by Skye Jordan
She huffed a laugh, a tingle of annoyance crawling along her neck. “You don’t sleep eight hours anyway. You’re always on the—” Computer died on her lips. As smoothly as possible, she turned the conversation ninety degrees. “This isn’t some second-rate POS. It’s top of the line. You didn’t want me to touch you with electrostimulation either, and look how much that’s done for you.”
“I’m always on the…what?”
Figured he’d pick up on her slip. She chose one of the lettuce cups and curled the leaf around the chicken salad. “How was your morning with Rafe?”
“Okay. I’m still having trouble with a couple of the advanced moves. After my third face plant, Rafe cut me off. Pushed me back to the ordinary stuff—none of which will be winning any medals.”
“Baby steps. You remember we’re going to the doctor tomorrow, right?”
“Uh…” His spoon froze in the middle of transferring food. “What time?”
“Ten. I sent Rafe a reminder text.” She frowned at him, thinking about their schedule. “Why? Did you have some other big plans I don’t know—”
Wings event. Saturday.
Her words died. Anger spiked. What had he been planning on doing? Skipping out to Los Angeles at the last minute? Or maybe simply leaving and not even telling her? Then her mind turned to the mysterious Mandy, Monica, Misty, whoever he Skyped with every night, and hurt pierced her inflated anger.
She dropped her gaze to her plate. Keep it together. Let go. This isn’t a big deal. “This is really good.” She cleared a sudden thickness from her throat and picked up another asparagus spear. “These taste different from my regular recipe. Better. What did you do?”
“Chopped up some pistachios and added them to the dressing.”
She lifted her gaze to his and found him watching her like he was trying to get inside her head. Julia smiled. “Look at you, altering recipes and keeping it healthy. I’m impressed.”
His look of confusion dimmed. “I had a good teacher.” He set down his fork and picked up his wine. “About tomorrow…”
Julia’s abdominal muscles tightened for the blow.
“I know I’m bringing this up really late,” he said, “like really late…but there’s a sponsor event tomorrow in Los Angeles that Drake really wants me to go to—”
“Right.” She nodded and picked up her glass. “He mentioned it to me. I agree. It’s a great idea. You deserve a break.” The words rushed out of her mouth. “Why don’t you take the night off and go. Have fun. Relax. Blow off some steam—all in moderation, of course—but, yeah, you should go.”
She put the glass to her lips and took two deep gulps, wishing the alcohol would go directly into her bloodstream. The silence that followed felt heavy and tense, making Julia want to run. But he’d gone to all the trouble to make this great dinner, and now she felt trapped.
She took another big drink, then slipped a forkful of quinoa into her mouth even though she’d lost her appetite. “Wow,” she said, then finished her bite, distracting herself from the tightening twist in her gut with the full flavors and pleasant texture. “I think you’ve really got a future with this cooking thing. Who knew, right? And to think how resistant you were to cook for yourself. You’re not going to get this kind of healthy, tasty food at any restaurant.”
Noah pressed his forearms to the table, leaning in and meeting her gaze deliberately. “I was hoping you’d go too.”
She picked up her glass, a little stunned, a lot confused. “Why?”
He rolled his eyes and sat back. “This is why it took me so long to get up the nerve to ask, I knew you’d find some excuse to say no. But you don’t have to make it sound so distasteful.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I just expected you to bring a date. I mean, I know we have that no-dating policy, but I’d agree to suspend it for one night.”
“I like that idea,” he said cautiously. “And I really like the idea of you coming with me.”
She wiped her hands on her napkin. “Hold on. I’m not understanding this. Are you saying you want us to do a double date or something?”
“No,” he said, growing frustrated with her. “I want you to go with me.”
She shook her head. “Again…why? Why don’t you bring the girl you’re always Skyping with?” What the hell did it matter if he knew that she knew about the chick now? “That would give you the kind of night you really want.”
