“Maybe I can call you again? We can do dinner or something?”
With a weak smile she nodded not sure how else to respond. Before he could say anything else, she rushed out, thanked him for the coffee and waved goodbye hurrying up her walkway. The pounding in her chest was testimony to how much she’d allowed Noah to get in her head because all she could think of was how he’d react when she told him she’d spent the morning with Derek.
CHAPTER 17
This was the first time since Roni had started working out here that she hadn’t made it in. Her text simply said she wouldn’t make it in and she’d see him tonight. Anxiety crept into him as he shoved his things into his locker.
Noah heard the guys walk noisily into to the locker room.
“It’s not his place, Hector,” Abel said.
“Yeah it is. He’s paying rent right?”
Noah looked up at them as he slipped his arm into his jacket. Hector and Abel walked side by side toward him, Gio was just behind them.
“Hey, Noah.” Hector grinned. “What do you say we have New Year’s Eve at your place?”
Noah chuckled. “It’s not my place.”
“I told you,” Abel said shaking his head.
“You pay rent don’t you?” Hector insisted.
“Yeah, for one bedroom.”
The idea wasn’t half bad. Noah had a feeling Roni would once again be flying solo on New Years Eve. At least he hoped she was and once again, he had every intention of being there to keep her company. Hell he couldn’t think of anywhere else he’d rather be. But having the guys over to celebrate sounded like fun. Roni had enjoyed Christmas Eve with them, she might agree to something like this but he wasn’t about to volunteer her place before making sure with her.
“Well can’t you ask, Roni?” Hector asked.
Noah refrained from frowning. Hearing Hector refer her to her as that rubbed him the wrong way. “We’ll see.” He grabbed his helmet and his keys. “I’m out. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“Let us know ASAP. We need to plan something. It’s just days away.”
Noah turned around and walked backwards. “I’ll ask, but you better not be an idiot about it. If she does agree it’s not gonna be some big shit with all your stupid high school friends.”
Hector’s face screwed up. “I hardly even hang out with anyone from school.”
Noah turned around. “I’ll let you know.”
All the way home Noah pushed the speed limit anxious to see Roni. He could only dream of the day he’d walk in and take her in his arms. His entire body ached with the desire to do it already but he had to be patient. It was torture but the more he was around her the more he was certain it would be worth the wait.
Spending Christmas day with her had been more than he could ever dream of. At one point, she’d leaned her head against his shoulder as they watched A Christmas Story. Nothing had ever felt so perfect as being there with her all day.
He drove into the back, opening the garage door with the extra garage door opener Roni had given him. He felt an instant let down as the door slid open and he saw her car wasn’t there yet.
In no rush now, he slowly took off his motorcycle gear and hung them on hooks in the garage. The backdoor of the house opened and out came Roni.
“Hey.” She smiled. “You hungry? I made dinner.”
Just seeing her brightened his mood and he smiled goofily. “Yeah, I’m starved.” He turned back to where her car should’ve been parked. “Where’s your car?”
She frowned hugging herself and rubbed her arms as walked toward him. He pointed to the house. “Let’s get inside its freezing out here.”
“I had to get it towed,” she said as they walked back to the house together. “It wouldn’t start.”
“What? You should’ve called me.”
They walked in the house and the smell of something delicious hit him instantly.
“No, you were working.”
“Babe—” he caught himself quickly as he followed her into the kitchen. “Roni, next time call me. They’re gonna charge you an arm and a leg and I’m sure it’s nothing I can’t fix. Even if I can’t, Abel can.”
If she caught the babe thing she didn’t say anything. Noah could hardly believe how that had just slipped. He had her explain to him exactly what the car did or hadn’t dome. He couldn’t help laughing at her attempt to mimic the sound the car had made. She laughed with him. “That’s what it sounded like!”
Damn, he wanted to kiss her. “So you were stuck home all day?”
If his eyes hadn’t been glued to her smiling face he might’ve missed the way her expression slowly turned uneasy. She turned her back to him and stirred the saucepan on the stove.
“What’s wrong?”
He walked up behind her. She wore her hair up in a clip. A few soft ringlets of hair fell around her neck but for the most part it was exposed. It took everything in him to not slide his arms around her waist and kiss her neck. Instead, he forced himself to take a the few steps away and lean against the counter to face her.
She stared into the small saucepan as she slowly stirred. Noah leaned in to peek at what looked and smelled like clam chowder. Then he brought his attention back to her again. “What’s the matter?”
Their eyes met for a moment, she appeared troubled. “I uh…”
He searched her eyes waiting. He’d never seen her like this and he didn’t like it.
“I was just bummed that I didn’t get to go shopping.” The side of her lips lifted in a weak attempt to smile. “There’s only a few more days until I go back to work and I don’t know when I’ll get my car back.”
Noah hadn’t even realized he’d tensed up until he felt his muscles ease. He smiled feeling strangely relieved. “Is that what you’re worried about? They probably haven’t done anything to it yet.”
“No, they wouldn’t unless I okay it and no one called me today.”
