Chapter 18
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Zara
After the auction, and what she was now referring to as ‘car fun,’ they passed out in Noah’s bed, both of them exhausted. Shane showing up and bidding on Noah hadn’t been in the plan, but she’d been happy when it had happened. Noah was her boyfriend and all the stress of someone she didn’t know bidding on him had made her wild. After she saw it was Shane, everything inside her calmed. There was no use hiding how she felt about him.
When they’d woken up next to each other in bed, it was like they”d done it a million times before. There was no weirdness or regret. It felt right.
Noah continued his home run streak in the fifth inning of the afternoon game, by hitting a two-run doozy that went into the upper deck of right field. She cheered him on loudly from the stands.
She really was his good luck charm.
Before he”d left for the game, Noah had asked if she’d be okay having dinner with his mom. He did it every Sunday, if he was home, and in all the craziness over the last few days, he’d forgotten to cancel.
She’d told him not to cancel, that dinner with his mom sounded great.
It was the truth. She’d made peace with her love of Noah in the last few days, and while she hadn’t told him yet, she knew it was coming sooner rather than later.
“What do I need to know about your mom?” Zara asked as they drove down the highway towards Noah’s mom’s house.
“There’s nothing to tell. She’s awesome and she’ll love you.” He paused, glancing at her before quickly looking back to the road. “What about your parents? Am I the sort of person they thought you’d date?”
She knew what he was getting at. “You’re wondering if they’ll have an issue because you’re white.” She shook her head. “They won’t. I don’t tell them about guys I see, but they’ve never been adamant about me dating an Indian guy.” She shrugged. “I mean, I’m sure they’d love it if I did, but it’s not a requirement. Not to mention, my mom is going to freak out when I tell her about you.”
“Why is that?”
“Baseball is her thing. I mean, she loves all sports, but baseball is the one that holds her heart. She’s the reason I’m a sports agent. My dad would have preferred if I were a doctor like him.”
“She”s going to like me, but what about your dad?”
That was trickier. “I think he’ll like you too, but he”ll be more reserved. Which is funny, because my parents are the opposite when it comes to other things. My dad is the one who tells me to jump and look later, and my mom says take my time and think things through.” She laughed, shaking her head. “It’s weird how I somehow assume they’ll flip flop roles when they meet you.”
“I’m a little afraid to meet them now.”
She laid her hand on his leg. “They’ll love you.” It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him she loved him too, but this wasn’t the place or time.
They pulled up to his mom’s house. “This is it.”
She looked out the window, checking out the cute home his mom lived in. The neighborhood was similar to the one Noah lived in, only the home was even smaller. It looked like the typical subdivision in any other town in the country.
“It’s cute.” She opened the door, stepping out into the warm air. “The flowers are gorgeous.” There were bright flowers trailing the sidewalk and in beds by the house. The colors were spectacular and made Zara wish she had time to garden.
“Mom loves her flowers. She and my sister spend hours out here when she comes to visit.”
“You don’t talk about your sister much. Are you two close?”
He shrugged. “We don’t see each other much, but we get along. I tried to get her to move out here too when Mom moved, but she turned me down. Kind of hard to be a winter survivalist trainer when there’s no winter.”
“That’s a pretty extreme job. She sounds cool.”
He reached out, taking her hand as they walked toward the house. “She’s not bad.”
She was about to tease him when the front door flew open and a woman came barreling out. “It’s about time you got here.”
“I don’t control how long the games take, Mom.” Noah looked at Zara, rolling his eyes.
“I saw that,” his mom said. “You must be Zara.”
Zara stuck her hand out, but instead his mom wrapped her in a hug. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
“You know, Mom, you could introduce yourself before you hug her to death.”
She pulled back, smiling and looking so much like Noah that it made Zara smile. “He’s such a pain in the ass, but he’s probably right. You can call me Penny. None of that Mrs. Ashe crap. Last year, Noah’s sister dated a guy and I could never get him to call me Penny. It drove me crazy and made it hard to warm up to him. Which turned out to be a good thing when after three months, she found out she wasn’t the only person he was in a relationship with.”
