his phone back as he locks up, and his hand moves to Noor’s butt to help hike her up once he’s done. “When is your flight out?”

Noor sets her chin on Arran’s shoulder, looking down on us like a tiny queen. Maybe this is why he likes to carry her around. He knows exactly where she is this way, and therefore, she’s always safe. Huh. I can dig it.

“Two in the morning,” Alastair says, sticking his hand in his pocket. We dressed down in jeans, chinos, trainers so as not to get noticed. Even then, we didn’t realize that people are really fucking nosy here.