Emotions flashed across his face so fast, she couldn’t read them all. Confusion, disbelief, humor, irritation. Blink, blink, blink, blink…then gone. He pressed his hands to the table, arms straight. “Okay, we’ve got a really big communication gap going here.”
No kidding.
“One,” he started, ticking off a finger, “you obviously don’t know what I want, or you’d say yes. Two, the girl I Skype with—”
As if on cue, his laptop started that annoying little chirping melody that signaled someone was trying to Skype him. Julia’s stomach dropped, but Noah actually looked pleased.
“Perfect,” he said. “Let’s clear this up right now.”
He disappeared into the living room and returned with his laptop, still chirping. He set it on the table facing Julia, then knelt beside her.
She pushed her chair back. “I don’t want to meet—”
He tapped a key and said, “Hey, Maisy.” He gripped Julia’s thigh so she couldn’t stand. “This is my friend Julia.”
“Your physical therapist?”
The woman’s voice sounded much younger than Julia expected, which made her tear her glare from Noah’s profile and glance at the screen. The voice did indeed belong to someone very young, maybe fourteen. Julia’s mind warped in several different directions, trying to fit the relationship between Maisy and Noah into a box she understood.
“Yes,” Noah said, then looked at Julia and squeezed her thigh. “Julia, this is my niece, Maisy.”
The pretty girl on the screen grinned and waved. “Hi, Julia.”
“H-hi, Maisy.” She didn’t look at Noah. Couldn’t look at Noah. Her face burned with embarrassment. She felt like a complete lunatic. A jealous, petty bitch. An insecure groupie. God, she was such a loser.
“Can I call you back, bug?” Noah asked. “You caught us at dinner.”
“Oh yeah, sure,” she said, all spunky. “But I’ve got a shit ton of History to get through before my midterm—”
“Excuse me?”
“Um…I mean, a ton of History.” She grimaced. “Sorry. I’m über stressed.”
“I can see that. Maybe you should be spending a little more time studying and less time texting.”
Maisy’s phone chirped, and without looking away from the screen, her angelic grin in place, she slid it under the covers on her bed.
Noah barked a laugh. “Gonna have to think a lot faster to get that past me. Turn that thing off and read.”
“Okay, but if I don’t nail this test, Mom’s gonna tar and feather me. I don’t know what that means, but I don’t want to either.”
“How many chapters?”
Her pink lips pursed and slid to the side as her eyes rolled toward the ceiling. God help her, Julia saw Noah in her bright blue eyes and strong chin. “Um…three?”
“Which means five. Maisy”— He cut off his frustrated response. “Okay, let me go so I can get back to you sooner. And read while I’m gone. We’ll get through it.”
They said good-bye, and Noah closed the laptop with a sigh. He rested his elbows on the closed computer, turned to face Julia, and propped his chin on his clasped hands. “That is who I Skype with into the night.”
Julia let her eyes fall closed, his intense gaze unbearable in her shame. “I’m sorry. I just assumed—”
“What anyone would assume. I’ve lived a free and open lifestyle up until the accident. If you have preconceived ideas, it’s my fault, not yours.”
She let out a long breath and rubbed at the burn in her cheeks. “Why do you call her
bug?”
“Love bug,” he said, his grin growing, gaze softening. “She’s been as sweet as candy from the day she was born.”
Oh Jesus. Julia didn’t need anything more to like about this man.
“She’s bright but struggles in school,” he said. “I think she has a subtle learning disability we haven’t been able to pin down. My oldest sister, who’s two years younger than me, and I have dyslexia. Maisy probably has it too, but it’s mild, so it hasn’t shown up in her tests, which sucks because it keeps us from being able to get her help.”
That explained his charity.
Julia worked the years backward. Two years younger than Noah would make his sister twenty-eight. If she had a daughter in high school, that meant… “Wow, your sister started young.”
