Chapter Twenty
Aubrey
Three hours later, after a few rounds of cards, a good dinner, and a lot of laughter, the men of Hawthorne Security left, and it was just Noah and Bree sitting together on the couch in the house. “That was a lot of fun,” Bree told him honestly. “I can’t remember the last time I just sat around and laughed like that.”
“We love getting together. We try and have at least one meal a week together outside of work. Usually, it ends up being a lot more because we’re all single, so if we’re home there’s a good chance we’re eating together.”
Bree’s brows furrowed. “I know it’s only been a few days, but you haven’t had anyone over or gone anywhere since I moved in.”
“I was giving you a chance to settle in—and before you say anything, I wouldn’t have done anything differently. Fair warning though, you may find them difficult to get rid of now.” Noah chuckled. “Once you’re accepted in the fold, you’re family. It’s kind of like suddenly gaining four older brothers.”
“You mean five older brothers?” Bree asked him, raising an eyebrow.
“No,” he said huskily, leaning in toward her slightly. His eyes drifted from her eyes to her lips, and his head tilted more toward hers. “Definitely four.”
The scent of him overwhelmed her senses in the best possible way and her pulse began to race. She slowly closed her eyes, the warmth from his lips increasing as he came closer—nearly touching hers. Her heart sped up as Noah reached his hand up and cupped her face, drawing her closer to him.
Just as his lips ghosted across hers, a ringtone blared from the cell phone sitting on the coffee table. Noah jumped back from her as though he’d been burned, and she was frustrated. This is why she should leave her phone on do not disturb. It’s not like she wanted to talk to anyone anyway. She smiled apologetically at Noah before checking the caller ID. Her dad’s name and picture flashed on the screen, and she bit back a groan of frustration. Of course, he’d choose now to call. She debated ignoring it, but she’d feel awful if something happened to Mama or Jess.
“Hello?” Bree said softly.
“Aubrey?” A dark chuckle sounded through the line. It didn’t sound like her dad’s laugh at all. Then again, nothing seemed like him since Jessica’s accident. “So you are alive.”
That’s a weird way to start a call. “Last I checked I am indeed alive,” Bree said uncomfortably.
Noah must’ve sensed her discomfort because he scooted closer to her and leaned in so he could hear the call as well.
“You wouldn’t know it. Your socials have been minimally active for the past week!” He said, anger coloring his tone.
“I’ve been a little busy, Dad,” Bree said defensively. “Besides, now that I’m not in the industry, I don’t need to keep them as active.” Noah rested a hand on her knee, rubbing it reassuringly.
“Ah yes, you’re busy whoring around with some guy. Your mother and I were terribly disappointed when we saw the pictures. We raised you better than that. Let me remind you what your job actually is, Aubrey Elizabeth Gray. Your job is to stay on the front of people’s minds. You are responsible for providing care for your sister. You’re helping to keep a roof over your mother’s head. You don’t have time to be slacking off with some guy who probably only has one thing on his mind. Hitting it and quitting it.” The sneer came through loud and clear on the line, and Bree’s jaw dropped.
What the heck? The blood rushed to her cheeks, embarrassed that Noah was hearing this conversation. Noah continued to rub her leg and reached behind her, pulling a fuzzy blanket down and placing it on her lap. He then reached over and moved her hand over the blanket in a stroking pattern—similar to what she did when she was anxious or upset. She looked at him in wonder. How was this man not married or in a serious relationship? His lack of commitment seemed to be his only red flag. Granted, that was a big one.
“You know what, Dad,” Bree said, placing a sarcastic emphasis on his title. Her anger, confusion, and hurt were all-consuming. The weight of the last few days was more than she wanted to carry. “I am not going to carry this family anymore. Perhaps you and Mom will need to figure out a different way to keep a roof over your head. Maybe you and mom…” Bree choked on her tears. “Maybe you and Mom will have to let Jess go and move on.”
“You ungrateful, spiteful, brat.” Her dad snapped through the line. “When I get my hands on your ungrateful—”
Bree couldn’t hear exactly what his next words were because a very still Noah gently removed the phone from her hand and put it up to his ear.
“You will not ever speak to her like that again,” Noah said clearly in a low voice that threatened violence.
“If it were up to me, you wouldn’t speak to her again at all. But that is Aubrey’s choice. If you do speak to her, you will not speak to her like that, and you most definitely will not put your hands on her. Put hands on her, and I promise you it’ll be the last thing you do.” Noah didn’t wait for a response; instead, he ended the call and handed the cell phone back to her while draping his arm over the sofa and encouraging her to snuggle in.
Bree burst into ugly tears—the sobbing kind with snot that makes your face all puffy—and leaned into him. What had been a perfect night had turned into a complete disaster. Noah fetched her some Kleenex to mop up the emotional mess and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. After she calmed down, she thought back to their almost kiss. So close.
“Noah,” Bree said, feeling weary, but not ready to go to bed. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything,” he replied.
“Why don’t you have a girlfriend?”
His face looked stunned. Apparently, that wasn’t what he thought she was going to ask him.
“I mean, you’re smart, and you have a good sense of humor. You’re thoughtful, and attentive, and protective without being overbearing. You’re not hard on the eyes, either. You have a house and a career. You’re kind of the perfect catch.” Bree said, hoping to come across as casual when she desperately wanted to know the answer.
