Chapter 28 Naomi
I wake with a breath that might be relief, might be panic. The ceiling is my sky, wide and silent, as the events of last night dance through my head. They twist, ache, hum, like songs of hope and doubt.
I'm scared, I realize.
Scared of wanting. Of this happiness that might be real and my fumbling attempts to hold on to it, to keep from screwing up. It felt too good, still does.
I hope tomorrow, it’ll be the same. It’s a crazy, budding hope, but it’s there and it terrifies me.
Ty said he loves me, always has.
Words I missed during the past seventeen years.
Maybe my stupid revenge plan never stood a chance.
I roll to the side to face him. He’s still sleeping, completely shameless in his uncovered nakedness, beautiful as ever, with his inked muscled arms and long toned legs.
Last night was more than sex. It was everything. Everything I thought I’d lost and wasn’t supposed to want. Can it last? Or will we ruin this again?
I study Ty beside me, and my heart stretches its arms, tentative but so ready to embrace this moment. It’s like we’re eighteen and he’s carving our initials into the oak tree in my back yard to turn us into a future.
Only, we’re older. He’s famous, and I know what fame means, what it does to people, what it can do to us.
Can he really put me first? Can I deal with it?
I don’t know if I’m ready to gamble, but I don’t want to give up either.
Problem is, I can’t pretend. I can’t pretend that I’ll be okay with him being constantly gone if he chooses the stage.
That’s why Sonia’s plan to get back at Tyler was doomed from the start. I’ll never be that person.
A memory flashes through my mind. A man I used to see. One who claimed he had my back but then told me I wasn’t TV material.
You’re too serious, Naomi.
Can’t you be a little more playful?
Have fun.
I couldn’t. The kitchen was the only place that mattered, the only truth I had left. Being someone else there felt like cheating. Cheating my father and everything he taught me about food.
My one and only serious relationship after Ty fell apart because of a stupid reality show, because I wasn’t the star quality. And my boyfriend couldn’t even give me a heads-up that I’d be eliminated. It felt like the biggest betrayal ever after Ty leaving me.
Stop self-sabotaging, Naomi.
You do understand that I’m trying to keep personal and professional relationships separate, right?
I hold my breath and let it out slowly. I don’t want to mess this up, whatever this dangerous, reckless, living thing is that’s happening between us right now.
I lean into him, bury my face in the warmth of his shoulder, and close my eyes for a second.
Stay this time. Stay.
After I’ve gotten enough of his heat, I get out of bed, put on my panties and a shirt, and shuffle into the kitchen. It's still early, the world hushed and relaxed, but I’ve been an early riser all my life.
Coffee, I think to myself, pulling out two matching mugs from the cabinet.
Questions keep filling my mind as I set up the coffeemaker and prepare an omelet.
What am I doing? What are we doing? I should be terrified. I should be a thousand miles away by now. I should. But I'm here, trying not to burn breakfast and hoping I'm not making another mistake.
The scent of coffee swirls, toasty and familiar, and I catch myself on the thought that I can't stop smiling.
Maybe, I think, pulling the spatula through eggs that are supposed to be scrambled but look more like a science experiment. Maybe it can work.
I shake my head and laugh under my breath. Just me and a fridge full of condiments because I hardly ever cook at home. I hardly spend time here. Oasis is where I’m the happiest.
The banging on my front door is insistent, urgent. I freeze, spatula in hand. My gaze darts to the wall clock first, then to my bedroom. It's early, the sun a slow-pouring syrup of light. Who the hell could it be at this hour?
My stomach twists, my nerves alive and kicking. I make a quick detour to the bedroom, peeking in to make sure Ty's still there. He is. The door clicks shut behind me, a secret kept for now.
I jog back, fumbling with the lock. One glance outside through the window, and my heart sinks. Adri’s cruiser is in my driveway, parked behind my Subaru.
Crap.
I pull the door open and position myself on the threshold. "This better be life or death, Adri."
"Good morning to you too, sis."
"What are you doing here? Any news about Asher?"
Of course, stubborn as a cactus, he’s planted right outside my door like he belongs there. He’s in his sheriff’s uniform, all official and smug, one foot tapping on the porch with exaggerated impatience. "Was passing by. And no, no news."
"Maybe we should put out an APB on his parents," I suggest.
"My hands are tied here. They technically haven’t done anything wrong."
"Yet… Whatever. After work, I’ll just stop by their place myself."
"Stay out of it."
I choose not to discuss this topic anymore. Adri will just try to prevent me from going to the trailer park. Instead, I scan his face, searching for signs of a hangover, but he looks surprisingly clear-minded. "Since when do you just pass by anyway?" I ask.
