by Tori Fox
“I’m fine. I’m behind a bar. The girls that serve need to be careful. Not to mention there are at least five bouncers working at night.”
He presses a kiss to my forehead. “There is just a case that has me on edge, babe.”
I wrap my hands around his back. “The one I saw on the news.”
He nods. “I just want to protect you.”
Those words make those butterflies I always get around him flutter to life. “I know.”
“I had a tip he might be here tonight.”
A chill goes down my spine. “You think it was him?”
“Nah. Doesn’t fit the description. But he was a creep and he deserved to be kicked out.”
I smile at him as I pull away. “Well I need to get back to work. You gonna be my personal bodyguard tonight?”
I finally look at what he is wearing. Jeans, t-shirt, boots, baseball cap. Very civilian.
He grins at me. “At your service.”
I reach up and press a kiss to his lips. “I love a bodyguard, Detective.”
His eyes smolder at those words knowing just what they do to him.
He pulls me back to him, whispering in my ear. “You are asking for trouble later by saying those words.”
My hand glides up his thigh and over the bulge in his pants. “I like trouble.”
With that, I walk away but not before he smacks my ass. I laugh as I walk to waiting patrons wanting drinks.
The rest of the night goes by smoothly. Noah sits at the end of the bar drinking water with lime, surveying the crowd. I just survey him.
“Happy Birthday, you old ass bitch!” Seraphina shouts as we all cheer with a round of tequila shots.
I wanted a low-key birthday. Nothing crazy. And with the serial rapist that Noah is trying to find, we both thought it best we have it at home. Not that I am worried about being attacked when I have my hunky bodyguard around and I am surrounded by all my favorite people, but it is safer for all of us.
And I am happy that Noah is home too. Do I find it extremely sexy that he is a detective? Hell yeah, just ask my panties. But I worry about him. He got thrown into his job immediately. And it comes with a lot of danger. Not that his job as a police officer wasn’t dangerous before but as a detective, he sees a lot more. But I know he loves his job and I am happy to see him so excited every day he comes home from work.
I take my shot of tequila and go to suck on a lime but Noah presses his lips to mine as my own personal chaser. I laugh as I pull away. He is so drunk right now and it’s adorable. “You know you are supposed to chase the shot with a lime.”
“Mmm,” he says as his hand snakes up my thigh and under my skirt into my panties. “But you taste so much better.”
I swat his hand away and walk over to a chair by the firepit. Mason is sitting next to me with a guitar in his hands. He starts playing a song I wrote and I look at him dubiously. He hums the first few notes and I shake my head.
Although I have gotten much more comfortable with writing and performing. I still only do it at the studio. Or in front of Noah. But there are about fifteen people here. That will be the biggest crowd I’ve played to since I was in The Sparrows.
“You know you are going to have to sing in front of people next week,” Mason says as he stops playing.
“I know.”
“Then it’s good practice.”
“But they will be strangers, it’s easier.”
He shakes his head at me and laughs. “I read over the entire agenda for this workshop. The first day is a welcome party. They won’t be strangers when you actually play.”
I bite my lip as my hand goes to my neck. It still feels like something is missing there without the rings. Seven years of grabbing onto those things created a bad habit I can’t break.
I look over to Noah whose eyes are locked on mine. He smiles at me and there is something about that smile that brings a sense of peace to me.
I look back to Mason. “Okay.”
He fumbles with a guitar pick in his mouth and it falls out. “You shitting me?”
I shake my head, letting my hair fall into my face. “No. But you better start playing before I change my mind.”
He strums the first few chords and I hum along to the melody. I hide my face behind my hair, using it as a shield to protect me from the rejection I am scared I’ll receive. But as I sing the first few lines of the song and make it to the chorus, my voice gets stronger. I realize everyone who was talking has stopped and when I look up all eyes are focused on me.
It brings me a feeling I haven’t felt in years. Gratitude, excitement, acceptance. The feelings I used to feel on stage come to life and I let my voice carry itself across the flames of the fire. I pour my soul into the song, letting the lyrics warm my soul like the fire in front of me warms my body.
When I sing the last note, I open my eyes and everyone is staring at me with their mouths open.
“Holy shit,” Mason says before Liam starts clapping and Seraphina squeals.
I don’t even realize tears are falling down my face until Noah is in front of me, wiping them away. I look into his eyes and I smile the biggest smile I think has ever crossed my face.
“I did it,” I say and Noah nods at me mirroring his grin with mine. Then the thought hits me square in the chest. “I’m going to Nashville. And I am going to do the same thing. And I am going to surprise the shit out of all those songwriters and musicians.”
“Yeah you are, babe. Just like I said you would.”
Mason grabs my shoulder breaking my gaze from Noah. “I—I don’t even have words. Holy shit, Anna May. Fuck that was—that was something else.”
Sera runs over to me, her squeals high pitched in my ear. “I haven’t heard you sing like that ever, Anna. That was even more intense and raw than you ever sang before.”
“It was captivating,” Carson says as he walks over to me too.