“Did I ever tell you how I ended up in celebrity protection detail?” Noah asked.
Bree was entirely unsure how those things were related, but she could roll with it. “Nope. You haven’t.”
Noah looked off into the distance. “I was in the Marines for four years before getting out. One of the guys in my unit was up for discharge before me, and he had moved to Los Angeles to join the police department. He worked his way up pretty quickly. He was charming, good-looking, and had an enormous level of talent. And the ability to tolerate more bureaucratic crap than I ever will. Anyway, when I got out, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do in my life. We had stayed in touch and when I told him I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, he invited me to apply at the police department. I was hired, went to the academy, and got my first beat. I worked my way up, but managed to ruffle some feathers.”
She smiled at the idea of a younger Noah taking the world by storm. “I can’t imagine your ruffling feathers.” She told him teasingly.
He smiled at her and squeezed her hand. “One day, a young woman came into the station while I was there. She was worried about a stalker. She mentioned notes that had been left. Gifts she’d been receiving. Things she found out of the ordinary and that were…unwelcome. Then, the behaviors seemed to escalate. A slashed tire, a photo of her left taped to her apartment door. I went to my boss and told him what was going on. Told him I thought she had a stalker that was escalating. He shooed me off. Told me she was an up-and-coming celebrity who’d been gaining popularity. That rising stars should ‘expect’ that kind of behavior. A few notes and gifts weren’t a threat and the tire and photo on her door could’ve been done by different people. It could’ve been unrelated. So I had to go and tell her we couldn’t help her. I suggested she look into private security. Maybe a bodyguard. But the waitlists were long.”
“What happened to her?”
“Her stalker broke into her home and killed her in April of that year,” Noah said. “I had already thought about getting into the protection business, but that was the final nail in the coffin. If law enforcement wouldn’t take these threats seriously, I wanted to. And I know the police often couldn’t because the perps know the law and how to work within it also. It was just a mix of the perfect storm and bureaucratic complacency. So I quit. Worked in private security for events to get the lay of the land and learn any of the skills I hadn’t picked up in the Marines and department, and started up Hawthorne Security.”
“I’m so sorry, Noah. That had to be devastating.” Bree couldn’t imagine someone with his innate need to protect having to sit by and feel responsible for someone getting killed. Especially if he believed he could have intervened.
“So why I’m not in a relationship—” He began, circling back to the question that had started this all.
“I had a bad breakup a few years ago,” Noah said after a few minutes of silence. “I was seeing a woman, Sarah, and we’d been together for a couple of years. I thought she hung the moon and figured we’d get married. I asked her to marry me, and she said yes. We were going to get married in the spring. But then we started fighting. Apparently, she thought I’d leave celebrity protection when I ‘settled down.’ She didn’t like the hours, the travel, the days without seeing me. That’s what she said, anyway. I found out later her main problem was that I tended to run in circles with some very beautiful, wealthy, and affluent women, and her insecurities led to distrust. I would never cheat on my woman.” Noah said adamantly.
“I know,” Bree said quietly, squeezing his leg softly in reassurance.
He gave her a small smile. “I tried to explain why I started Hawthorne Security. Why it was important for me to be able to continue working celebrity details. Particularly stalking cases. I could give up the tours and such, but I wanted to stay active in the cases where sometimes around-the-clock surveillance or protection was needed.”
“I guess she didn’t handle that well?”
“Understatement of the century. We argued, and I had to leave for a trip that afternoon, so we parted angry. I loved her and didn’t want to lose her because of my work. I called Zach and asked if he’d pick up my detail for a short time while I went back to sort it all out. Sometimes, big personal issues are hard to keep out of the field, and in that case the best thing to do for your client is call someone else in until it’s resolved. So that’s what I did. Zach was on assignment that day but flew out to meet us in Colorado the next day, and I took a flight home to work things out with Sarah. When I got to our house, I found her in bed with the male best friend she had told me I didn’t need to worry about.” He looked down at the ground, clasping his hands together tightly.
“I don’t want to get hurt like that again. And on some level, I know she lashed out because she was feeling hurt and abandoned—but…”
“That doesn’t excuse it,” Bree said, anger on his behalf rising in her chest. “You were both adults. If she had that big of an issue with your career she should’ve just up and left. There is no excuse for cheating! Like if you don’t want to be with me, cool, I wish you the best. Then go mess around while you’re single. Like. An. Adult.” She huffed out.
Noah laughed lightly, the pain of his past lingering in his eyes. “I agree.” Noah paused, an unnamed emotion swirling in his eyes as he looked at Bree. It looked a lot like affection.
Bree waited to see what he was going to say, unsure of how to carry on the conversation. She just wanted him to know she cared about him. She was on his side. And she hoped that Sarah, wherever she was, always got stuck in the slowest line at the grocery store and that she never had a decent cup of coffee again. Good riddance. Heaviness seemed to sit on Noah’s shoulders as the two of them sat absorbed in their own thoughts.
“I think I’m going to turn in,” Noah said after a few minutes of silence.
“Okay, good night, Noah.” She said as they stood slowly.
“Goodnight, Bree.” He said quietly, heading to his room.
She walked down the hall and closed her door gently before leaning her head back on their door, contemplating their almost kiss. If only her father had waited five more minutes. She sighed. Tonight, she’d just daydream about how close she’d finally come to feeling his lips on hers.