“Perfect,” he said grabbing one of the rolls of bread on the counter. “I’ll call first thing in the morning. Me and Abel will go pick it up and work on it ourselves. I’ll have it running for you in no time.”
Just like that, her troubles seemed to fade—women and their shopping. She grabbed a pair of oven mitts and opened the oven pulling out two round bread rolls way too big to be dinner rolls. She glanced at him and laughed. His expression must’ve been as blank as it felt. Noah was trying to figure out what they were for.
“I’m gonna hollow them out and pour the soup in them.”
“Ah,” he said feeling a little stupid.
He helped out by pouring the drinks. Everything they did together now felt so perfect. Noah couldn’t even imagine ever leaving.
She must’ve been as hungry as he was because they both sat devouring the soup silently for a few minutes. Then he remembered. “So you have any plans for New Year’s?”
She shook her head taking another spoonful of soup and raised an eyebrow when she saw him smirk.
“So here’s the thing, you don’t have to say yes if you don’t want to okay?” She nodded. “How would you feel about a small gathering here at your place New Year’s Eve?” She eyed him as she sipped her soup again. “Just the guys and a few other friends from the neighborhood, probably Gio’s sisters.” She froze at the mention of Gio’s sisters and Noah had a feeling why. “Rita’s gone so she wouldn’t make it, but there may be a few other girls you know, friends of the guys.”
The guys. He wanted that perfectly clear. If there were any girls there they would be friends of the guys not his. There was only one girl he was interested in spending time with and he’d get her to understand that loud and clear one way or another.
“So what happens at one of these gatherings?”
The playfulness in that husky voice of hers relieved him, but it also drove him insane.
“We hang out, listen to music. You won’t have to cook or anything. We’ll order pizzas. And of course there will be drinking but I’ll mak
e sure things stay under control.” He turned and glanced at the back door. “We don’t even have to have everyone in here. We can keep everyone outside. If it rains we can hang out in the garage.” He saw her thinking about it then added. “We usually have a good sized crowd when we have it over at Gio’s but I’ll make sure to tell them this year is different. Don’t worry we’ll tone it down.”
Roni smiled then giggled. “God, Noah you don’t have to make it a grandma party on account of me.”
Noah sat up straight, her comment hitting him like a shot out of nowhere. “No I didn’t mean—”
She laughed now. “I’m kidding. I just meant I don’t mind a little music. Sure why not? A party…uh gathering sounds like fun actually.”
Noah smiled, pushing her grandma comment aside. “Good, I’ll let the guys know.” He remembered something else. For some reason when Jack laid the news on all of them today, the first thing he thought of was he couldn’t wait to tell Roni. “Oh and guess what? In January, 5th Street is gonna start hosting Friday Night Fights. It’s a pretty big thing. The local radio station plugs it all week; then they broadcast from the gym all day that Friday. Abel’s up first next week. And then I’m up the following week.”
“Oh! I’ve heard those plugs before.” Roni said sounding just as excited as Noah knew she would be. “Don’t you also get to go on the radio? I’ve heard them interview the fighters before on the morning radio show.”
Noah got up to pour more soup in his bread bowl. “That’s usually if it’s a big fight, which mine might be considered since it’s a rematch. I fought this guy last year and it was a draw. Bullshit if you ask me or anyone that saw it. How are you gonna call it a draw when I knocked him on his ass in the second round?” He shook his head in disgust.
“Wouldn’t that be a knock out?” Roni turned to face him as he walked back to the table.
“No ‘cause he got up and hung in there until the end. Only reason I couldn’t end it was because that’s the fight I injured my shoulder.” He smiled, loving the way Roni hung on his every word. “He fell into me one of the times I was getting ready to swing and it jammed my shoulder. I fought the rest of the fight in excruciating pain. Jack and Abel wanted to stop it but I refused and they called it a draw.”
“So this time you think you’ll take him down?”
Noah smirked winking at her as he sat down. He had no doubt about it, especially if she was there. But he’d keep that last bit of info to himself. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I got this.”
The rest of the dinner, they talked about the Friday Night Fights. They’d be going on all of January and depending on how well things went they may even extend it into the following months. Felix was even supposed to show up for one of the fights. Most likely he’d be there to see Gio’s fight since he’d always been closest to Gio. It was all good as long as the word got out. Jack could certainly use the extra money the fights were sure to bring in. The gym was in dire need of some renovations.
Noah helped Roni clean up the kitchen then they watched television together for a while before Roni announced she was ready for bed.
That night Noah lay in bed unable to fall asleep. He didn’t know how much longer he could be around Roni without telling her how he felt. She had to know already. He could barely keep his eyes off her now and his reaction to the asshole at the gym a few days ago had been purposely obvious. He might be able to hold back from revealing his true feelings for her a while longer but there were certain things he wouldn’t even try to fake. What he felt about other guys making a move on her was one of them. The message hadn’t just been for the guy but for Roni as well. Noah wasn’t having it. Friends or not there wasn’t much he could do about it now. It’s how he’d be reacting from here on every time.
