CHAPTER 32
BELLA
So, you two are fucking now?” Liv asks through the phone and my eyes widen as I look around the bustling streets, hoping that nobody can hear the conversation happening through the Bluetooth in my car.
“No,” I deny and then quickly shake my head. “Well, yes. I mean…” I run a frustrated hand through my hair as I switch off the engine of my car and take her off speaker. “There has been fucking.”
In truth, I don’t know what it is that we’re doing.
We haven’t discussed labels as of yet. The conversation I had with Daisy has been playing on my mind since yesterday, but I’ve been trying to push it to the back of my mind.
Noah hasn’t given me any reason to doubt him and it’s too soon to put pressure on whatever is transpiring between us.
Something shifted between us last night. I could feel it in the way he touched me, see it in the way he looked at me. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt intimacy as intense as I do with Noah, but for the first time in my life I felt safe enough to give myself over to the feelings he ignited inside of me.
What I didn’t expect was the rush of emotions that would come with it.
I can’t say I’ve ever cried during sex, but what I can say is I don’t think I’ll ever live that one down.
Thankfully, Noah didn’t bring it up. He just wiped my tears away with his thumbs and held me until the emotions passed and then he cleaned me up, carried me to the other side of the bed and pulled my body close to his the moment he slid in beside me.
“It was the picture, wasn’t it?” Liv’s voice snaps me back to reality, the smile evident in her question.
I feel myself blush all the way down to my toes as I climb out of the car and make my way down the street to the café.
Usually, I would park in the staff lot at the back of the building but there’s only one space reserved for the café and Summer’s car is in it.
Unsurprisingly, with what time of year it is, the rest of the parking lot was filled with cars from out of town, meaning the people, like me, who actually lived and owned businesses here have to park on the road and walk.
“Yes.” I sigh into the phone quietly.
A loud cackle sounds from the other end of the line, and I roll my eyes despite the smile on my face. “I knew it. Tell me, how was it?”
I gnaw on my bottom lip, images from last night flashing in my mind. Different, life-altering, everything and more. The words fly through my head at rapid speed, but I respond with, “Good.”
“Good?” Liv asks, her voice deadpan. “Just good? Bullshit. This is Noah Calloway. I don’t need to spend a night with that man to know he knows what he’s doing in bed.”
“Liv!” I gasp.
“What?” She laughs.
“That’s your soon to be brother-in-law.”
“And? I’m not blind, Bella. I can spot a man that knows his way around the female body from a mile away and I clocked that shit the second he introduced himself. Stop holding out on me.”
“Fine,” I snap. “It was amazing. Best sex I’ve ever had in my life. Happy now?”
“Much,” she says happily and I laugh at her ridiculousness, but I’m quickly sobered by the figure walking towards me.
“Oh shit,” I whisper.
“What?” Liv asks through the phone, her voice completely serious now.
“Justin is walking towards me.”
“Turn around,” Liv says and I hear shuffling through the line like she’s moving around.
“I can’t,” I hiss. “I’m on my way to work.”
“Just walk right past him. Don’t even acknowledge his existence,” she suggests but it’s too late.
“Bella.” Justin comes to a stop in front of me and I attempt to sidestep him; my phone still held against my ear.
“Is he trying to talk to you?” Liv asks through the phone, but I stay silent as he steps in front of me again.
“Can we talk?”
I move the other way, trying again. And what do you know… he follows, only this time, he reaches out a hand and wraps it around my elbow.
Liv says something on the end of the line, but I don’t hear it over the blood rushing in my ears.
I freeze, my eyes moving down to where his skin touches mine and lead settles deep in my gut. “Get your hands off me,” I say, my voice a quiet warning, tone thankfully not betraying the utter fear coursing through my blood.
“Bella, please,” he pleads, still not letting me go.
I don’t look up at him. I keep my eyes firmly trained on the spot where his hand is wrapped around my arm as I try to tug out of his hold. His grip tightens.
This time, I do look up at him, praying that the fear isn’t evident in my eyes. “I won’t say it again. Get your fucking hands off me.”
I stare at his face. At his cold, dead eyes. At the greasy curl hanging over his forehead. And all of a sudden, I’m hit with pure disgust.
I don’t know what I ever saw in this piece of shit.
And I don’t know why this piece of shit is still fucking touching me.
I open my mouth to speak, or scream, I’m not really sure which but another voice cuts in. “Are you fucking deaf?”
My entire body relaxes in relief at the sound of Noah’s voice coming from behind me. I feel the heat radiating from him as he steps closer, his front to my back and Justin’s eyes narrow as they flick from me to Noah and back again.
He drops my arm and I take a step back, Noah’s hand coming around my waist to steady me as I stumble into him. I turn my head, looking up at his handsome face. His eyes are hard and trained on the man in front of us, jaw ticking.
Noah must feel my eyes on him, because he tears his gaze from Justin and down to me, the hardness softening. “You okay, baby?” he asks, his voice quiet, but loud enough for Justin to hear.
I nod, cheeks warming when I hear Liv – who’s still on the other end of the phone – squeal.
“Uh, I’m going to have to call you back,” I tell her and she responds quickly. “Don’t you dare-” I hang up, cutting the last of her words off and tuck my phone into my pocket.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” The grating voice causes both mine and Noah’s heads to snap back his way. Justin’s face morphs into something ugly and full of disgust as he shakes his head and laughs.
“Should’ve fucking known it’d be him you ran to,” he spits.
