Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
SAVANNAH HOLLINGSWORTH
I nod, heat rising to my cheeks. Why am I suddenly shy and nervous? Noah said to tell his family we’re dating. I don’t know why I’m self-conscious about it. I lower my gaze. “We’re dating.”
To prove it, Noah wraps his arm around me. “We tried to keep it between us, but I think the cat’s out of the bag.”
Levi grins at Noah and snaps a towel in his direction. “So, your plan worked.”
Noah coughs and turns twelve shades of red. I look between them, trying to figure out what he’s talking about. “What plan?”
Kiki clasps her hands together. “This is great! I’m so glad you two re-connected. I was just telling Tobias how cute you are together.”
Tobias enters the kitchen. “Did I hear right? You two are dating?” There’s an edge to his voice, and I can’t tell if he’s just being his normal uptight self, or if he thinks we’re jumping into a relationship too fast, which annoys me. What’s wrong with Noah getting back together with me? Am I not good enough for him?
“Yes,” Noah manages to say as he pulls me tighter, and I feel like I’ve missed something, but I don’t know what.
“I think it’s great.” Kiki grabs the crockpot sitting on the counter. “Let’s serve up the roast. I bet everyone is hungry.”
Skyler climbs on one of the barstools and stares at the chocolate muffins. “I’m hungry.”
“Kiki made you the little potatoes you like,” Tobias says. “Let’s go to the table.”
Skyler jumps down. “Yay! Baby potatoes!”
We gather around the table, and I sit between Kiki and Noah. Tobias sits at the head of the table and picks up his phone and scowls. “Where is Micah? I texted him ten minutes ago dinner was about ready.”
Kiki pats his hand. “He’s coming. Don’t worry, teenagers won’t miss a meal.”
As if on cue, Micah comes in with his friend Cricket and they sit at the two empty spots. I know Cricket from working at the diner. She’s quiet and always has her nose in a book, and she must be really good friends with Micah because I rarely see him without her. Micah looks around the table at everyone looking at him. “What?”
Kiki waves a hand in dismissal. “Nothing. Let’s eat.”
The table comes to life with the bustle of conversation and everyone heaping food on their plates. I sit back and watch the family dynamic. It’s great to see a family as closely knit as this one. My family is totally different. We rarely ate together at the table. My father was only caring and loving in public. He was more interested in appearances than reality.
“Daddy, I ate two baby potatoes.” Skyler stabs a third potato with her fork.
Tobias smiles, and it transforms his face. In the past, I rarely saw him smile. Of course, I stopped hanging around the Barrett brothers seven years ago.
“That’s great, sweetie,” Tobias coos. “Eat some roast, too.”
“Okay!”
I watch how he looks at Kiki and Skyler, and a pull starts in my gut. It’s so obvious he loves them. They’re a sweet little family. Something I will never have. I nibble at my dinner, finding it hard to swallow.
Noah motions to Micah. “Savannah and I saw your viral video. Great job. It was good.”
Micah’s face flushes, and he lowers his head. “You saw that?”
“You have a viral video?” Tobias asks.
“That’s great,” Kiki chimes in. “Which one? Baby, I Think I Lost You, or Edge of Forever? Those are my favorites.”
“Actually, it’s a new one I just put up two days ago called If Only You Knew.”
Kiki gasps. “You have a new one out? Okay. I have to listen to it.”
“I heard it,” Levi says, grabbing his water glass. “It’s good. I just have one question.”
“What?” Micah asks, brushing his long hair out of his eyes.
“Who’s it about?” Levi’s eyebrow raises and his grin widens before he takes a drink.
Micah flushes, and Cricket stares down at her plate. “No one,” Micah says. “It’s just a song.”
“Dude. It’s totally written about a girl you know. Admit it.” Levi kicks him under the table.
I smile to myself as the brothers argue with each other about the song, while Skyler stuffs another whole baby potato in her mouth. Tobias dotes on her, while Noah joins in the argument. Kiki sees me watching everything and nudges my arm. She leans close. “The Barrett brothers are hysterical without meaning to be, huh?”
I nod, even though it’s not the humor that has me mesmerized. It’s how close they are with each other. How real they are. There’s no pretense. Just love.