"Mom asked me to check with you to see if you have any recent photos of Dad for his memorial service," Adri grunts out, his eyes on the ground for a second. "She can’t find the blue photo book."
I nod. "It was in the basement with the other ones."
"It’s not there."
"Okay. I’ll take a look in my attic. Maybe I grabbed it by mistake."
"You making coffee?" My brother’s eyes dart over my shoulder and into my living room. "Got extra?"
"No," I say, blocking the entrance with one hand on the doorframe, the other still clutching the spatula. "It’s a single-serving morning today."
"You’re not gonna let me in?"
"No," I say, firm. I match his gaze, daring him to argue. "I really do need to leave soon. I’ll look for the photo book." I try to sound busy and innocent and not at all like someone with a naked man sleeping in her bedroom. "I have a restaurant to manage."
"Right," he says, his skepticism a solid weight.
I bristle, trying to keep calm, like this is no big deal. I also lowkey wish I were wearing pants. "Bye, Adri."
"What’s up with you?"
"You're being a pain. Go interrogate someone else." I try to shut the door, but his boot stops it short. I really wish I were wearing pants.
"I’m not in the mood." I wave my spatula at him.
"Fine," he grits out.
I almost have him convinced, almost have him off my porch, when he glances down at the worst possible time and sees them—the boots. Tyler’s boots, right by the wall. Size huge and unmissable.
I hold my breath.
Adri lifts his gaze, slow and deliberate. "Seriously, Shrimp? You’ve got a guy over?"
"Get out." I shove him with my hand.
"You’re not even gonna tell me who it is?"
"It's none of your business, that's who," I snap.
"Must be someone real special," he snorts. "Or someone ugly."
And then it happens, exactly as I’d hoped and feared it wouldn't.
Ty’s voice sounds from across the room. "Hey, Nomes?" He’s raking his hand through his hair when I glance over my shoulder. "You got a towel around here?"
He appears in the hallway, his hair messy, sleepy-eyed, and—God—wearing nothing but his boxers. A lazy, unconcerned rockstar at his most inconvenient.
Adri goes stiff. His eyes dart between me and the naked man who’s looking like a deer in the headlights.
"Seriously?" I say, glaring at Ty. "Right now? You choose the worst time to not read the room."
"Oops" is all he says, suddenly wide awake and rubbing his eyes as if to ensure that Adri on my porch is real.
"What the fuck is this?" my brother growls out.
It happens so fast, it doesn’t register at first. One second, Ty is standing there like he owns the world. The next, Adri’s lunging for him, a blur of anger and fists. "Get your ass here, Brady!"
I yelp as my brother bustles past me, but it gets lost in the rush, the noise, the mayhem of everything at once.
I'm caught between them, a line drawn, a wild chase with me at the center. Ty's eyes wide, Adri's mouth a growl, my feet slipping as I try to catch the crazy train before it goes off the rails.
"Fuck off!" Ty shouts, pivoting.
Adri chases Ty around the couch, his face twisted with a fury that could tear through steel. Ty's eyes dart, frantic, searching for an escape, for a plan, for his clothes.
They're wrecking this perfect morning in a glorious, frenzied dance of testosterone.
"I told you," Adri snarls. "I warned you to stay away from her."
Ty dodges, an evasion that almost costs him his life. "You never said forever," he throws back, his words as reckless as the way he moves. "And this time—this time, you can’t—"
"I'm gonna kill you," Adri yells, cutting him off. "I'm gonna cut your balls off, Brady."
"Adri, stop!" I gasp, reaching out, trying to catch him. "Don’t you ever think about touching his balls. They’re mine!" I shout, half crazed, half giggling at the madness of it all.
To that, Ty grins at Adri triumphantly from behind the dinner table, where he’s currently hiding.
Adri lunges again, yelling "That isn't helping" at me and then "gross."
They race around the sofa set again. Ty almost knocks over my poor ottoman before disappearing into my bedroom.
I follow, determined to stop my brother from killing my lover.
There, Ty’s already slipping into his jeans sloppily.
His zipper’s only halfway up when Adri and I tumble past the threshold.
Adri hesitates, just for a second, and I use the chance to grab his arm. "Cut it out."
Ty dashes past, a blur of bare skin and tattoos, with one useless sock in his hand.
"Car keys are on the hook by the door!" I shout after him, knowing if I don’t give up my vehicle right now, Ty might end up in the back of Adri’s cruiser or on TMZ, caught on camera running around my neighborhood. Pretty much naked.