“Sounds like you have good instincts, Penny.”
Penny beamed when Zara said her name. “Damn straight I do.”
Noah just shook his head,but she could see his smile. Zara wasn’t trying to suck up to his mom, but it wouldn’t hurt if the woman liked her.
“Mom, is there anything we can do to help with dinner?” Noah asked.
“I’ve got it handled, but I could use your help getting some boxes up in the attic. While you do that, Zara and I will get to know each other.”
Noah looked over to Zara and she nodded, letting him know it would be fine. She might not have ever met a guy”s parents before, but she was good with people. This was her wheelhouse.
“I never thought this day would come,” Penny said after Noah had left the room.
“Meeting Noah’s girlfriend?” Zara asked.
“Meeting you.” Penny shook her head. “Noah mentioned you to me a few years ago, and while he never said as much, I sort of assumed you were the reason he never brought anyone else around.”
Zara wasn’t sure what to say to that. “We’ve known each other for a while.”
“Oh, I guessed that. I won’t pry, it’s none of my business. I’m just glad Noah is happy. That smile I saw on his face when he looked at you outside might be the first true one I’ve seen since his dad died.”
Zara blinked, not sure she’d heard correctly. “Wasn’t that a long time ago?”
Penny nodded. “When Noah was in high school. That fire was the worst thing that happened to all of us, but poor Noah took it the hardest.”
“Fire?” Zara swallowed the fear that had climbed up her throat.
“Didn’t Noah tell you? His dad died in a fire.”
Everything she knew about Noah rushed into her brain. The way he’d turned into a completely different person when that fire alarm went off, his rush to get her out of the apartment, his disappearance, the panic attacks, and his reluctance to talk about his dad.
“Penny,” her voice cracked as she held back tears. “Where...” She couldn”t get the rest of the words out.
Penny reached out, rubbing up and down her arm. “Through that door.” She pointed to the door behind her.
There was no time to apologize or speak. She ran out of the room and into the garage. Where she found Noah with a large box in his arms.
“Zara,” Noah said as he saw her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” The tears she’d been trying to hold back began to fall.
He placed the box on the ground, taking a deep breath. “I wasn’t keeping it from you.”
“I believe you. I just wish I had known.” She shook her head. “I feel like such an idiot.”
He stepped toward her. “No, you’re not. Zara, my dad dying in the fire is the reason for my panic attacks, but hey, they have nothing to do with you.”
“But I kicked and screamed at you that night you saved my life, and then for years, I hated you because of it.” She swiped tears from her face. “I wish it had never happened.”
He reached for her, taking her in his arms. “I don’t. Without that night, we wouldn’t be here. I fell in love with you that night.” She gasped, but he kept going. “At least that”s what I thought it was. Now, after being with you and spending time with you, I know that was just infatuation. This, what I feel for you now, is love.” He cupped her cheeks. “I love you, Zara.”
She didn’t keep him waiting for her answer. “I love you too. So much. I never forgot you after that night. I tried to hate you, I really did, but you made it impossible.” She choked back tears.
He laughed. “I know you did.” He leaned in, kissing her deeply, then pressing his forehead to hers. “God, this feels good. Like a weight is lifted.”
She searched his eyes. The tears finally over. “What happens now?”
“Now we eat my mom’s casserole before going back home where I will have dessert.” He gave her a wicked grin.
She laughed, shaking her head. “I don’t mean immediate future now. I mean,” she waved a hand in the air, “a few days, weeks or years from now.”
“We make it work.” He stepped back, taking her hand.
She took a deep breath. “We make it work.” She bit down on her lip, wondering if that was really all it took. But then, Noah squeezed her hand in his and she looked over at him and saw him smiling.
Yeah, they could do this.