“Watch your fucking tone when you speak to her,” Noah spits back, his hold on my waist tightening slightly. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay the fuck away from her.”
Justin doesn’t pay any attention to Noah. Instead, he keeps his narrowed gaze on me. “After everything he-”
“I don’t see how it’s any of your business,” I interrupt, not wanting him to finish that sentence.
I know exactly what he was going to say. And the last thing I need right now is him sparking questions between Noah and I when I’m still trying to figure out a way to discuss it with him myself.
Justin laughs but it’s void of any emotion and without another word, he turns and walks away from us.
I spin around in Noah’s hold and glance up at him. He watches Justin’s retreating form, his brows pitched low, jaw clenched.
“Hey,” I say softly, gaining his attention. “What are you doing here?”
“I knew you were working today so I thought I’d come and grab some lunch,” he says, leaning down to place a chaste kiss on my lips.
He takes my hand in his and the two of us walk the rest of the way to the café like that.
I feel the curious stares of multiple people, but I ignore them along with the way a swarm of butterflies take flight in my belly and my heart pounds a little bit faster at Noah’s blatant declaration to the world, consequences be damned.
***
Sav: My parents are on grandparent duty. Hunter wants to go fishing and I want to sit in the sun and get drunk. Are you in?
I stare down at Savannah’s text, confused. She wants me to go fishing… with them?
Me: Is this like a third wheel situation?
Sav: No. Hunter has invited Noah.
My eyebrow hikes up at this, fingers flying over the screen.
Me: So, this is like a double date situation?
Sav: That depends. Are you dating Noah?
I laugh at her reply but don’t respond. Instead, I swipe out of the chat and click on another.
Me: Are you going fishing with Hunter and Savannah?
Noah: No. WE are going fishing with Hunter and Savannah.
Me: And you were going to tell me this, when?
Noah: In about thirty minutes when you walk your sexy little ass through the front door.
I laugh, shaking my head as I continue to go about my regular procedure of closing the café for the night.
I check and double check all the ovens are switched off. Tidy away the last few items of baking equipment I’d just finished using and switch off the lights in the kitchen.
Locking up the front doors, I flip the open sign to closed and move down the hall to my office to grab my bag before leaving through the back.
I chew on my bottom lip the entire drive back to the ranch, thoughts of us going with Hunter and Savannah making my insides flip with nervous excitement.
It feels so… bold.
We haven’t spoken about what is happening between the two of us, yet he held my hand and kissed me in public today and now he wants to go on a fishing trip with his brother and his fiancé?
It makes me feel things. On the one hand, I’m excited to be spending time with Savannah. I could really do with some girl time and a second opinion from someone on the outside. But on the other hand, I’m nervous at how I’m supposed to act. How he’s going to act.
Is he going to act like we’re friends and nothing more? It’s not exactly strange that he would invite me along because everybody knows I’ve been staying with him. Savannah, of course, knows a little bit about the picture I sent but that’s as far as her knowledge goes.
Or is he going to behave like he did today and be openly affectionate with me?
And what happened to his worry about my brother finding out?
I blow out a breath and shake the thoughts away as I pull up beside Noah’s house and get out of my car. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I climb the steps to the front porch and open the door, coming to a stop when his handsome face greets me with a smile.
“Hey, baby.” Noah practically yanks me through the door by my hand, pulling my body flush against his as he plants a hard kiss on my lips. “We’re going camping tonight.”
I laugh and push at his chest, rolling my eyes. “Thanks for that.”
Noah steps back with a chuckle as I kick my shoes off and hang my bag on the hook.
Ask him, my subconscious screams at me.
“How was your day after I left?” Noah asks, silencing the niggling thoughts and I smile at him as he rounds the kitchen island and opens the fridge, pulling out a beer and twisting the cap off before handing it to me.
“Thank you,” I say, taking it. “It was fine. Normal.”
“Justin didn’t bother you again, did he?” He asks with a frown, and I don’t miss the malice in his tone as he says his name.
“No.” I lie.
He didn’t bother me again, in person. But the pile of text messages in my inbox and the list of missed calls tell a different story.
“Good.” He nods, taking a swig of his own beer.
I take a seat on one of the stools and pick at the label on my bottle, deciding to finally address the elephant in the room. “So, uh, about earlier.”
Noah blinks at me, his head slightly tilted, making the small gold hoop in his nose glisten beneath the light in the kitchen.
“What about it?” he asks softly.
“You kissed me. In public.” My cheeks flame.
His tongue pokes into the side of his cheek as he smirks. “I did.”
“Why? Aren’t you worried it’ll get back to Killian?”
His brow furrows before his eyes widen slightly, recognition flashing in them. “He already knows, Bells.”
My spine snaps straight. “What?! Since when?” I ask louder than I mean to.
Noah chuckles and rounds the counter, turning my stool towards him and sliding his body between my thighs. “Since he took one look at me and realised something he should have years ago.”
I frown. “What?”
His finger finds my chin, lifting it so that my eyes are on his and he watches me with an intensity, a seriousness that makes my stomach flutter. “That I’m fucking crazy about you.”
I suck in a breath, a million questions flying around in my head, but they’re all washed away as his mouth descends on mine in a kiss that I feel all the way down to my toes.
It’s not hurried or hard. It’s soft and slow, his tongue moving against mine is languid strokes as his hands gently cup either side of my neck.
And when he finally pulls away, both of our chests heaving, and I blink up into his hazel eyes, I know that I’m irrevocably in love with this man.