Pretty soon everyone is surrounding me. Praising me for my song and my voice. I have never felt so elated in my life. I have never felt like the path I am on is the exact path I should be on.
The party continues long into the night. Mason and I play a handful of songs together along with some of his friends and Darnell.
By the time I stumble up to bed with Noah, I feel like I am on cloud nine. It could have been all the lemon martinis but I don’t think I have ever felt this happy, this complete ever in my life.
As me and Noah crash into bed, I realize for the first time I am excited about my future.
I roll over and groan at the headache pounding away at my brain. I reach out for Noah and wrap myself around his back, one leg hooking over his hip.
He slides his hand up and down my thigh before mumbling. “Do you feel as shitty as I do?”
I giggle into his bare back, pressing kisses on his shoulder before making my way to his ear. “I think we drank enough for the next year.”
“Maybe two,” he mutters.
I hear him digging around in his nightstand drawer before he moans as he flips over to face me. He goes to kiss me but I pull away.
“I don’t think you want to kiss this mouth right now. It tastes like day old tequila, lemons, and cotton.”
He chuckles as he pulls my mouth to his anyway. “Mine is worse,” he says against my lips.
He isn’t lying.
But I deepen the kiss anyway as I feel his dick stir against my thigh. I grind my hips into him but he pulls away.
“I never gave you your birthday present yesterday. Everyone got here too early.”
He reaches behind me and grabs whatever he must have grabbed out of his drawer.
I freeze when I see a box that looks suspiciously like a ring box.
He must see my hesitation. “Don’t worry, baby, it’s not a ring. If I was going to propose, I would have made sure it happened.” I smile at him as he hands the box to me. “I just thought you might want this. Need that feeling back.”
I look at him curiously as I pop t
he box open to find a piece of raw stone on a silver chain.
“You still reach for that necklace around your neck. I thought I could replace it with something better. Especially since I know you are going to get nervous when you’re in Nashville.” He takes the necklace out of my hand and clasps it around my neck. “It’s aquamarine. It’s the stone of the ocean. I thought it would remind you of being at the cottage.”
A tear crests my eye as I stare at the beautiful aqua blue stone. “I—I don’t—thank you Noah. I love it.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I wrap my arms around his neck, dropping the box behind him as he slides into me, showing our love over and over.
By the time we finally make it out of bed, it’s after two in the afternoon. With Noah getting promoted to detective, he has the weekends off except for the one weekend a month where he is on-call.
We head into the kitchen and start making chicken and waffles. Breakfast and lunch in one. Brutus is on our toes waiting for us to drop something when the doorbell rings.
“I’ll get it,” I tell Noah since his hands are covered in egg and flour. I kiss him on the cheek and head to the door.
Brutus is already up on the window seat, barking at whoever is at the door. He jumps down and I hold him back as I put my hand on the door handle.
“Brutus, sit.” He does a horrible job at listening. I open the door and step outside, closing the door and Brutus behind me.
Standing on the porch is a woman I have never seen before. She is petite but tall, strawberry-blond hair falling in perfect waves over her shoulders. She is dressed in what looks like designer clothes with oversized sunglasses covering her eyes.
“Can I help you?” I ask.
Even though I can’t see her eyes, I can tell she is assessing me by the way her head drops slightly to take me in. That’s when I remember I never put pants on when we came downstairs. I am just wearing one of Noah’s Asheville Police Department shirts.
I watch her pink lips move as she speaks. “I’m sorry, maybe I have the wrong house. I was looking for Noah Taylor. But he doesn’t have a dog.”
My heart starts to beat rapidly in my chest as I put pieces of information together. I think of all the conversations Noah and I have had. It hits me hard in the chest. I’m almost afraid to ask. “No, this is Noah’s house. I’m sorry but who are you?”
She takes off her sunglasses and stretches out a hand to me, her dark brown eyes seem as if they are looking right through me. “I’m Claire, his wife.”
18
Noah
I wash my hands off, wondering who the hell Anna is talking to outside. Brutus is going crazy, barking up a storm.
I dry my hands and walk to the door, yelling at Brutus to lay down. I open the door and my heart drops to my stomach just as I hear Claire say, “His wife.”
Anna backs into my chest and I wrap an arm around her before she can run. “I—I’m sorry, his what?” she stutters.
“His wife.”
I hold on to Anna tightly, knowing her gut reaction is to hightail it out of here as fast as possible.
“You’re not my wife anymore, Claire.”
She smirks as she pulls a stack of papers out of her purse. “According to these, I still am.”
I freeze when I see her pull divorce papers out of her purse. Divorce papers that I never got back when Carson found her and sent them out. Carson informed me that I could still file without her consent. And considering the circumstances of our divorce, of her disappearing with nothing but a note, the judge granted the divorce. Legally we are divorced. She just doesn’t know it.
“No, you aren’t.” I feel Anna stiffen in my arm and I wrap my other around her, trying to calm her down.
“You scared that your new plaything is going to walk away?” Claire hisses at me.
