Chapter 6
Akiss…she’d freaking kissed her boss. And it had been a good kiss. No, not just good, amazing. Better than any kiss she’d had in her twenty-two years. Yes, that good.
Her fingers twitched to touch her mouth, because even though it was now Wednesday night, she swore she could still feel his lips there.
She pulled into the parking lot of CJ’s Bar as her phone buzzed with a text.
Cass: I’m inside. I have a table for two.
Apparently, this bar did jugs of cocktails. Jugs. She’d never heard of that before, but hell, she’d try it. She sure as heck needed a cocktail after three days of working with Noah but barely seeing him.
She grabbed her purse before climbing out of the car. She’d gone with a light blue slip dress with spaghetti straps, and the cool wind made goose bumps pop up over her skin.
As she walked toward the door, her mind flicked back to her boss. At the way he’d been missing all week, like he was avoiding her.
But why was he doing that? Because he thought the kiss was a mistake? He shouldn’t. It was only a kiss, not a marriage proposal. Although, if she had the chance, she would absolutely kiss him again because, well, he was Noah.
She pushed inside the bar and encountered a thick crowd of people.
Jesus, was CJ’s always this busy, or just on Wednesdays?
She wove through the throng and found Cass at a standing bar table.
The other woman grinned at her. “Hi! You made it.”
“I did. Is it always this busy?”
“Pretty much, but especially on Wednesdays, when they do two-for-one jugs.”
Addie spotted the jugs of alcohol on the table and laughed. “You think we’re going to drink all of that?”
Cass lifted a shoulder. “We can try. Besides, Rhett’s been annoying me, so I need to blow off some steam.” Cass poured some of the alcohol into an empty glass and pushed it in front of Addie. “Whiskey Apple Cider Punch. It’s amazing.”
“Thanks.” She wrapped her fingers around the glass.
“What’s Rhett been doing?” If Cass said anything even slightly resembling workplace harassment, Addie was going to Noah and Colt.
Yesterday, Rhett had tried to write his number on her hand.
She’d yanked her arm away so fast, she’d given the man whiplash.
She lifted the glass to taste her drink.
Cass lifted a shoulder. “We had sex, and now he’s being all distant.”
Addie choked on her punch. “You had sex with Rhett?”
“Yeah. He was interested, and I hadn’t been laid in a while.”
Okay, that made her little kiss with Noah seem like nothing. “But you’re not dating?”
“God, no. He’s a man-child. But he was good in bed, so…” She shrugged before sipping her punch.
So, what? She’d have sex with him again?
Maybe it was the small-town girl in Addie, but this all sounded a bit out there for her. She took a big gulp of her own punch.
“So…” Cass started. “What about you? Dating anyone?”
“No. Just getting used to the new town.”
“Are you interested in anyone?”
Did Cass know? Of course not. She couldn’t.
“Because,” Cass said with a grin, “I’ve seen the way Noah looks at you.”
Air stalled in Addie’s lungs and heat bloomed in her cheeks. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, come on, you have to have noticed. He does this thing where he looks at you and his eyes go this intense gray shade. It’s kind of adorable.”
“He’s my boss.”
“And?”
“And he’s older than me.”
“How much older? Ten years?”
“Thirteen.” She knew that because she’d had to file a document for him. She hadn’t been snooping exactly, his date of birth had been right there, so of course she’d peeked.
Cass scoffed. “That’s nothing. I once dated a guy twenty years older than me, and honestly, I felt like I was the more mature one.” Cass lowered her glass and her eyes locked on something behind Addie. “No way. Speak of the devil.”
“What?” Addie turned her head and gasped.
Noah.
She blinked. Once. Twice. Nope, he was still there.
He wore a tight gray shirt that was almost the exact shade of his eyes, and jeans that, although not tight, still showed off the power in his legs. But then, there probably wasn’t much that could hide that.
Colt and his wife, Indie—also Noah’s sister—stood with him.
Cass blew out a breath. “Those men are fine.”
That was an understatement.
Colt spotted her and Cass first. He waved before saying something to the others. Indie smiled at them and started in their direction. Whereas Noah? The second his gaze collided with hers…he didn’t look angry, but then, he didn’t look happy either.
Well, that told her all she needed to know on his thoughts about the kiss.
The three of them stopped at the table, Noah beside Addie.
Colt smiled at them. “Hey. Good to see you guys here.”
Cass dipped her head. “You too. Thought you’d be too tired after all that zip-lining today.”