“Way too young. We all had a rough start. Becky’s dyslexia combined with no dad around, my mother’s neglect, Becky’s spotty school attendance, and her lousy attitude made identifying and dealing with it, well, impossible. She’s in adult classes now but still doesn’t read beyond a first-grade level. So when Maisy needs help with her homework…” He shrugged. “My dyslexia isn’t as bad as Becky’s, and I had a whole different type of education, so I can help her.”
Julia knew all about the private one-on-one schooling the most promising athletes got. She’d graduated high school early and blew through her first two years of college by the time she turned eighteen.
“Do they live in Spokane?” she asked.
“No. Colorado Springs. She moved to follow the deadbeat dad of adorable daughter number two, Stephie, and got stuck there because baby-daddy of future-heart-crusher number three, Tabitha, has partial custody and a court order that won’t allow Becky to move his daughter out of state.”
He didn’t sound happy about that at all.
“Wow,” Julia said. “Complicated. You sound close to your family.”
“Only my nieces.” His expression hardened a little more. “My sisters keep in touch because I’m more their bank than their brother. All our fathers are out of the picture, and my mom…” He shook his head. “I only get a call from her when she needs a transfer of funds.” He blew out a breath and forced a smile. “But back to us.” He reached out and took her hand. “You don’t have to come with me as my date, but I’d really like you to come. Call it friendship, call it watching over me so I don’t screw up, I don’t care. But come.”
Part of her wanted to go, wanted to see Noah in his element. Another part toyed with the idea of exposing her skeletons—it would be the easiest and fastest way to quell his attraction. An attraction she shared and one that was wearing her down. But she didn’t relish the thought of losing the respect they’d built. Damaging their existing relationship could hinder Noah’s recovery, and above all, that had to be her top priority.
“I can see the tennis match going on in your head,” he said, pulling her from the endless list of pros and cons. “It’s just a stupid, frilly dinner where everyone drinks too much, talks too much, and regrets it all the next morning. Don’t make more of it than it is.”
She knew different. “Thank you, Noah, but these fancy things aren’t me. I don’t even have anything to wear, and leaving tomorrow doesn’t give me any time to find something. Look, just go and have fun. We’ll pick up where we left off when you get back Sunday morning.”
He looked oddly pleased with her response. “I knew you’d say that.”
Pushing his chair back, Noah stood, turned to the pantry, and disappeared inside.
“Noah… What…?”
He reappeared in seconds, holding a very large silver box topped with a big red bow. He used the gift to move aside a few dishes on the table and set it down, then slid his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and shifted from foot to foot. His obvious unease only added to the quiver in Julia’s belly.
“Open it,” he prodded when she just stared at the box.
It had been years, years, since anyone had given her a gift, including her own parents. “I—”
“Just open it.”
She pried her gaze from the box, her throat thick, her heart beating hard. She started to decline, but Noah spoke first.“Come on. It won’t bite. I promise.”
This was so incredibly awkward. She turned her gaze back on the box with all her barriers shattered. Her fingers felt numb sliding the ribbon away. Her mind darted everywhere as she lifted the top. Pink tissue paper had been secured by the sticker of an exclusive boutique in downtown South Lake Tahoe.
“Noah, you really shouldn’t have—”
“Look at it before you say anything.”
She eased a breath from her lungs and carefully pulled the label off, then parted the tissue. The dress was deep fuchsia, almost the color of the wine still clinging to the sides of their glasses. The style was one-shouldered, the single strap beaded with a sleek cutout over the collarbone. The fabric, some type of soft, opaque netting, was sheered along the seam opposite the strap, creating a subtle radiating pattern through the body of the dress. “Oh God.” She breathed the words, running her fingers over the fabric. “It’s gorgeous.”
“Yeah?” he said, surprise and pleasure in his voice. “You like it? I went for understated but sexy with a touch of class. Take it out of the box.”
“Noah—” She was suddenly breathless. Emotions she didn’t understand welled up inside her, shrinking her lungs, rushing her heart, tightening her stomach.
