54

C H A P T E R 1 1
N O A H
I was at home on my laptop when I noticed another email from the elusive LM. I growled and clicked to open it.
You have 10 days. - LM
I didn’t know who this LM bastard was, and I didn’t know what he wanted. I told him as such as I typed my own email. His email address was encrypted, so it gave no clue as to who he or she could be. The initials were too vague, and this fucker was annoying me.
I have no idea who you are or what you’re talking about. Leave me alone or I will call the cops.
I hit send and closed my laptop. I didn’t want to deal with this right now. I set my laptop to the side and pulled out some mixing bowls to make pancakes for Tess and myself. She had mentioned last night that she’d been craving them the last couple of day.
As I suspected, Tess wandered into the kitchen with a skip in her step. Jenna had been working on her room for a couple of days, and the walls had been painted their new creamy color. Tess was sleeping in the guest bedroom for a couple of nights to air out the room. Thankfully while we waited for
the room to air out, furniture began to pile up. Tess’s new mattress and frame were leaning against the wall in the spare room.
Her new table was already in the room, and I had to admit that it looked good. Her old desk was donated, and now we had to wait for Jenna to stop by again. She said there was still more to do, but the bed was really important.
I decided to give her a couple of prepaid gift cards so she could shop for stuff on her own. Tess was excited for this to be a surprise, even if the makeover was a process.
Hey Papa. Are those pancakes I smell?
I grinned and showed her the pan with a large flat cake cooking, then set everything down to sign. You know it.
Oh! Can mine have chocolate chips?
You’re gonna have a massive sugar high if you do.
Tess didn’t seem to care as she rooted through the pantry to grab a half-used bag of chocolate chips. I rolled my eyes and let her add her desired amount of chocolate to her food.
She pulled me into a quick hug and began to devour her food. I finished cooking mine and sat down across from her.
so tess.
She glanced at me, eyebrows raised so I knew she was focused on me.
I wanted to let you know that I’ll be going to a wedding this weekend.
With Jenna?
Yes. How did you know?
Tess laughed and waved her fork at me before putting it down to sign. she’s one of the few people you actually talk to right now. And Uncle Eric isn’t getting married.
I hope you’re ok with this.
It’s ok. I like her. You should go have some fun. I can probably stay with Kaylee.
Ok, I’ll give her mom a call.
We finished breakfast with little talk as Tess inhaled her food. I escorted her to the front of our building and kissed her cheek goodbye. When the school bus pulled away, I dialed Kaylee’s mom as I went back upstairs, and she agreed to keep Tess overnight for the wedding. After thanking her, I hung up the phone and sighed, cracking my neck before I made another phone call to Jenna.
She thankfully didn’t take as long to answer. “Hello?”
“Hi Jenna. I was wondering if we could meet for lunch and talk about the wedding.”
“Oh yeah, of course. There’s a cafe over my way if you don’t mind coming here.”
“Send me the address and I’ll be there in twenty minutes”
I WAS able to find a little parking lot behind the cafe Jenna sent me the address to. I parked and walked around to the front and found Jenna at a two-person table with her hands laced together.
“Hello, Jenna,” I greeted.
She smiled and returned the pleasantry. “Hi Noah. So what did you want to talk about?”
I sat down and noticed a menu on the table. “My tux is pressed and ready to go, and I’ve arranged for Tess to stay the night at her best friend’s house.” I spread my hands. “I’m all set to accompany you to your sister’s wedding.”
“That’s great!” she gushed. “I really appreciate you helping me out like this.”
I nodded and picked up the menu. “Have you ordered yet?” “No, not yet. I was waiting on you.”
It was di cult to be around Jenna throughout lunch. My mind kept racing with things I wanted to do to her and the guilt that followed each and every dirty thought. She grabbed the menu from me and our hands brushed. Hers were cold, and I wanted to hold them in mine. I wondered what she was thinking as color rose to her face.
I tried my hardest not to stare, but I found it di cult. She was a beautiful woman, and as I watched her, I found more things that woke the beast inside of me. Her hair was pulled back so I had a perfect view of her neck, which was pale and slender. I wanted to nip and suck at it.
After ordering, I asked, “So, what can I expect at this wedding?”
Jenna sighed and told me about her family, about how her mother was holding this wedding date over her head. She explained that even though she knew she legally was supposed to get her grandmother’s studio, she didn’t have it in her to fight her mother in court. She didn’t think that’s what her grandmother would want. And though I had to disagree with her, I didn’t say so. I actually thought it
showed a lot of class that she wasn’t ready to just rush headlong into a legal battle with her remaining family. But I could see the stress and frustration it caused her.
I sighed and lifted my hands to hers without thought. My fingers skimmed the back of her hand and I froze. I pulled my hand back and prayed that she didn’t say anything about it. That wasn’t the first time I had reached out to her, or she reached for me. We kept brushing one another as time went on, and I was beginning to feel my jeans tightening in the crotch.
“Thank you for inviting me out to lunch.” Jenna smiled at me as the check came out.
“It’s not a problem.” I snatched the check before Jenna could try.
“Hey!”
I quirked a brow at her and smirked as I handed the waiter my card. “I invited you, remember?”
She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. “Yes, but I can still pay my own way.”
“Not necessary,” I said as my card was returned to the table. “Did you walk here?” I glanced out the window and saw dark clouds rolling in.
“Yeah, but I’ll be fine.”
“Nonsense. Those clouds are moving in fast. You’ll probably get drenched before you get home. Let me drive you.”
“It’s really not necessary,” she promised. “I’m really close.”
I continued to push, and she eventually gave in. I led her around back to where my car was parked. I held the door
open for her and the scent of her shampoo caught in the air as she lowered herself into the car. She pulled the seatbelt across her body and folded her hands in her lap, biting her lower lip in what I read as a sign of nervousness.
I hurried around and climbed behind the wheel, turning to look at her before I started the car. “There’s one thing we still haven’t talked about.”
“What’s that?” she asked, her eyes wide. “The other night when we –”
“Oh that,” she cut me off. “It was nothing, a crazy misunderstanding. Don’t worry about it.”
“I just want to make sure you aren’t uncomfortable.”
“I wouldn’t have agreed to meet you for lunch if I was uncomfortable, Noah. Really, it’s nothing.”
I nodded and turned back to the steering wheel. Part of me was glad she wasn’t creeped out, but another part was disappointed to hear her say it was nothing. It hadn’t felt like nothing. As a matter of fact, it had felt like a whole lot of something.
We drove to her place in silence, and as we pulled up to the curb, she unbuckled her seatbelt and watched as I hurried around to her door. I opened her door as I heard the beginnings of thunder in the distance.
“Thank you for driving me home.”
“Any time,” I said as I walked her to the entrance of her building.
Jenna put one foot past the door and paused as though she wanted to say something but thought better of it. She smiled
and waved as she scurried up the stairs to her apartment.