“Could say the same about you and your bouldering,” Colt added.
Indie scoffed and rubbed her pregnant belly. “Peanut and I are tired just hearing about it.”
As the three of them spoke, Addie looked up at Noah and lowered her voice. “I didn’t see much of you today.” Or yesterday. Or the day before that.
“I took a big group out for mountain bike riding.”
She knew that. She’d made the booking. She also knew that the ride had only lasted two hours.
“Did you find your key?” he asked.
“Actually, no. I’m using my spare. I’m not sure what happened to it. I must have dropped it somewhere.”
“At work?”
“Maybe. I’m sure it’ll turn up.” She nibbled on her bottom lip. Noah’s gaze immediately lowered. And the way he looked at her made her lower belly pulse.
“Addie—”
“You don’t need to say it,” she cut him off, voice quiet so the words would only reach him.
His brows flickered. “Say what?”
“Tell me it was a one-time thing. Say something about how I’m a great person but for this and that reason, we can’t repeat what happened.”
“I wasn’t going to say any of that.”
“What were you going to say?”
“That you look nice.”
Air caught in her throat. “Really?”
“Yeah.” Then his eyes trailed down her body. “The blue matches your eyes.”
Suddenly it was hard to swallow, but she sure was glad she’d gone with her slip dress.
“Don’t you think, Noah?”
Noah looked back at the group as Addie’s phone buzzed. She was still feeling ridiculously off-center when she looked down to read the text.
Unknown number: You’ve overstayed your welcome. Get out.
Something was wrong with Addie. She’d been fine when he first got to her table, but now she’d gone completely pale. And it was because of something on her phone. It was when she’d looked at her screen that everything had changed.
Why? He’d asked, but she’d said it was nothing.
It wasn’t nothing.
Addie’s lips curved at something Indie said, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Had she received bad news? From her parents maybe?
Whatever it was, if she didn’t want to share, it wasn’t his business.
So why did he care so fucking much?
He lifted his beer and downed a quarter of the bottle.
“We’re going to the bathroom,” Cass said, before the three women headed away from the table.
The second they were gone, Noah felt Colt’s eyes on him. He looked at his friend. “What?”
“Why are you staring at Addie?”
Fuck. Had he been staring? “I’m not.”
“You are. And what were you whispering about when we first got here?”
He should have known his friend would see that.
He hadn’t told Colt what had happened on Sunday night. He hadn’t told anyone.
“We kissed.” The words fell from his mouth. They felt like little damn explosions.
Colt choked on his beer. “You what?”
“We kissed on Sunday night.”
“What the hell do you mean you kissed on Sunday night? Where? At the park?”
“At her place. She called me because she lost her key and couldn’t get into her house. I picked the lock, she invited me to stay for Chinese, and…”
“And you kissed.” Shock tinged Colt’s words. “Did you—”
“No. We just kissed, and I left.” The just felt out of place though. It hadn’t just felt like a kiss. Because the moment shouldn’t have been so stuck in his head for just a kiss, should it?
There was a small pause, like Colt was trying to wrap his head around the information. “Okay. What now?”
“I don’t know. I’m her boss. She’s young. Too damn young for me. And…”
Colt frowned. “And what?”
Noah’s jaw clicked. He also hadn’t told Colt about the real reason he’d left the military. Was now the time? Hell, was there ever a time?
His fingers tightened around his beer. “There’s something I haven’t told you.”
“Okay, so tell me now.”
“My contract wasn’t up.”
Colt’s frown deepened. “What do you mean? How did you leave?”
“I left on a medical. Combat-related PTSD.”
Another silence, this one heavier.
He wasn’t sure what he’d expected Colt to say. Maybe to ask about the specifics of the cause of the PTSD. Maybe ask why he hadn’t said anything earlier.
He asked neither of those things. “How are you doing now?”
Noah swallowed. It was a good question. “Sometimes I’m okay. A lot of the time I’m not.”
Finally, he looked up. There was no pity in his friend’s eyes. But then, he shouldn’t have expected it. PTSD was well-known by soldiers.
“What can I do?” Colt asked.
“I don’t think there’s much you can do. I’m the one who has to do the work.”
“Are you talking to someone?”
“I was. But not since I got home. I didn’t find therapy helpful.”
“I’ve heard some people need to try a few therapists before they find one who works for them.” Colt gripped his shoulder. “Tell me if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“I appreciate it.”