“I’ve never believed a guy had any business trying to buy clothes for a woman, but this just screamed Julia to me.”
When she didn’t move, Noah stepped forward and lifted the dress from the box, holding it out to the side so they could both look at it.
“It’s fitted to show off the great shape of your body, one-shouldered to expose your awesome arms, and short, because your legs are nothing short of fan-freaking-tastic.”
Shit, shit, shit. He looked ridiculously sweet and vulnerable standing there holding the dress. Julia’s insides turned soft despite her attempts to remain distant.
“The color’s pretty flashy, but with your dark hair and eyes…”—he met her gaze and grinned—“nobody’s going to be able to keep their eyes off you. So what do you think? If it’s too much, I have a couple of other options. One’s bluish green. The lady at the store called it teal. The other one is black.” He gave her a self-deprecating half grin and lowered the dress, folding it over one arm. “Figured I couldn’t go too wrong with black.”
“You bought three dresses?”
“And shoes.” He reached over and picked up one of the heels Julia hadn’t noticed snuggled into the corner of the box. “But, I have to admit, she picked these. The dresses tapped me out. A man can only take so much time in a fluffy boutique like that.”
She picked up the other shoe. They were open-toed, four-inch spike heels with one pair of leather straps that crisscrossed over the toes and one pair that crisscrossed high on the ankle. Beautiful, classic, and wildly sexy in their simplicity. They also happened to be her perfect shoe size.
“How did you know my sizes?”
“You’re always pulling clothes off and leaving your shoes by the door. I just checked the tags.”
“Noah, I don’t know what to say. No one’s ever done anything like this for me. I’m just…sort of…speechless.”
“Yes.” He pumped his fist in a comical imitation of someone just winning the lottery. “I love when that happens.”
She laughed softly. “How did you find time? You’re always with me or Rafe.”
“Rafe swung me by the boutique on the way home last week.”
“And you didn’t mention it before now because…?”
His grin took on an edge of vulnerability. “Like I said, I was sure you were going to say no, and I was trying to circumvent your possible excuses. Trying to figure out a way to get you to say yes.”
Oh, good Lord. Her shoulders sagged. Her heart pulled hard.
Whoa. Hold on. Slow down.
&nbs
p; Julia slammed on her mental brakes. She was seriously, seriously, seriously that close to falling for this guy.
And falling hard.
The realization sent a zing of terror straight down her spine. Her mind flashed back to the weeks after Duncan bailed with the latest hot ticket on his arm and all Julia’s money in his bank account with no way for her to get it back, and her vow to never, ever let a man that close to her again.
Yet, she had absolutely no weapons to wield against this crazy attraction, one quickly turning into deep affection.
No, that wasn’t true. She had one. But using it came at a high price.
“So…” he prodded with hope filling his voice. “What do you say?”
As she looked into the deep blue eyes, she knew this party was her only salvation, the only way to put distance between them again. He’d see her completely differently after a couple of hours filled with stories of her tawdry background.
A cold, prickly sensation seeped in, but she took a deep breath, blew it out slowly, and forced a smile for him. “How can I resist?”
Noah dropped his head back and finished off the water bottle just as the flight attendant passed, and he handed her his empty.
“Noah’s X-rays showed a slight malunion that I’m concerned about,” Julia told Drake over her cell. “His orthopedist doesn’t seem to think it’s a big deal because of the cement the surgeon used to secure the screws. Said it was new, a prototype or something.”
“Excuse me, ma’am?” The flight attendant paused in their row again. “I really need you to put the phone and computer away.”
Julia nodded but didn’t make any move to obey, which made Noah smile. The woman had a serious stubborn streak, not to mention a distaste for authority. Noah loved that about her. But this was the flight attendant’s third request, and the look she gave Noah told him she was about at her patience limit. The cabin door was closed, the plane already pushing back from the gate.
Noah gave the frustrated flight attendant a grin. “Sorry. I’ll cut her off.”