~*~
Coward—no other word could describe what she was. There was no reason—none whatsoever why Veronica couldn’t have simply told Noah about her afternoon with Derek the other day and she’d had several opportunities since then to tell him about it. But what had she done? Each time she came up with some other stupid lie or way of changing the subject.
She watched the guys set up in the backyard from the kitchen window. One of their friends had a sound system they’d be using and they were putting up speakers in her garage. As much as she tried to not feel out of place she couldn’t help thinking about the last time she’d been to a backyard party. She’d been about Noah’s age.
Veronica had tried calling Nellie earlier. Her hope was that either Nellie would convince her to just go with it and enjoy her evening with these young guys or confirm that she wasn’t being silly for feeling like a chaperone rather than the host of this New Year’s bash.
Still in her robe and at a complete loss about what to wear, Veronica walked out of the kitchen and back into her bedroom. After rummaging through her closet and some of the new things she’d bought once Noah fixed her car, she finally decided on a pair of black skinny jeans and a shimmery silver cardigan that fell off her shoulder. She’d actually evesdropped on a couple of girls shopping the day she’d bought the outfit. If it hadn’t been for them she would’ve very likely worn her black Uggs with the outfit but both girls had agreed that long high heeled boots would be the best way to dress up the jeans.
She now stared at the boots she’d purchased that day. A part of her was still in denial. The only reason she’d bought them was because after trying them on she had to agree that they really did dress up the jeans quite nicely and while they were high, they weren’t too high to wear to work. Derek had continued to text her in the past few days and even suggested again that once she was back at work they might meet after for dinner or something. These would be nice to wear on a dinner date.
Slowly she lifted the long sleek boots out of the box. Oh, who was she kidding? The very thought of all the young girls, possibly groupies since they were “friends of the guys” that would be at the party tonight had been all the inspiration she needed to buy the sexy boots in the first place. But she had to remind herself that she didn’t need much help in that area. From the way Noah had been looking at her lately she was pretty sure that attracting him was a done deal. So why the hell was she still looking forward to seeing the expression on his face when he saw her all dressed up? It was just wrong.
She finished getting dressed and stood in front of the full length mirror on her closet door. She looked good. More than good—so good she almost felt guilty. What was she doing? Her backyard would be full of kids soon and she’d be out there mingling as if she were one of them like she belonged in this crowd. She stared at herself a moment longer in the mirror. On the outside, she could easily pass for one of the girls that hung out in Noah’s crowd.
On the one hand, she told herself it was okay and perfectly normal to want to feel young and sexy again. She’d been down and out for too long and she needed this. But on the other she knew she was playing with fire and if anyone was ever privy to her true intentions they could very well be construed as her being a complete tease.
One thing was for sure. Noah made no secret of his hands-off policy when it came to any of the other guys at the gym making advances toward her. At first, she thought she’d imagined it but it was pretty clear now. So that only made it all the more obvious who she was looking to impress tonight.
Oddly as wrong as she knew it was for Noah to just assume his behavior was acceptable a very small part of her was thrilled by it. She hated to admit it but it gave her hope that maybe it meant that in all fairness it went both ways. If she was off limits then maybe he was too.
She shook her head suddenly feeling the heat rise inside her. Looking back she’d noticed his odd behavior dated back to before Thanksgiving and yet he’d still happily ended up with Rita the very day after. This was exactly why she couldn’t allow herself to get caught up in something like this. No matter how much she tried, she knew she’d never be able to deal with casual sex the way Noah did. Just the thought of him and Rita had her feeling ready
to throw something.
Taking one last look in the mirror, she decided at that moment that she would just enjoy her evening and whatever attention she got tonight from Noah or anyone else. But any thoughts of her and Noah would be snuffed from here on out before they even started. She seriously needed to get a grip and face the facts. Anything between her and Noah would simply not end well. She’d finally pulled herself out of one major depression. Getting involved with a young guy as wonderful and sexy as Noah would just be asking for the inevitable—more heartache than she could ever handle.
CHAPTER 18
As hard as Noah tried to push away the anxiety about tonight he couldn’t help but tense up the moment he saw Roni walk into the front room. Seeing her had nearly sucked the air out of him.
Her makeup was a little heavier than the norm, her curls seemed even curlier and what she wore was enough to have every guy there staring at her now, threat or no threat. Noah glanced at Hector who was the most blatant and nudged him. “Take this outside,” Noah said roughly and shoved the two six packs of beer he’d been holding at him when Roni made her entrance.
Gio and Abel were more discreet but Noah hadn’t missed the way they took Roni in from top to bottom. Noah stifled a growl.
“Is anyone else here yet?” Roni asked stretching her neck out to look through the kitchen window as she passed by Noah shocking his senses. Unbelievably she smelled better than she looked. It was completely intoxicating and Noah had to close his eyes for a moment in reaction.
“The sound guy and his crew are here,” Abel said, “and I saw a few cars drive slowly past. I think they were looking for parking.”
Gio suddenly smiled and opened the back door. “Girls are here.” He stepped out before Noah or Abel could even respond to that. Abel went after him and walked out leaving Noah alone with Roni.
He was done holding in his feelings for her. She turned to him and he smiled. “You look amazing.”