The women returned to the table. And the second Noah saw Addie, he forgot about his shit and focused on her. On how pale her skin was. On the way she kept looking at her phone like she was waiting for something.
“Expecting a text?” he asked.
Her gaze shot up, eyes widening. “No.”
“Addison, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
A damn lie. “Addie—”
“I need to make a call. I’ll be back in a second.”
Then she was gone. He watched her find a quieter corner of the bar and put her phone to her ear.
“I don’t know what’s going on with her,” Cass said. “She was fine when she got here, but she’s gone really quiet since.”
Fuck it. He was finding out what was going on. He didn’t care that they hadn’t known each other long or that he was technically just her boss. She was new to town. She didn’t have many people. If she needed help, he wanted to be that help.
He passed a large group of guys who were drinking and being rowdy. He ignored them, reaching Addie just as she was turning.
She jumped. “Noah.”
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit.”
She huffed. “You have your own stuff going on. I’m not going to pile my stuff on top.”
So she did have stuff going on. “I can handle it.”
“No.” She stepped around him and got halfway back to the table before he grabbed her arm.
“Addison—”
“Noah, I don’t need you to fix my problems. I’m an adult and can handle them myself.”
“Does it have anything to do with feeling like someone’s been watching you?”
Her eyes flared.
It did.
He stepped closer. “Has something happened between Sunday and now?”
She opened her mouth to reply, but she was shoved as a fight suddenly broke out behind her.
Noah cursed and grabbed her before she could fall to the floor.
“Hey!” he shouted at the assholes.
None of them appeared to hear him. The idiots were too busy throwing punches.
Great.
When one of them lifted a beer bottle, Noah shot forward and grabbed it out of his hand. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Get out of my way.” The guy slurred his words and tried to shove Noah.
A body suddenly hit Noah from behind. He turned as a fist flew toward his face. He dodged, grabbed the guy’s wrist, and spun his arm behind the guy’s back.
Colt and a bartender jumped in to break up the fight.
“Don’t fucking move,” Noah growled at the man, before pushing him to the floor. He moved toward two guys rolling between tables, throwing punches at each other.
He grabbed the guy on top and threw him to the side. From his peripheral vision, he saw another man get shoved into Addie as she was clearing away from the fight. She fell to her knees, and the man landed on top of her.
Fuck. Noah shot toward her and tore the guy off. The asshole immediately spun and pulled a fist back.
Noah saw the punch coming. He’d already received so many that he was close to blacking out.
But he couldn’t black out. He wasn’t dying today.
He dodged the hit, and the guy growled when his fist hit the concrete wall behind him. Even though Noah was bound, he lunged anyway.
Suddenly—he was free.
He grabbed the guy around the middle and sent them both to the floor. A hand tried to grab him, but he swung an arm back to shove them away before lifting a fist. Before it could land, stronger hands grabbed his arm and ripped him off the asshole.
No! He was going to kill him. He was going to kill all of them.
“Noah!”
Noah blinked. The music, the smell of beer and sweat—all of it pulled him back to the present. He wasn’t in Iraq. He wasn’t being held against his will.
He was in Amber Ridge. In a bar.
He turned to see Indie and Cass helping Addie to her feet. How’d she get to the floor?
Then he remembered. The first hand on his arm…it had been soft. Small.
It had been Addie’s.
He stumbled back.
Shit. He’d done it again.
“Addie…I’m so sorry.” Each word tore from his chest, choking him. Forcing the air to stall in his lungs.
“It’s okay,” she said, her words barely crossing the distance between them.
But it wasn’t. This was the second time he’d put his hands on her. The second fucking time.
The fighting had stopped, but Noah couldn’t concentrate on anything but her.
A part of him wanted to go to her. Make sure she was okay. But the other part? The other part wanted to run. To get as far from her and this place as possible. Because he couldn’t trust himself around her. She wasn’t fucking safe with him.
He was moving before he could stop himself. Voices called out from behind, but he ignored them. He was outside and almost at his truck when a hand grabbed his arm.
Noah swung around to see Colt.
He lifted his hands. “Hey. I’m just checking that you’re okay.”
“I shoved her.”
“You didn’t mean to. I saw you. You were somewhere else.”
“I still did it. Me. No one else.”
“Noah—”
“I have to go.”
He wasn’t sure where; just away. Somewhere to silence the fucking noise in his head. To learn how to live in a body that didn’t feel safe to him anymore.