Chapter 13 Noah
Chapter Thirteen
NOAH
Sasha traced her fingertip in a little circle on the table. Her focus dipped down, moving her fingertip more deliberately along the circular edge of a plate.
I reached across the table, catching her hand with mine. “What are you worried about?”
Her eyes whipped up to mine. “Everything. I know you’re not purposely being cavalier, but introducing anyone to my daughter is filled with landmines.
I don’t want to hurt her. I don’t want her to think we’re rushing into things, but then I also don’t want her to think this is just something casual for me. ”
I took it as a win that Sasha didn’t yank her hand away.
I brushed my thumb over the back of her palm before turning her hand over and lifting it to press a kiss in the center.
When I looked back toward her, pink was cresting on her cheeks.
I was grateful for the subtle clue that perhaps I affected her even a little bit as much as she affected me.
Maybe I’d lost my mind, but I wanted Sasha, and I was already committed. My heart was hers. By nature, I was skeptical. If anyone had told me I would go up to Haven’s Bay for a week and fall in love, I would’ve scoffed.
But I knew Sasha, even if it had been years since we’d seen each other. The kind of passion we shared was like catching lightning in a bottle. We couldn’t capture it. All you could do was hope, and maybe you’d get a taste of it. For us, I knew it wasn’t going to be fleeting.
The emotions between us ran deep. I knew I couldn’t rush her, not just because she was Sasha and perhaps more cynical than me, but because everything she said about Quinn was true.
It would be confusing for Quinn if I instantly planted myself in her life.
So I would take it slow, even though that wouldn’t be easy.
“I understand. I’m not a single parent, but I get that you have to somehow find a balance between not rushing it yet not being too casual. We’ll take it slow. I promise.” My heart was kicking hard in my chest with every word.
At that moment, a server arrived at our table, his alert gaze bouncing between us. “Shall I give you a few more minutes?” he inquired.
Sasha shook her head, her eyes shifting toward him. “I already know what I want.”
After ordering, I made sure to request Quinn’s calzone to go for when we were ready to leave.
Sasha interjected, “Noah, she doesn’t need a large.”
“Calzones make excellent leftovers,” I pointed out.
Sasha rolled her eyes and smiled. “She’ll appreciate it.”
“I missed you,” I said as soon as the server was out of earshot.
Her cheeks went pink again, and she took a sip of her water. “It’s only been four days.”
“I don’t care how many days it’s been. I still missed you.”
Her lips twitched into a smile. “I missed you too,” she said under her breath in a rush.
“Good to know. How was work?” I asked, thinking it would be best to focus on something mundane.
Even if I knew I had fallen for Sasha, I was a realistic man. We’d started this in a place of nostalgia for both of us, and now it was back to real life, back to the grind.
Sasha brightened at that, relaxing back into her chair. “Busy. I’m sure it’s the same for you, or perhaps not, but whenever I’m gone, which isn’t often, I feel like I’m playing catch-up when I get back. There’s a price to pay for taking a vacation.”
I nodded. “Always. You’ve told me that you work as a paralegal for an attorney, but what’s the focus of the practice?”
“Mostly family law. That’s her passion. She also does some drier things like will preparation and so on. Nothing as eventful as the attorneys you deal with, I’m sure.”
I shrugged. “No matter the focus, when it’s what you do all day, it can seem repetitive at times.”
“What’s your job at the FBI like?”
“Sometimes exciting, usually stressful, and occasionally boring. We’re always working on cases, but we only have what I call TV events every once in a while.”
“TV events?” she prompted.
“Most of our cases are dry. Most people plead down. Every so often, we get big cases that involve news interviews.”
“You and Dallas were a part of the case against your father, weren’t you?”
“Only in the beginning. Then we became witnesses. Dallas and I both work in the financial fraud section. We weren’t looking to investigate our father, but threads in another investigation brought us to him. As soon as that happened, we both had to be taken off the case.”
I was used to telling the story, but Sasha’s face pinched. “That sucks.”
“It did, but it’s okay.” My father’s story was old news in the family, and I preferred not to dwell on it.
Our server arrived to deliver our appetizers at that moment, so the conversation shifted to lighter topics.
Having dinner out wasn’t something I did often.
My job made it easy to throw myself into work and avoid attachments.
Sasha tugged on the ties around my heart.
She’d already loosened them and slipped right in.
I set the container holding Quinn’s calzone in the back seat. It wasn’t that late. As much as my body wanted me to persuade Sasha to come home with me, I knew it wasn’t an option tonight because of Quinn. I didn’t want to bring her home too late for the very same reason.
“What is a normal weekend night like for Quinn?” I asked once we were driving.
“It varies. Sometimes, she does things with friends, and sometimes, she likes to stay at home and play video games or watch shows. It’s a toss-up. She’s not as caught up in her phone as some teens, or so I hear, but I definitely think she considers it an extra body part.”
I chuckled at that. “Right? A friend of mine at work has teenagers, and he tells me their phones are his only leverage.”
Her throaty laughter sent lust sizzling up my spine.
“Oh, it’s leverage, all right.” Her laughter quieted.
“Honestly, Quinn’s a good kid. I keep waiting for her to be more of a difficult teenager, but she hasn’t been that bad.
She gets irritable, but she tends to withdraw when she’s not in a good mood, so it’s not horrible.
Her grades are good. Thank goodness for that.
She reminds me that as long as she doesn’t get pregnant as a teenager like I did, I should just deal with it. ”
“Ouch. That’s harsh. She doesn’t realize how easy it is to get pregnant.”
Sasha laughed hysterically at that. “I’ve definitely told her. I don’t think she’s sexually active yet. If she is, she’s not telling me. She’s on birth control, though.”
This was the first moment when I contemplated what it would mean to get serious with Sasha. Teenagers could be truly terrifying. The idea of worrying about a young teenage girl and what someone might do to break her heart was not something I wanted to consider.
“Having a heart attack over there?” Sasha teased lightly.
I glanced to my side, giving her a sheepish smile. “Maybe a little. I don’t like worrying about that for a teenager I care about.”
“You just met her tonight, Noah,” she chided softly.
I reached for her hand, lacing my fingers through hers and squeezing. “I know you don’t believe me, but you matter to me. Maybe I just met Quinn, but I care about her by extension because I care about you.”
I was gratified that she gave my hand a squeeze. “I’ll believe it. If you had a daughter, I would care.”
The rest of the ride home was quiet, and I marveled, yet again, that I slipped into this relationship with Sasha so easily. It was just comfortable with her. Well, when we were naked, comfortable wasn’t the word I would use. More like pure fire.
When I stopped in front of the house where her apartment was, I glanced over. “Would you like me to come up, or is that too much?”
Sasha held my gaze for a few beats, and I couldn’t resist kissing her. Leaning across the console, I took her mouth. I meant for it to be brief, but touching Sasha was like tossing a match in dry leaves. The fire flashed high and fast.
Her tongue glided against mine. When I heard a little catch in her throat, followed by a moan, another match was thrown in the fire. By the time I drew back, I was gasping for breath, right along with her.
“Jesus, Sasha.” I leaned my head back against the seat, scrambling to get control of my body’s response to her.
She giggled, and the sound spun around my heart. “That was your fault. Why don’t you come up? You’ve got the calzone, after all.”
I almost pumped my fists in the air. That was how deep into this I already was.