Levi turns to me. “Tell us how you started dating Noah again. Was it the grand gesture of buying a?—”
“We just connected,” Noah says, cutting Levi off. He reaches over and puts his hand on mine. “You know, as we remodeled Savannah’s house.”
Levi nods. “Ah. I see.”
I look down at Noah’s hand, covering my own. It’s causing little zings of attraction to shoot up my arm.
Levi picks up his fork and nods at me. “Now that you guys are back together, I’m curious about something.”
“What?” I say, dread creeping up my spine.
“What did Noah do to make you ghost him before prom? How badly did he mess up?” Levi leans forward.
My mouth goes dry, and I have a hard time breathing. Noah’s hand tightens over mine. “Levi.” He shakes his head.
Levi chuckles and runs a hand through his hair. “What? It’s all water under the bridge now. I want to know what happened.”
My mind races, and I try to think of something to say that would not be an outright lie. We don’t talk about the cancer. That’s what my mother told me my whole life. “There was a situation,” I say slowly.
“A situation?” Levi frowns. “What kind of a?—”
“Levi!” Noah says, sternly.
Skyler reaches for a muffin and knocks over her glass of water. It splashes over the table, hits Kiki’s plate and spills onto her lap. Kiki pushes her chair back. “Oh!”
I jump up. “I’ll get a towel.”
I rush into the kitchen, glad for the interruption. I grab a towel as Kiki comes in after me. “It’s okay. I’ve got it.”
Kiki takes the towel from me, a kind smile on her face. As she dabs the water on her lap, she says, “Don’t let Levi rib you. He’s teasing. Just tell him it’s none of his business.”
My throat gets tight, and I nod. “Okay.”
Kiki points to the water all down her jeans. “Well, at least it doesn’t look like I peed my pants.”
I laugh, because it totally looks like he peed her pants. I glance down at her tattoo. “I like your ink. Does it mean something?”
Kiki stills. “Yeah. I got it after I had to give up my daughter for adoption.”
“Oh.” I had no idea it was tied to that, and now I feel bad for asking.
Kiki swallows. “But I’ve been reunited with her now.” She quickly tells me her story. Emotion fills me as Kiki talks. I can’t believe she’s telling me something so personal. Like I’m family.
“Skyler’s such a sweetie,” I say when she’s done.
Kiki’s eyes grow moist, and she blinks. “Yeah. She is.”
My throat tightens. What must it be like for Kiki to finally be with her daughter? I can’t even imagine her pain when she had to let her go, not knowing if she’d see her again. I impulsively pull Kiki into a hug.
Kiki seems surprised, but she hugs me back tightly. “I’m so glad you and Noah have reconnected. I can tell you’re good for him.”
I don’t know what to say, so I just nod. We go back into the dining room. The brothers have already cleaned up the mess. The rest of the meal is uneventful, and thankfully Levi stops asking questions about our breakup.
We finish eating, and the family disperses. Kiki gives me a quick hug. “Thanks for coming to dinner.” My emotions run high as Noah says goodbye to his family.
As I’m heading into the living room with Noah, Levi stops me. “Hey, sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to press into anything.”
I blink, trying not to get all flustered again. “It’s fine.”
A smile cracks across his face. “I knew you still held a torch for my brother.” He nudges my arm. “Which is good. Because he never really got over you.”
My heart rate speeds up, but before I can ask what he means, Levi takes off and I’m left alone. I join Noah in the living room.
Noah turns to me, peeking around the corner to make sure we’re really alone. “Do you think they bought it?”
“Yeah.” I press my lips together, feeling guilty for lying to his family. Especially after Kiki shared her story with me.
Noah smiles. “Okay, good. Then operation ‘Get rid of Donald’ has begun.”
“That sounds like you’re a hitman.”
He shakes his head and his expression sobers. “I’m better than a hitman. I’m a cop. If he bothers you again, you call me.”
Tobias walks into the room, and Noah leans close to me. “I mean it,” he whispers, his warm breath tickling my ear. “I’ll come in a heartbeat.”
My head spins at the heady smell of Noah’s cologne. He pulls back from me and nods to his brother. “See ya.”
Tobias shoves his hands into his pockets. “Have a good night.” But before we leave, he steps close to me and lowers his voice. “Be good to him. He doesn’t need another heartbreak.”