I am scared of that but I won’t let Claire know. I am also scared about the way my body is reacting to seeing her again. I force out words as my body fights the need to wrap Claire in my arms because I finally know after all these years she is okay. “You need to leave, Claire.”
“I don’t think I do. Because according to these papers I never signed, this house is mine too.”
Fuck. How the hell am I supposed to get her away from here?
“Why don’t we take this inside, Noah? Have your little lover put some clothes on.”
“Fine,” I acquiesce. I don’t want to cause a scene with all the neighbors that are around.
I open the door behind me and pull Anna inside. Claire follows right on our footsteps.
“Wait here,” I tell Claire before I drag Anna and a growling Brutus upstairs.
I shut the door to my bedroom and turn around to see Anna red with anger. “What the fuck was that, Noah?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know how she found me.”
Anna grips her hair as she stalks toward me. “You didn’t even defend me. You just let her talk about me that way. A plaything? Really Noah?”
I rub my face in frustration. “I was in shock, okay? I didn’t know what to say.”
“You could have told her I was your fucking girlfriend. That I live here with you! That we are building a life together!”
That’s when I realize the mistake I made. I didn’t defend her. “Anna,” I grovel. “I’m so sorry. I was shocked. You need to understand that. You aren’t my plaything or whatever the hell she called you. You are my future. I fucking love you. You know that. Can’t you see that?”
She goes to rip the necklace I gave her off but I lunge for her and stop the movement. “Please don’t. I love you. I will fix this.”
“She needs to leave,” Anna commands.
“She will be gone so quickly.” I kneel in front of her, gripping her waist, fighting tears that threaten to break free. “Just please don’t leave, Anna. This is all a mistake.”
Anna peels my hands off her and crosses her arms. “I thought you were divorced.”
“I am,” I say as I look up at her, still pleading on my knees. “She never returned the papers. She was sent multiple letters for multiple court dates, she never showed. The judge still filed the divorce.”
Anna nods but turns around grabbing clothes and changing into them. “I need space. But she better not be here when I get back.”
Before she can reach the door, I grab her wrist.
“Please don’t, Noah. I can’t—I can’t do this.” Tears fall on her cheeks and I pull her into a hug, holding on to her as tightly as I can because I am afraid that once I let go, she won’t come back.
I pull her head back and smash my lips into hers. As much as she kisses me back, pours her love into that kiss, I can’t help but feel like it’s a goodbye.
“So who is she?”
I’m sitting at my kitchen table, staring at the remnants of the breakfast Anna and I never finished making as I grind my teeth.
“Oh come on. You don’t want to tell me?”
I clench my fist as I finally look at her. “My girlfriend.”
“It’s awfully hard to have a girlfriend and a wife at the same time.”
“Cut the shit, Claire. We are divorced. You failed to contest any of it so it was finalized.”
She shrugs her shoulders and smiles like a snake, a smile I have never seen before. “Unfortunately for you, I did contest the divorce but for some reason those letters from my lawyer never appeared before the judge.”
I have no idea what she is talking about. My brother and I spent a year trying to find her and when we finally did, spent six months trying to get her to sign the divorce papers. “What are you talking about? The divorce was never contested.”
“Maybe you should talk to brother dearest. He probably hid them. He never liked me.”
She is crazy. I think she has lost it. My family loved her. They were just as devastated when she walked away as I was. “I’ll talk to him. But right now, I need you to leave.”
“I’m not
leaving, Noah.”
“Why are you here then?” I ask, holding back every urge to literally pick her up and toss her out.
“I needed time to think. Our marriage was falling apart. We were in two separate headspaces. And I just needed time.” She stretches out her hand to grab mine but I pull it away. “I never should have left you. I love you, Noah.”
I watch a tear slide down her cheek and fight the urge to make it better. I loved Claire. I loved her so much it took me five years to get over her. It took Anna to get over her. But I cannot have her here messing with my emotions. “It’s been five years, Claire. Five fucking years,” I grit.
“I know. I’m so sorry.” She starts crying and this time I reach for her hand out of habit. “I should have come back sooner.”
“I’ve moved on.”
She grips my hand tight, her nails leaving marks in my skin. “Give me a chance. Please, Noah.”
I pull my hand away from hers. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t walk this path with you again. You tore my heart apart, Claire. I spent years trying to figure out why you left. Why you walked away from me with nothing but a note. And I can’t let you do that again.”
“I won’t.”
I shake my head and stand, moving behind the dining chair and grip the back. “That’s not what I mean. I won’t let this happen. That woman who ran out of here. I love her. I love her so fucking much. I can’t lose her.”
“But what about me?”
“What about you?” I growl. “I don’t care, Claire. I don’t. You left me. You walked away. And when I got those divorce papers and the judge filed them, I thought it meant I would never see you again.”
She sniffles but it sounds insincere. I walk to the front door of my house and yell. “Get out, Claire.”
She stands from her chair, grabbing her designer handbag, and meets me at the front door. “I’m still your wife,” she mutters.
“No, you aren’t.” I grip the back of my neck. “I’ll call Carson. Get this figured out.”
