Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
In the bathroom mirror, Faith brushed her hair away from her face. Myra had gone into a stall.
She couldn’t believe Tanner—Tanner, of all people—had nearly gotten into a fight with some random guy.
When Noah had picked her up, she’d resolved to be optimistic about tonight. Even if she wasn’t interested in Noah romantically, she needed new faces in her life, new experiences. That was the whole reason she’d moved to West Oaks.
And she especially needed to get her mind off Jon. She hadn’t heard anything else from her husband. But the police hadn’t tracked down Kyle either, according to the detective she’d been communicating with.
Faith smoothed a flake of mascara from beneath her eye. Nope, she was taking tonight off from all that stress. Unfortunately, worry over Tanner had taken its place.
In the car on the way here, Noah had been a perfect gentleman.
She’d wished for some kind of chemistry with him.
But despite the pleasant smell of his aftershave and his usual dazzling smile, she hadn’t felt a thing.
She’d almost told him, right there in the car, that nothing would ever happen between them.
But it would’ve embarrassed him, and the rest of the night would’ve been excruciating.
During dinner, she’d had to force herself not to stare at Tanner.
As far as she’d been concerned, no other man had existed in that room but him.
And then, seeing the casual way Myra would nudge Tanner’s arm or joke with him…
It had fired up her blood with jealousy in a way she’d never experienced before.
Having a glass of icy alcohol splashed into her lap had probably done her some good.
At least it had cooled off the heat pooling in her lower body.
Seriously, dampening her panties over another guy while her date sat right next to her?
Her body’s reactions weren’t totally voluntary, but she’d still felt shitty.
She was going to tell him they couldn’t go out again. The minute they got into Noah’s car, she’d thank him for dinner but make her feelings clear.
A toilet flushed. Myra came out of the stall and washed her hands. “This has been a weird night.”
“No kidding.”
“For a moment there, I thought we had a bar fight on our hands.” Myra grabbed a paper towel. “But those other guys took one look at Tanner and backed down. Smart move.”
“He wouldn’t have actually fought them. That’s not how Tanner is.”
Myra checked her makeup in the mirror. “I dunno, he was pretty pissed off. But I can’t tell if he was really challenging the guy who knocked into you, or if he was challenging Noah.”
“Why would he challenge Noah?”
Myra side-eyed her. “Maybe because of the hardcore possessive vibes flying across the table?”
“What?”
Had Myra noticed how she’d been staring at Tanner? Had Noah noticed it?
Her coworker huffed. “Faith, you in no way fit the ‘dumb blond’ stereotype. But sometimes, I swear…”
“If I’m so dumb, then you’d better spell it out for me,” she snapped.
“Well, chill. Tanner is not the only one with a short fuse tonight. Look, you’re into him, and he’s way into you. It’s not that complicated.”
Faith sputtered. “No, he’s not. He sees me as a friend.” She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Her face looked as red as Tanner’s tomato soup. Stupid pale skin.
Myra was snickering. “Sure, a friend he’d like to fuck.” She clamped a hand over her mouth. “Dang. That’s five bucks I owe the swear jar.”
Faith didn’t bother to look in the mirror again, because she could feel her blush deepening to an even brighter shade of crimson. She didn’t think Myra was right about Tanner’s feelings, but the rest of Myra’s assessment had been spot on.
You’re into him.
“Are you mad?” Faith asked.
“Why would I be? Yeah, I had a crush on Tanner for like, five minutes. But I have a short attention span. Besides, he and I agreed to be platonic before you and Noah even arrived.”
“You did?”
Myra leaned in conspiratorially. “He said he was hung up on someone else. Which must be you.”
“Are you sure?”
“He was making it pretty obvious.”
Faith’s stomach was flipping around like a roller coaster on the boardwalk. But she still couldn’t quite believe it.
“Now do you see why Tanner got all territorial when that guy bumped you?”
“Maybe. It still doesn’t seem like him.”
“Lust makes men do strange things.” Myra shrugged one shoulder. “And women, too. Basically, we’re all a bunch of animals.”
Could Myra be right? Tanner had feelings for her?
She didn’t want to hurt Noah by going after his friend. And she definitely didn’t want to come between the two men.
Why on earth would they think she was worth it?
She and Myra went to the restaurant’s front entrance. Tanner and Noah were visible through the window, talking with serious expressions.
When they stepped outside, Noah’s voice carried toward them across the parking lot.
“You told me you were okay with me asking her out.”
Faith stopped walking. Were they talking about her?
“I…tried to be.”
“So you weren’t okay with it.” Noah’s shoes scraped in the gravel. “Do you have feelings for her? Is that what this is about?”
Myra nudged her. Faith’s guts had jumped up into her ribcage.
Tanner glanced over right then, and his eyes landed on hers. He bowed his head. Looked away. Didn’t answer.
What was going on?
Myra strolled over. “Well, this is awkward.”
Tanner looked in the other direction. “Myra, do you mind giving me a ride home?”
“Oh, we’re doing the avoidance thing? Sure. My chariot awaits.”
The two got into Myra’s car and drove away. Faith watched him go, confusion making her head swim.
That left Noah and Faith standing there sheepishly.
“I guess you heard some of that?” Noah asked.
“Some. I’m not really sure what it was about.”
“Neither am I.” He scratched at his scalp. Noah looked different without his usual smile. Younger. “I should get you home.”
They got into Noah’s SUV. The car pulled smoothly out onto the road. Music played quietly from the speakers. Faith wished he would turn up the radio to drown out the things they weren’t saying.
But she had to bring it up. “Noah? We should probably talk about, you know, what happened?”
“Yeah.” Noah’s fingers tapped against the steering wheel. He cleared his throat. “Tanner’s been my friend a long time.”
“I know.”
“If I had realized he had a problem, I wouldn’t have asked you out. No matter how much I wanted to.”
“Right. I feel the same way.”
But Tanner had suggested the opposite. He’d encouraged her to go out with Noah. Why would he have done that if he felt something for her?
Faith had never really dated, not even before Jon. She kept feeling like she must’ve done something wrong, missed some signal. Was this why dating was so difficult? Because nobody said what they really meant or felt?
She would’ve thought Tanner would be an exception.
“And then you came up with the whole double date thing,” he said.
“Me? It was Myra.”
“Myra, then. Anyways. It was supposed to be fun, and I ended up hurting my friend.” Noah pressed his lips together. “What I’m trying to say is, this can’t happen again. You and me. I hope you understand.”
“Oh. Yeah.” She finally connected the dots. “That’s what I was about to say to you. Even before Tanner got upset. I wanted to like you. Because you’re great. And I thought Tanner just saw me as a friend.”
Noah chuckled, eyes fixed on the road. “It’s cool. You don’t have to make me feel better. I just wish I could’ve set you two up instead of getting in the middle of this.”
She couldn’t believe she was having this conversation with Noah, when at the start of the evening he’d been her date. This had to be uncomfortable for him. “We don’t have to talk about Tanner. This is kind of weird, honestly.”
This time, Noah laughed out loud. “Weird for sure. Not how my dates usually turn out.”
He seemed like someone who would be easy to fall for. The right woman was going to be extremely lucky to end up with Noah. And hopefully, they’d get together without so much drama.
With Tanner, Faith struggled to know where she stood. Yet, she also had that swoopy, dizzying, roller-coaster feeling whenever she thought about him, like the world was falling out from beneath her and nothing had ever felt so good.
As they drove, the Friday night crowds emerged on the popular parts of Ocean Lane. Faith had lived here for months, but she still marveled at how busy it was on nights like this. When everyone seemed to be going somewhere, dressed in trendy clothes and heels. Out to impress.
Her chest filled with longing. She wanted to be with Tanner right now, with his flip-flops and ratty shorts and graphic tee. She loved that he didn’t care what anyone thought.
Was he hurting right now? Because of her?
She glanced at her purse, which held her phone. Should she text him? But what could she say? Even if Tanner felt something for her, that wasn’t the same as wanting to be with her.
Noah rubbed his chin. “You know, Tanner’s seemed a little off for a few months now, and I’ve wondered about it. But that’s around the time you moved to West Oaks, right?”
“Maybe.” Was he suggesting Tanner had been interested in her all this time? That couldn’t be right.
“Tanner’s as good as my brother. He’s been one of my best friends for over a decade. I’d do anything for him. I just want him to be happy, and if that’s with you, I’m all for it. Even if I might wish I got there first.”
He gave her a charming, lopsided smile. She was glad to see his sunny expression back.
But Noah was talking like he had some idea of where this was headed. Tanner hadn’t said anything to her about how he felt. He’d chosen to avoid her.
“I have no idea if he wants to be with me.” From the way he’d acted so far, she guessed the opposite.
“You’d need to ask him. But how do you feel?”
“I care about him. A lot.” The flutter in her chest told her everything she needed to know.
Suddenly, Noah tapped the brakes. “Fuck it. You know what? Let’s go talk to him.”
“Right now?” Her voice squeaked. “The both of us?”
“Better to get it all out in the open.”
She admired the impulse. But Faith had never lived her life that way.
Growing up, there were so many things that simply were not discussed.
Even when she’d gotten pregnant, her father hadn’t been able to say the word aloud until after she was married.
Neither of her parents had ever discussed how her pregnancy had ended.
Faith considered herself an honest person. But that wasn’t the same as just putting it all out there, the way Noah was suggesting.
She wanted to be that kind of person, though. Bold and unafraid. Ready to go after what she wanted. To speak up about what she was keeping inside.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
At the next intersection, Noah made a U-turn, then sped down the road.